Mike's New Ghostly Family
by Archcommander Tenebros
Summary: Post-FNAF6. Freddy Fazbear's tale has come to a close. Mike and the girl inside the Puppet are the only two left who know the full story, and the older man has adopted the last pizzeria's sole survivor in all but name. But neither of them expected the ghosts of the murdered children to return, nor did they expect their family to expand so dramatically in such a short time.
1. Chapter 1 - The Children Return

A/N: With how busy I currently am, I don't want to really work on my main DP fic right now because if I did I'd only end-up half-assing it and not giving it the proper time and commitment that my biggest undertaking deserves. I tend to fluctuate in my interests periodically, and right now the game that's caught my interest is Five Nights at Freddy's.

My last fic was very serious and borderline dark at times. This story is going to have quite a lot of diversity in terms of mood, though the overarching themes will be similar. A lot of it will be light and either fluffy or humorous. However, a non-negligible portion of it will be serious, with the occasional venture to dark and/or depressing mostly with regards to the characters' tragic backstories.

There will be SPOILERS for FNAF (including FNAF6), but this won't be as spoilerrific as "A Legacy Laid to Rest." The spoilers are still there, though, so be careful before you read. And with that said, I hope you enjoy!

This is _kind of_ a sequel to "A Legacy Laid to Rest", but at the same time some elements have changed. It's recommended that you read that fic first, though it's not mandatory. I'm aware of the updated ending that implies that every single Night Guard from all the games was actually Mike Afton. I'm going to be adhering to that for the most part, but Mike Schmidt will be his own separate character. Otherwise, this entire story would kinda fall apart. Just so you guys know, since in my other fic Jeremy was also his own separate character.

I own nothing. Five Nights at Freddy's is the genius legacy of Scott Cawthon.

Chapter 1 – The Children Return

" _FREDDY FAZBEAR'S FRANCHISE CLOSED DOWN FOR GOOD."_

"About fucking time…" an older Mike Schmidt ranted aloud as he read through the article. "Why the fuck did it even take them this long? _How_ many goddamn tragedies happened cause of that stupid pizzeria? All those night guards stuffed into the stupid suits, the Bite of '87, and don't even get me STARTED on the murdered children and their restless souls! But, nooooooooo…somebody had the fucking _brilliant_ idea to make a goddamn HORROR ATTRACTION out of it? Jesus Christ, people are morons…"

The Marionette, who Mike had started giving the pet name Mary after he had found her in the ruins of the last Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and brought her home, gave Mike a stern glare. _"My father revived the franchise one last time to destroy it once and for all,"_ she pointed out. _"Along with the evil that had followed it for these past years."_

"Wasn't talking about your dad," he replied. "Your dad was a genius. He gets a pass and then some. But everyone else? Dumbasses, all of them! Go ahead, Mary, tell me I'm wrong!"

If she had proper human eyes, Mary would have rolled them. _"Fair enough, I guess."_

Mike smirked. "Thank you very much." He finished reading the article and tossed the newspaper aside. "I saw the advertisement for the latest pizzeria at the beginning of the week. They outright say YOU CAN'T PROVE ANYTHING. In the freaking ADVERTISEMENT for the job! Who WROTE the damn thing?"

Mary was silent for several seconds. _"…You know what, I've got nothing for that one,"_ she finally admitted. _"My father claimed in his last words that he had not originally intended the job for the one noble Afton. However, in hindsight, I fail to see how anyone with a brain would ever choose to work at the pizzeria aside from him."_

"Well, guess we're all lucky that Mike Afton went for it in the end," Mike sighed, then suddenly looked up at the Marionette. "Wait, I just realized something. If he's been undead all this time, a soul possessing his own corpse, then wouldn't it have been _good_ if he'd been stuffed in the animatronic suit? He would've probably possessed the animatronic like the ghosts of the kids and Springtrap, and then he could've had the chance to fight his dad on more equal terms."

The Marionette shook her head. _"Springtrap would have had the advantage of experience, unless the quality of the suits drastically favored Michael. It was wise for him to take on a subtler approach to destroying his father's evil. Besides, it's hard to do anything secretly when you're a giant lumbering animal animatronic from a pizzeria franchise that everyone knows is cursed. William Afton would have suspected an attack from a mile away."_

"And yet he somehow managed to miss the death trap that killed him or the fact that _his son_ was in on the plot to destroy him," Mike smirked as he got up from his chair. "I'm going to bed. G'night, Mary, I'll see ya in the morning."

" _Good night, Michael. Thank you again for giving me a home."_

Mike shrugged as he climbed up the stairs to his bedroom, hiding the gentle smile slowly stretching across his face as he did so.

 _The Next Morning_

" _Should we wake him up?"_

" _Don't freak him out, we're technically breaking and entering!"_

" _Let him wake up, he's going to find out eventually."_

"Wha..." Mike mumbled as he shuffled in his bed. He had to still be dreaming, because it sounded like there were a bunch of little children next to his bed. Which was clearly impossible; the only child that lived with him was the ghost inside the Marionette. Shrugging off the last remains of sleep, he slowly opened his eyes…

…only to find the spectral figures of five ghostly children in front of him. Three boys and two girls. As soon as Mike processed what he was looking at, fatigue made a rapid exit.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he shrieked, nearly jumping out of the bed. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"Uhm…" the ghost of a little girl timidly spoke up. "He…hello…Mr. Schmidt."

"WHY ARE THERE FIVE GHOSTS IN MY ROOM?" Mike exclaimed. "MARY?"

" _Calm down, Mike, I'm coming."_ Light footsteps approached and the Marionette quickly arrived at the doorframe. Though her facial expressions were limited, she stepped back in what was clearly shock. _"What…how…?"_

"That's what I'd like to know," Mike commented. "From what you've told me, Mary, the souls of the dead children were supposed to move on." He gestured towards the group of ghostly children. "And yet, here they are!"

" _We DID pass on,"_ the ghost of one of the boys answered. _"We ascended into Heaven after being freed from Molten Freddy. But afterwards, we were sent back to Earth, to make up for the wrongs that we did. We can't have eternal peace just yet."_

Mike sighed. "Let me guess," he theorized. "God didn't exactly like the fact that you spent a good couple of years murdering innocent security guards. Myself nearly included in that number."

The ghosts all looked away in shame, and immediately Mike felt bad for being so blunt. "Sorry," he quickly apologized, "that was uncalled for."

" _That's more or less the truth, though,"_ another boy confirmed. _"He sent us all out on a mission, to improve the life of one of the night guards we terrorized."_

"And you chose me," Mike finished. "Why me, though? Why not the others?"

One of the girls spoke up. _"The truth is, Mr. Michael, we did not know how many are still alive, or what kind of character they possessed,"_ she explained. _"But then we sensed the Marionette, and once we sensed her, we recognized your aura as well. The Marionette has almost never trusted any adult when we were together, and yet….she has chosen to live with you."_

"I have no clue why," the older man commented dryly. "I'm a sarcastic asshole who curses a lot and lives alone."

" _A sarcastic asshole who curses a lot, lives alone, has a virtuous heart, and is always willing to help others,"_ the Marionette interrupted, and everyone could hear the smirk in her voice. _"Don't try to deny your best qualities, Mike."_

"So you keep saying," Mike rolled his eyes. "So what did He mean when He wanted you to improve my life?"

The ghosts were all silent for a moment as they contemplated Mike's question. Finally, another one of the boys answered. _"Maybe He wanted us to give you comfort and company, but I think it's more than that. I think He wanted us to be the family you never had, Michael."_

"Whoa, time out!" the former night guard exclaimed. "How do you know I don't have a family? Maybe I just wanted to strike out on my own! Maybe they're coming to visit me in a week!"

" _Then why do you have an aura of loneliness and sadness around you, Michael? It's faint now, but it's definitely still there. I recognize that sadness, Mike. We all felt it the day the Purple Man killed us, the day we lost our families forever,"_ the same boy challenged.

"Shit…" Mike cursed, knowing there was no point in denying it. The ghosts might look like children, but they had been functionally living more many years by this point and experienced some of the worst humanity had to offer. They weren't even close to naïve or innocent anymore, and that made Mike uncomfortable in more ways than one.

" _The truth is, Mike…"_ one of the girls from earlier confessed. _"We don't know what will happen if you refuse us. We don't know how long we'll wander trying to atone for our mistakes for someone else. Please, let us be your new family, Mike. Please…"_ Soon all of the ghosts were making the same plea.

"This is a lot to take in," Mike muttered, still trying to fully comprehend what was being asked of him. Somehow, the ghost children's request was more of a bombshell than the fact that they'd more or less confirmed the existence of God and Heaven.

 _"Please..."_

Mike sighed and closed his eyes. It had been presented as if it were a choice, but he knew that there was no choice and there hadn't been one from the beginning. Even if you took out the adorable and helpless faces of the children begging for his help, even if you took out the fact that the Marionette would likely despise him forever for refusing the children she had protected from the very beginning, Mike knew that his own conscience and self-respect would never allow him to do anything besides the morally correct choice. Maybe in the past, when he had barely any way to fend for himself, he would have refused them out of sheer necessity. But times had drastically changed since then, and that excuse was no longer relevant.

"You know the boy was right," his conscience whispered in his head. "You never had a true family since your teens. Even though your life is far better now than it was all those years ago, can you truly say that you are happy and content? And listen to them more carefully. Perhaps they need you just as much as, if not more, than you need them."

Mike opened his eyes and made the decision that would change his life forever. "All right. You can stay."

The moment the words left his mouth, the ghosts all cheered and rushed at him. Mike was expecting them to just pass through him, but to his surprise he could _feel_ their arms wrapping around him in a massive group hug. "Uh...how can I feel you?" he asked dumbly.

The Marionette giggled. _"You have more supernatural attunement than you think, Mike,"_ she responded good-humoredly. _"Enough to feel the affection that your new children have for you."_

The children broke off the hug and grinned. _"Thank you…daddy!"_ one of the ghosts exclaimed, and they all started giggling.

Mike placed the palm of his hand on his forehead. "Why do I suddenly feel about 10 years older," he mumbled. He broke off his stupor and looked at each of the ghosts. "All right, then, unless you want me to call you Ghosts 1 through 5 for the rest of your time here, I need some names.

" _Gabriel. I was the ghost who possessed Freddy."_

" _Jeremy. I was in Bonnie."_

" _Susie, and I was in Chica."_

" _Fritz. I was in Foxy, the coolest of them all!"_ Everyone rolled their eyes at that statement.

" _Cassidy, I was in Golden Freddy."_

"Thanks," Mike quickly went through the names of the kids again. "It might take me a while to get used to it, but I'll get it soon enough."

The ghosts all nodded, then they started grinning again. " _Man, Mike lives in such a nice house!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"I bet he's got tons of cool stuff! Let's go check it out!"_ They all cheered and rushed out, phasing through the walls to explore.

Mike watched them go. After a few seconds, he suddenly slapped his face. "Urrrrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh…"

" _What's wrong, Mike?"_ Mary asked. _"You did a very great thing today."_

"I know I did, and I'm not saying I'm regretting it. I just realized I essentially adopted 5 kids," Mike groaned in response. "Five easily excitable kids who probably haven't seen anything outside of a cursed Freddy Fazbear's establishment for decades on end. I don't even know the first thing about parenting."

" _And your point?"_

Mike groaned again. "I am so, so screwed."

/

A/N: Oh, Mike, you most definitely are XD. Imagine a child being freed from a time out. Now imagine the time out being the most horrible thing ever, lasting for several decades and the number of children being multiplied by 5. That's what you have to deal with now for the rest of your life. Suddenly the Night Shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria doesn't seem so bad anymore, does it? :P

Hope you enjoyed! I know I originally said that there isn't meant to be a coherent storyline, but as you'll see as you read the story, one is starting to develop anyway XD. Please read and review so that I can have a better idea on how to proceed with this fic, as well as to suggest any activities that Mike and his ghost kids could do.


	2. Chapter 2 - Catching up on Childhood

A/N: I goofed and wrote 7 children adopted by Mike for some reason instead of 5 (not including the Marionette). Whoops, I was really tired last night XD

The ghosts are not just simply "wisps of air". They do have some degree of power, and are capable of interacting with the physical world. Otherwise there's not much they would be able to do besides watch and talk, and that would get boring real quick.

Do you want me to write all the ghosts' lines in Italics or only the Marionette's? Let me know in the comments.

Chapter 2 – Catching up on Childhood

Seeing that there was no way for Mike to realistically try and track five ghostly children as they explored the entirety of his house, Mike decided to just sit in the living room and wait for them to find everything on their own. It took about 30 minutes for all the ghosts to return, having satiated their curiosity enough to return to their surrogate father. Once they were all back, the Puppet got up and left the room, wanting to leave the ghostly children with some time to bond with their new "father" by themselves.

"All righty, then," Mike said once they were all back. "Since you haven't been able to really live out your childhoods on account of, well, you know…" they all shuddered, "I've decided that the first thing we should do as a family is to re-acquaint you guys with things that most kids enjoy this day and age."

" _Please don't tell me you're going to make us watch the Care Bears,"_ Jeremy deadpanned, _"we're not THAT young."_

"Oh, nah," Mike shook his head dismissively, "I'm not gonna disrespect you like that. I was thinking we could start with some of the Harry Potter movies. Which one do you want to watch first?"

The ghosts all stared at him in silence. _"Uhm…Mr. Mike?"_ Susie asked hesitatingly.

"Yeah?"

" _We don't know what you're talking about,"_ she explained. _"Who's Harry Potter?"_

Mike's eyes widened in horror. These children had _never_ heard of Harry Potter? He started fidgeting in his seat, but quickly forced himself to calm down. That wasn't entirely abnormal when he thought about it – the kids had already been dead by the time the first book came out. "It's a great set of books for kids to teens like you guys, but that came out like almost a decade after my shift. It's…perfectly fine that you haven't heard of it. Anyway, no problem. How about _Star Wars_? The original trilogy is a timeless classic. Man, I remember seeing _A New Hope_ for the first time, oh, it was amazing!" he smiled fondly at the memory.

The ghosts looked at each other, confused. _"We don't know what that is either,"_ Fritz replied.

Crap. NOW Mike was starting to get nervous. His new family hadn't heard of _Harry Potter_ OR the original _Star Wars_? Just how much of their childhood had they missed out on? He searched his mind, desperately trying to think of something that there was absolutely _no way_ that the ghosts could possibly have missed out on. Ah, there we go! "How about we watch a Disney movie?" Mike asked, triumphant. There was no way these children hadn't heard of the classic Disney films.

To his horror, however, Cassidy started crying. _"I don't remember!"_ she whimpered, trying to hold back her tears. _"I don't remember what those movies were like! I don't remember the good parts of my childhood! All I can remember is being stuck in the Golden Freddy suit for years and years!"_

Mike swore he could feel a part of his soul die as he realized just how much the ghosts had been deprived of anything good in their lives. The only thing they'd ever had was their early childhood, and thanks to that bastard William Afton, they now had next to nothing.

But now, things were different. Now, he was here. He had the power to fix all of this if he just put his mind to it. Projecting an aura of confidence, he got up onto his feet, surprising everyone in the room. "You guys need your childhoods back even more than I thought," he declared. "And it is my solemn duty as your parental figure to un-fuck this situation as fast as humanly possible."

He felt a small sliver of relief as some of the ghosts giggled. _"Un-fuck? That's actually a word?"_ Gabe asked incredulously.

"It is in this household," Mike retorted, earning more giggles. "Kids, you're about to have the best movie night of your entire afterlives!"

The ghosts murmured excitedly as Mike rushed over to one of the shelves. "It's always a good idea to hit as big of a target audience as possible," Mike said. "Some of these were meant more for either girls or boys, but the REALLY good ones are ones that anyone and everyone can and should see. So let's start with two of my all-time favorites," he took out several DVDs. _Aladdin_ , _The Princess and the Frog_ , _the Lion King_ , among others. "I can't think of a single person who doesn't like any of these.

Mike placed the first DVD, Aladdin, into the DVD player, and the ghosts all fell silent and watched with rapt attention. Mike leaned back into his couch, his face the perfect example of relaxed satisfaction. Unbeknownst to his new family, however, he was paying very close attention not to the movie, but to the children themselves and their reactions.

The truth was, he didn't know exactly how well they would react to anything related to a normal childhood. Of course, Mary had told him the full story about their tragedy, but he had no idea just how resilient or just how broken these children were on the inside. If they reacted to a timeless Disney movie the way most normal children would, then he knew he was on the right track. If they didn't…he'd have to find some other way to restore their happiness, and he was starting to run out of ideas.

If anything, however, the children seemed to be even _more_ entranced by the movies than normal children. They all gasped in awe at Jafar's first intimidating appearance, and cheered Aladdin on as he made a fool of the royal guards with Abu. They expressed sympathy for both Aladdin and Jasmine as the movie progressed, and as much as they wanted Jafar to get what was coming to him (especially after Jafar tossed Aladdin back into the Cave of Wonders at the end of the chase scene), none of them could deny that as far as villains were concerned he was pretty damn cool. They were so engrossed that at one point in the middle of the film, Mike had to pause the DVD to stop an argument that had broken out over which character was the best.

" _Genie is the best character ever!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"I mean, look at everything he can do! It's so amazing! And he's so hilarious, too!"_

" _No way,"_ Jeremy countered hotly. _"Aladdin's the best! You saw how he messed around with the guards earlier! And then he tricked the Genie into breaking him out of the cave without taking up a wish!"_

" _Aladdin couldn't do half the stuff he's doing right now without the Genie!"_ Gabe shot back.

" _He didn't need them to keep those kids safe from that asshole prince!"_ Jeremy retorted.

Susie turned to Cassidy as the two continued their argument. _"I can't be the only one who likes Princess Jasmine the most, right?"_ she whispered.

"Guys, guys, guys!" Mike finally interrupted. "They're both awesome characters in different ways, all right? Let's just calm down and finish the movie, you guys are gonna love how it ends."

And he was right. As the movie progressed, the ghosts all gasped in horror at Jafar's victorious takeover of Agrabah, and encouraged Aladdin on as he made his way back to the palace and dueled with Jafar. All of them cheered when Aladdin sucked the Genie Jafar into his own lamp and expressed approval at the happy ending he could now have with Jasmine. All of them looked very satisfied and content by the time the credits started rolling around, with Gabe even conceding to Jeremy that Aladdin was the cooler hero between him and the Genie. All in all, Mike thought, a resounding success.

" _That was amazing!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"I finally feel like a normal kid again!"_

"That was the plan," Mike responded with a smile. "I'm glad it worked."

" _Can we see another one?"_ Fritz asked. _"Please?"_

Mike grinned. "Why do you think I took out more than one?" he asked as he loaded in the next DVD, this one being _The Princess and the Frog_. The children watched the movie with the same enamored gaze that they'd given _Aladdin_ , but this time their opinions on certain aspects were somewhat different. All of them pretty much unanimously approved of Tiana and their opinion of Dr. Facilier was essentially the same as the one they had of Jafar, but on the topic of Naveen…

" _I'm not sure I like this guy,"_ Susie muttered. _"Honestly he seems kinda full of himself."_

Fritz wasn't all that impressed either. _"Not to mention he seems pretty lazy as well."_

Jeremy shook his head. _"I don't think they'd introduce a hero in a film like this if he was just going to be a lazy jerk,"_ he argued. _"I think he'll get better later on."_

Mike's face betrayed nothing, but he smiled inwardly. Jeremy had hit the nail right on the head, but he wasn't going to spoil that for them. Sure enough, as the movie progressed, Susie's and Fritz's opinions of Naveen softened as the best aspects of his personality started picking up and his worst qualities dropped.

The other thing that the ghosts paid particular attention to was, all of things, the supernatural elements. As much as they enjoyed the "Friends on the Other Side," all of them couldn't help but shudder at his invocation of the dark voodoo gods and the unholy powers that Facilier displayed. _"Voodoo can't be that bad, can it?"_ Cassidy asked Mike.

"Nah," Mike answered nonchalantly. "I did a little bit of research on voodoo after I saw this movie once, and it's a legit religion in and of itself that has nothing to do with what's been going on here. All that scary stuff associated with Voodoo is pretty much a pile of meaningless movie nonsense."

The ghosts took his word for it and continued with the rest of the movie. They reacted with joy and wonder at the Mardi Gras celebration and Mama Odie's benevolent magic, but the light-hearted tone wouldn't last forever. Towards the end, all of them cringed as Facilier brutally killed Ray with his cane, and watched in transfixed horror as Facilier was dragged into the mouth of the head Voodoo mask upon the destruction of his talisman. This time, there was no satisfaction upon the villain's defeat – the scene was much more horrifying than anything that had been shown in Aladdin, and it left an impression upon them even after the movie ended on a much happier note.

" _Mr. Mike?"_ Susie asked quietly. _"Did Dr. Facilier get dragged off to Hell?"_

"Yep," Mike replied grimly. "It's a classic Deal with the Devil story. People are stupid enough to try and make deals with demons or Satan or whatnot, and that's what they get for being a schmuck. I mean, I used to think this was just a plot element, but after Mary confirmed that Hell exists there's been a lot of things I've been forced to rethink."

" _We won't…we won't ever have anything like that happen to us, right?"_ Cassidy nervously asked.

"That won't happen," he asserted. "From what you've told me, you've been cleared for eternal peace, you just gotta hang around with yours truly for a couple of years. At this point, I'm pretty certain that the only way you have _any_ danger of going to Hell is if you start murdering innocent people again, but we all know that's never going to happen again."

" _Not a chance,"_ Gabe firmly declared. _"We left that behind a long time ago. You don't have to worry about a thing."_

" _Right!"_ the other children fervently agreed.

Mike smiled back at them. "Glad to hear that, kiddos." He absent-mindedly picked up a DVD, but when he realized what the title was he hastily put it back down. "Nah…maybe I shouldn't show this to you yet," he mumbled. Unfortunately for him, the ghosts heard what he said.

" _Why?"_ Fritz asked. _"Is it not a good movie?"_

"That's not it, the _Lion King_ is one of my favorites," Mike hesitantly answered. "It's just that…this one isn't all upbeat, sunshine and rainbows. Actually, there's parts of it that can get pretty dark and depressing, which is something that I'm trying to avoid."

" _That part with Ray dying was pretty sad,"_ Susie pointed out.

"True, but unlike in Princess and the Frog, tragedy is fairly integral to the main plot of _The Lion King_ ," Mike explained. "And it might hit you guys harder than I'm comfortable with."

" _Show it to us, Mike,"_ Jeremy insisted. _"It'll be a good reminder to us that we're not the only people in the world who had terrible things happen to them."_ All of the ghosts agreed with Jeremy, and Mike knew he couldn't refuse them.

"All right," he reluctantly agreed, "but if things get too dark for you, let me know and we'll stop." He put the DVD in and started the movie.

From the very beginning, Mike could tell that of all the Disney protagonists he had shown on the screen so far, Simba was the universal favorite of all the ghosts. And, in hindsight, it made perfect sense. He was a kid like them, with all the childhood innocence and aspirations that the ghosts once had before it had all been taken away from them by the Purple Guy. They also showed a great deal of respect for Mufasa, and even before Scar would commit his atrocities later on in the movie, they were already eyeing him with a deep distrust. But while the ghosts enjoyed the light-heartedness of the early stages of the movie, especially "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," Mike was on edge through the entire thing. He knew what was coming, and that the ghosts' reactions weren't going to be pretty. And a few minutes later, he was proven right.

" _That son of a bitch!"_ Fritz howled furiously as Simba tried to nudge his father's body. _"He killed him! He killed his brother!"_

" _If I ever get my hands on that bastard…"_ Jeremy snarled, forgetting that Scar was a fictional character.

" _Poor Simba…"_ Susie whispered sympathetically as Scar approached him from the mists. The ghosts' distrust had evolved by now into outright hatred, and they watched murderously as he ordered the hyenas to kill Simba. None of them relaxed until Simba escaped into the desert, at which point all of them sighed in relief.

" _Mike…"_ Cassidy turned to her new father. _"I know I shouldn't be asking for spoilers, but…he'll be all right, right? Simba will be fine, right?"_

Mike sighed. "He doesn't have an easy road ahead of him, especially since he thinks he killed his dad. But yeah, he'll get better. All Disney protagonists do. If only real life worked that way…" he added the last few words in his head.

Thankfully, the mood lightened again with the entrance of Timon and Pumbaa, who swept away all the negativity of the past few minutes with their zany antics. _"Timon kinda reminds me of you, Mike,"_ Gabe said with a smirk as Hakuna Matata played, to which Mike only rolled his eyes in response. But the good times couldn't last forever, and soon it was time for Simba to return to his rightful place in Pride Rock.

Of all the movie moments the children had watched so far, this by far had the most intensity for them. Simba had a chance to claim his life back from the one who wronged him, something that they never could, and all of them wanted him to win more than ever. And Mike knew that the climax they got would not disappoint.

" _Yes!"_ Fritz cheered as Simba leapt from where he dangled off the cliff edge, pinning his uncle down. _"Make that bastard pay!"_

" _This is so exciting!"_ Cassidy exclaimed as the hyenas and lions lunged at each other, fighting for the fate of Pride Rock. All of the ghosts held their breath as Simba battled his uncle face-to-face, and they all burst into cheers as he hurled his uncle off the cliff into the rocks below.

" _Wait a minute!"_ Jeremy pointed out. _"Why didn't he kill his uncle? Scar ruined his life, and Simba's just going to let him live?"_

The ghosts turned to Mike for an answer, but to their surprise they could see a smirk on his lips that was borderline sadistic. "Simba doesn't need to do anything," he pointed at the TV. "Funny how evil tends to screw itself over in the end."

Scar was busy getting up onto his feet, only to see his three hyena subordinates glaring down at him. "Oh, my friends…" he breathed out a sigh of relief.

Shenzi sneered down at him. "Friends?" she questioned, her voice dripping with hatred and contempt. "I thought he said we were the enemy."

" _I know where this is going,"_ Gabe realized.

"That's what I heard," Banzai agreed, lips contorted into a snarl. Both of them turned to the final member of their trio. "Ed?"

Ed began to laugh menacingly, and the ghosts all watched with a combination of dread and vengeful satisfaction as the flames reached into the sky and the hyenas leaped at the fallen usurper, destroying him once and for all.

" _It's over,"_ Cassidy breathed. _"Simba's finally won."_

"Not quite yet," Mike interrupted. "There's one thing left for him to do."

The family watched in silence as Simba greeted his friends and family members, before making the slow climb all the way to Pride Rock. The young cub that had once boasted about being king had finally earned his destiny, and the ghosts cheered as he triumphantly roared and Pride Rock returned to the lush and beautiful land it had once been before Scar's rule.

"And that's the _Lion King_ , kids," Mike sighed as the movie concluded. "What did you think?"

" _That was amazing!"_ Fritz exclaimed with a silly grin. _"I didn't realize kids' movies could be so deep!"_

" _Simba is awesome!"_ Jeremy added, and all the other ghosts agreed enthusiastically.

"He is, isn't he?" Mike agreed calmly. He suddenly yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Ugh…marathoning three movies in a row is never a good idea when you're still alive. Especially at my age."

Susie gave him a concerned glance. _"Are you going to be all right, dad?"_

"Yeah, Susie," he gave her a tired smile. "Just gimme some time to nap and I'll be fine. Until then, you can keep watching whatever Disney movies you want, okay?"

The ghosts all rushed to the shelf to pick out another movie, leaving the older man to make his way to the bedroom and get some rest.

/

Ah, there's nothing that represents childhood quite like classic Disney movies XD

Mike never had any practice with parenting normally, let alone for five ghost children with incredibly horrible pasts, so he's just trying to take things one step at a time. I think he did all right considering his lack of experience.

I originally imagined this fic to be light and humorous, but now I see that this isn't really the best way to go. There will be some humorous chapters, absolutely, and the fic is meant to give the ghost children the true happiness they've been denied for so long, but I feel like it needs a healthy balance of seriousness mixed in as well (more than I originally intended) for me to tell a good story. After all, most of the characters are the ghosts of children who have been traumatized and tortured for a very, very long time. And as for Michael? Well…all I'll say for now is that his past isn't much happier than his new family's, and I'm not talking about his shift at Freddy's.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! I tried to shorten the events of the Disney movies themselves so that the fic wouldn't end up being repetitive and dull. Don't forget to review! :D


	3. Chapter 3 - Board Games with Ghosts

A/N: I'm in a very rare situation in my life where I actually have a lot of time on my hands, for once, so I can keep writing chapters and delivering them out relatively quickly. Once med school starts again, however, things will have to go a lot more slowly. Just making sure you guys are aware of that.

Anyway, here's a shorter, light, and hopefully funny chapter. No tragic backstories or traumatic incidents here. Those will be coming up in full force in the future. Heh heh heh...

Chapter 3 – Board Games with Ghosts

"Hrrrggghhhh…." Mike yawned as he got up from his bed. "That was a great nap. Huh, three hours? Geez, that lasted longer than I thought it would. Let's see how badly the ghost kids wrecked my house while I was asleep."

He quickly made his way down the stairs, preparing himself for what would surely be chaos. At the end of the day, the ghosts were still kids, and judging by his own experiences at Freddy's and the horror stories his friends shared, rambunctious kids + supernatural powers = a mess waiting to happen. To his surprise, however, there were no signs of chaos, no broken valuables or things scattered all over the place. Instead, all of the ghost kids were quietly and raptly watching the TV, the Marionette having taken Mike's place as their supervisor.

"You're showing them _Star Wars_?" Mike asked Mary as she shushed and beckoned him to join them. The kids all applauded as the movie ended with the destruction of the first Death Star, and all of them greeted him cheerfully when they realized Mike had rejoined them.

" _Yep,"_ Mary replied. _"After you left, Gabe grew curious as to why you liked that movie so much. I figured now would be as good a time as any to show it to them."_

" _Man, Darth Vader is so cool!"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"I mean, he's got it all! The look, the lightsaber, the TIE fighter! He's the best villain ever!"_

Jeremy, meanwhile, was discussing two of the main protagonists with Gabe. _"So did you like Han or Luke more?"_ he asked.

Gabe shrugged. _"I dunno, man. There's different reasons to like them both. I think I'd have to see the rest of the movies before I made a final call on that."_

"Glad to see you guys liked the movie!" Mike interrupted them with a smirk. "I'll be sure to show the rest of them to you later. But for now…" he clasped his hands together. "You explored my house a couple of hours ago, and I'm sure you've come across something that you found interesting and didn't know what it was. So…any questions about what's in my house?"

Susie raised her hand. _"You have a really nice TV,"_ she commented. _"But…what are all these things?"_ she pointed at various devices that she had never seen before.

Mike grinned. "Great question. Those, Susie, are video game consoles. There's so many different games out there that do so many different things, but for the sake of simplicity: imagine a movie or a TV show, and then actually being able to _control_ and _play_ what's happening on the screen."

The children's eyes widened in awe. _"I remember those!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"I used to have an Atari!"_

"Atari?" Mike scoffed. "Pffttt…that is so old news. Video games have improved so much over the decades that you wouldn't believe that some things consoles can do nowadays are even possible."

" _Can we play some?"_ Jeremy asked eagerly.

Mike shook his head. "A little later, maybe. I don't think it'd be good parenting to just let you watch TV all day and slowly rot your brains and your eyes."

" _We don't have physical eyes or brains, Mike,"_ Fritz commented dryly. _"In case you haven't noticed, we're dead."_

"I'm aware of that, thanks," Mike replied, matching Fritz's dryness with his own word for word. "But still, there's other things that you can be doing instead that don't require you to sit in front of a TV all day." Fritz grumbled under his breath but ultimately relented.

Cassidy decided to take her turn. _"I saw you had a lot of board and card games, daddy,"_ she said, and the way she said "dad" nearly overwhelmed Mike with cuteness overload. _"Can we play some of those?"_

Mike grinned. "Ah, those. No matter how old you get, you can never get too old for board or card games. Ain't that right, Mary?"

The Marionette shrugged her shoulders. _"I dunno, Mike,"_ everyone could swear that she would be smirking if she could, _"your performance in our last chess game was borderline senile."_

" _Oooooooh…"_ some of the ghosts whistled as Mike nonchalantly flicked the middle finger at the Puppet.

"Well, we can't play chess, that game only lets two people play at a time," Mike deftly ignored the Puppet's burn. "Guess we could start with a game of _Sorry!_ or something…"

" _I saw Monopoly earlier,"_ Jeremy suggested. _"I think I remember some kids brought a Monopoly Jr. game at the Pizzeria back when I was still Bonnie."_

Mike's eyes bulged. "You want to play MONOPOLY?" he gaped. "Uhm…I'm not sure that's a good idea. That game tends to take quite a long time."

" _Do you have anything better to do?"_ Fritz asked.

"No...but that's not the point," Mike answered reluctantly. "Monopoly can get a little, uhm…long-winded. And either boring or rage-inducing, depending on the state of the game."

Gabe cut him off. _"Mike, we've been stuck in the same animatronic suits and trapped in the same places for more than thirty years. I think we can handle a simple board game."_

Mike sighed. "All right, but I'm cutting the game off and declaring a winner after two hours. Don't say I didn't warn you."

The ghosts raised their eyebrows. Two hours? What kind of game lasted that long?

 _Thirty Minutes Later…_

" _Ugggghhhhh…."_ Jeremy groaned as he moved his cannon piece onto a railroad he already owned. _"This game's been going around in circles! Nobody's even close to bankrupting yet!"_

Gabe sighed. _"Well, I have two of the green properties right now, and I might be able to get it this roll. Come on, gimme a 9!"_ The ghost rolled the dice onto the board, and everyone gasped as he got the exact number he needed. _"Yes!"_ he shouted triumphantly. _"I got the third property! Now I've got my Monopoly! Soon as I build up those hotels, your money is all mine!"_

Susie rolled her eyes. _"Not if I get my Monopoly too!"_ She rolled the dice and landed on the third yellow property that she needed. _"Hah!"_ she laughed. _"You won't be able to take my money if I take it all first!"_

As Fritz and Cassidy both started groaning about how screwed they probably were, Mike beckoned to the Puppet and they both left the room. As soon as he was certain they were out of earshot, Mike smirked at his "eldest daughter." "You magically manipulated the dice rolls, didn't you?"

Mary shrugged. _"What can I say? I was getting bored."_

"You just gave two of the ghosts free monopolies. Things will stop getting boring real quickly. I just hope they don't learn that you're messing with the game."

" _I'll make sure to give them all monopolies as soon as possible, Mike. Don't worry."_

 _Thirty MORE Minutes Later…_

" _Are you FUCKING kidding me?"_ Fritz howled. _"The fuck is this bullshit?"_

Gabe and Jeremy both gave him a disapproving glance, but ultimately decided not to comment. If they were honest with themselves, they'd probably be cursing up a storm just as much as Fritz was if either of them had gotten this many bad turns in a row.

First, Fritz had landed on Cassidy's orange monopoly, causing him to lose almost all of the money in his inventory. Then, he'd landed on Susie's yellow monopoly, forcing him to give up most of the buildings that he'd developed on his red properties. And then, he landed on a Chance card…which had forced him to move straight to the Boardwalk…which was part of Jeremy's blue monopoly. Needless to say, he was now bankrupt, and Mike was still marveling over the worst stream of bad luck he'd ever seen in a Monopoly game.

He glanced sideways at the Marionette. "You didn't mess around with his rolls, did you?" he mouthed.

The Marionette shook her head. _"I wouldn't mess around with the game like that,"_ her gestures indicated.

" _Screw it,"_ Fritz sulked. _"This game was getting boring anyway. Now we just go around in circles again until someone else screws up."_

Mike shrugged. "That's just how it is, Fritz. You can't say I didn't warn you."

 _One Hour Later…_

"All right, that's it, I'm ending the game," Mike finally declared. "Can't believe none of you landed on each other's monopolies enough times to bankrupt one of you for an entire hour. Jeremy, you have three monopolies and the most money. You win. Let's move on."

" _Thank God!"_ Gabe groaned. _"This was taking forever!"_

"Now do you see why I didn't want you guys to play Monopoly?" Mike asked. "It's a classic, but it takes forever. This is the game that you play when you have nothing else to do and a lot of time to kill."

" _I can tell,"_ Jeremy muttered. He might have been the winner, but at this point he was more relieved that the game was over than anything else.

Susie looked up at Mike. _"Are there any games that DON'T take two hours or longer to end?"_ she asked.

Mike smirked. "Most of them actually don't take this long, Susie. I think this one will be much better for you guys." He left the room and came back with a few seconds later with a game called LIFE. "It has a set beginning and end goal, so it won't take any longer than several minutes at most. It's supposed to be based on what real life is actually like."

" _So basically,"_ Fritz deadpanned, _"everything that we missed out on because we got brutally murdered by an asshole in a purple suit."_

An awkward silence fell. _"Dude, really?"_ Gabe chided as he whacked Fritz on the head with his ghostly hand. _"Not cool."_

" _Sorry…"_ the former Foxy inhabitant mumbled, _"was trying to make a joke, but I realized that was a dick thing to say the moment it came out of my mouth."_

"Don't worry about it," Mike waved it off. "I've said my fair share of stupid shit and then some. But with that being said, do you guys want to play?"

" _Sure!"_ all the ghosts chorused, and they gathered around. This time, Mary joined in as a sixth player, leaving Mike as the only spectator.

" _Are those cars?"_ Jeremy asked as he held one of the game pieces.

"Yep…" Mike nodded. "Here's how you play..."

 _One Explanation and Ten Minutes Later…_

"Okay, what the fuck?" Mike interrupted.

" _What is it, Mike?"_ the Marionette asked innocently.

"How the are you so ahead? You got the best job and salary combination possible in the entire game, paid off the entirety of your college debt in your first four turns, have the best house in the game with both insurances, and you _still_ have more money than both Gabe and Susie, who haven't done ANY of those things!"

" _Maybe I'm just that lucky, or just that good. After all, I am the Puppet who gives life,"_ Mary replied smugly.

" _Or maybe you cheated,"_ Fritz mumbled out of the corner of his mouth to Susie, who rolled her eyes. The Puppet's head whirled around and focused right on him.

" _I heard that!"_ she snapped.

Mike suppressed the urge to groan. "Well, might as well see what happens. For all we know she might be forced to blow her money on a lake cabin later. I mean, seriously, who the fuck would spend 90000 dollars on a fucking lake cabin…"

 _Fifteen Minutes Later…_

" _Yes!"_ Cassidy pumped her fist in the air as Gabe landed on a travel agent space. With a groan, he handed over 45,000 dollars to her. _"I'll take that!"_

" _Wish somebody would land on my space,"_ Jeremy muttered. He'd ended up getting the Tech Consultant, and while his salary was on the higher end, nobody had landed on any of his spaces.

Mary shrugged. _"I can't complain with how my game is going,"_ she commented.

Fritz scoffed. _"Duh. You have so much more money than the rest of us, it's not even funny. I bet being a doctor is the best job ever."_

Mike shook his head. "Not unless you want to spend 4 years studying really hard science stuff in school, and then another couple of years working at a hospital on minimum wage first."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. _"You're talking about college, right?"_

Mike smirked. "Nope. Four years in college, and THEN four years in med school, and two years after that working in a hospital at minimum wage. And don't get me started on how much debt you'd be in. I still have no clue how one of my friends managed that…"

The ghosts' eyes widened. _"I don't know a thing about real life and I can already tell that sounds painful,"_ Gabe commented.

"Yep," Mike agreed. "If you want to be a doctor, you better make sure you REALLY want to be a doctor, cause that's not something you can just change your mind on once everything's been finalized and stuff. They don't even make as much money as this game suggests, though at least they can secure a living for themselves."

" _Not that it matters to any of us!"_ Susie shrugged. _"We're dead!"_

"True," Mike shrugged. "Out of everyone here, the only person who has to worry about real life related stuff is me. But I'm doing just fine for myself. Anyway, whose turn was it next?"

" _Mine!"_ Jeremy grabbed the wheel and spun it. It promptly forced him to land on a "Pay $100,000 to the doctor" space, and the Marionette smirked as she held out her hand to take his money. _"Aww, come on!"_

 _Five Minutes Later…_

"All right, looks like you guys have all made it to the end!" Mike declared as the last person, Fritz, finally rolled into Millionaire Estates. "Now all that's left is to take your LIFE tiles, and add the money values shown on them to what you already have. Whoever has the most money at the end wins!"

" _Well, we all know who won,"_ Gabe gestured towards the Marionette, who was looking _very_ satisfied with her performance in the game. _"No amount of money on those tiles is going to bring us anywhere near her."_

"Eh, true enough, but the rest of you seem pretty close to each other." Mike countered as the ghosts all flipped their life tiles. All of the ghosts started calculating their total money amounts, and Jeremy grinned as he realized he had the most.

" _Yes!"_ he exclaimed. _"Two wins in a row! I'm the best!"_

" _Not quite,"_ Gabe interrupted with a smirk. _"You forgot about your loans, didn't you?"_

Jeremy looked at the white slips of paper and his face fell as he realized Gabe was right. _"Oh, crap…"_ he groaned. He quickly subtracted the amount of money he'd have to pay for the loans, and his eyes widened in horror. _"Wait, that means…"_

"… _I think I just won,"_ Cassidy gasped. She did the ghostly equivalent of getting to her feet. _"I won!"_ she repeated, cheering. _"I can't believe I won! I didn't even understand half the stuff that was going on, but I still won!"_

Mike shot Jeremy, who was now sulking over being cheated out of another victory because of the loans, a sympathetic glance. "Loans suck, man," he consoled. "Ask anyone who ever went to a high-level university. That's why I take care of all my debt-related crap as soon as humanly possible. I didn't want that baggage over my head well into my 50s."

" _I can see why Mary paid hers off right away in the game,"_ Jeremy grumbled and glanced at the Marionette, who raised her fingers to her forehead in a mocking salute.

"Yeah, well, Mary had so much good luck this game I'm still seriously tempted to call out Hax on that," Mike retorted.

Susie looked up at him curiously. _"What does Hax mean?"_

Mike shook his head. "I'll tell you when I introduce all of you to video games."

The ghost kids started putting the board game away as Mary got up to her feet. _"It's just as well that we ended right now,"_ she said as she gestured to Mike. _"There was a topic I wanted to discuss with you privately, Mike, if you don't mind."_

Mike shrugged and beckoned towards the door. "Sure thing. Whatever you need to say, I'm all ears."

/

No dramatic moments here, just a bunch of ghostly kids playing board games 😊. And fuck that "Pay $90000 for a log cabin space" or whatever it was, I swear I landed on that one space more times than what should be normal.

I did the "time skip and segment" format for this chapter because if I tried to write out an entire board game run it would get really boring really fast. ESPECIALLY for Monopoly. Those kids had no idea just how long that game can get XD

I should've probably mentioned this earlier, but about the kids' ages: I don't really have specific ages in mind yet, but all I know for sure is that (besides the Marionette) Gabe is the oldest and Cassidy is the youngest. This is also why she was the most emotional in the last chapter, as Gadget noted.

I didn't include the Marionette much in the last chapter, so I made sure to include her this time. Of all the ghost kids, she's by far the most mature and she's pretty much the "cool oldest sister" of the group. Though she has her moments just like everyone else :P Incidentally, she's also the only one with a physical body, that being the Puppet.

Anyway, I hope that cleared things up a bit. Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4 - Looking to the Future

A/N: So how's it going everyone? Sorry I couldn't get this fic in by Christmas, I had a very busy past few days. I tried to upload this earlier, but the site wasn't letting me upload anything for some reason so I was forced to wait.

We've had a bit of light-hearted fun for the past few chapters, but now…now it's time to get serious. And I mean actually serious. This chapter mainly a conversation between Mike and the Marionette about issues that they will have to address in the future, and Mike introducing the kids to the Internet offscreen.

That, and I have one more character to introduce at the end…one that you should be very familiar to those who have looked deep enough into FNAF's lore.

Chapter 4 – Looking to the Future

Mike followed the Marionette up to his library, a small but comfortable space with a wall lined with bookshelves. There were two couches located on either side of a small table, and both of them each sat down in one.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about, Mary?" Mike asked.

The Marionette stroked her chin thoughtfully. _"There are a few issues that we will have to address at some point if not now, Mike,"_ she explained. _"The main one that I'm concerned with is allowing the ghostly children to eventually leave the boundaries of this house and interact with the outside world."_

Mike frowned. "I don't have an issue with it from a personal standpoint," he admitted, "but from past experience and pretty much any ghost story ever, letting the dead interact with the living world directly tends to…cause problems."

" _The ghost children would never deliberately cause harm,"_ Mary agreed. _"But you do have a point. The thing is…these children have spent entire decades where they have been trapped in the same building for decades on end. They joked and laughed about it while they were playing board games, but I can tell that they will grow restless if they are forced to stay in this house. A gilded and comfortable prison is still a prison."_

"Didn't they already spend some time in the outside world?" Mike asked.

Mary nodded. _"I do not know the full details, but I believe at that time they were on their quest to search for a Night Guard as part of their atonement,"_ she explained. _"They could not stop and enjoy the beauty of the world, for all of its many flaws."_

The older man nodded in understanding. "I guess I can see where you're coming from, Mary," he conceded. "If I had to stay cooped up in this house 24/7, I'd probably go crazy from boredom. But that still doesn't change the fact that letting ghosts interact with the outside world may cause problems. The ghosts aren't driven by vengeance and they wouldn't cause harm to an innocent person, I trust them completely in that aspect. But if a lot of people start thinking they're hallucinating seeing children around me all the time, if they start hearing voices in their head or see things moving around on their own, I'm going to be asked a lot of uncomfortable questions that I don't want or know how I'm going to answer."

" _The ghost children are normally invisible and intangible to other humans,"_ Mary answered. _"The reason why you can see and touch them is because you have a slightly greater attunement to the paranormal than most humans, and because they want you to fully interact with them as their new father. But I will concede that the other two points are valid problems. It is much harder for a ghost to control his own sound than it is his visual presence."_

Mike shrugged. "You've got more experience with supernatural stuff than I do. Do you have any idea on how to tackle this?"

Mary nodded. _"Of all the ghostly children, I have had the most experience and power when it comes to magical proficiency. Given enough time, I could further mask the presence of the children so that they will not influence the outside world at all, which would grant them more freedom in their actions. But I only recently came up with this idea, and have not invested any effort or concentration yet to make it into a reality."_ She sighed. _"Until I finalize that, however, they will have to discipline themselves to minimize the chance of accidentally causing problems."_

"Let's handle that when the kids start getting restless," Mike decided. "Anything else?"

" _I was wondering what your opinion is of letting the children communicate with other people outside of our family,"_ Mary began, but Mike raised a hand to silence her.

"Before you continue," he interrupted, "are you talking about anonymously through things like the Internet? Or actually introducing them to other people directly?"

" _Both."_

Mike sighed. "I was kind of thinking about this too," he admitted. "I mean, in terms of things like the Internet, I don't think that would be too much of a problem. I'd need to teach the kids Internet Safety and what things they shouldn't mess around with, but I'd have to teach them that even if I was a normal parent raising normal kids so I don't mind putting in the time for that."

His face hardened. "Actually introducing these ghost kids to other people, on the other hand…that I do have a problem with. Just letting these kids near others invisibly could cause problems. Even _one_ bad encounter, _one_ thing going wrong, and there's a very good chance that we could have a complete mess on our hands." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mary, but I just don't think that this option is a good idea."

Mary wasn't ready to give up just yet, though. _"These kids have had no one but each other to even so much as talk to for more than 30 years. Their bond is one of the strongest imaginable, and now extends to you. But they miss what they used to have. They miss playing with their friends, who by now are adults who have almost certainly forgotten about them. They've watched other children throughout the years hold birthday parties in the pizzeria, always wanting to join in but forced to remain in the sidelines without anyone knowing about their existence."_

"I understand that, Mary, I really do," Mike sighed. "I know what loneliness feels like much more than most people can ever hope to claim. But it doesn't change the fact that the risks are just too high!"

" _There has to be some way, Mike,"_ the Marionette begged. _"After enduring so many struggles and hardships, I just want my friends to be the normal kids they were meant to be."_

Mike leaned forward and rubbed his hand against his forehead. Truth be told, he wanted the same thing that the Puppet did for the ghost kids just as much as she did. But he also understood the real world much better than she ever could, and just how unforgiving it could be to the unprepared.

"There may be a few people I can trust," Mike finally decided. "A few people that might be able to give you and give them what you're asking. But I'm going to take as much time as I need to iron out the kinks as thoroughly as possible, and until then they'll have to be satisfied with things like the Internet. I'm not budging on this, Mary."

The Marionette nodded, knowing that trying to get any more out of Mike would be a wasted effort and border on abusing his kindness. _"Thank you, Mike. And I'm sorry for putting an additional burden on the already great responsibilities being forced upon you."_

Mike brushed it off with his hand. "Don't worry about it, Mary. I care about the kids just as much as you do." He got up from his chair. "So…let's go see how they're doing, eh?"

Mary got up from her chair as well. _"That sounds like an excellent idea, Mike."_

 _Later, into the Evening…_

Mike hummed to himself as he finished cooking his meal for the evening. His earlier conversation with the Marionette had inspired him to introduce the kids to the Internet, and he had spent about an hour basically lecturing about it and what to do/what not to do. The ghosts had then leaped at the chance to explore sites like Facebook, Google, and Youtube, all while the former night guard supervised them from the background to make sure things didn't go out of control. Mike had thought that it wouldn't have taken too long before they eventually lost interest, but he had forgotten that the kids had lived in a time when computers were still getting off the ground and could barely do anything beyond a couple of programs.

"First time I've ever seen someone go Google searching for 2 straight hours," he muttered dryly as he poured some teriyaki sauce onto the stir fry that he had been preparing. He stirred the plate around and was about to move his meal onto a plate when he felt a chill on his arm. He looked down to see two of the ghost kids, Jeremy and Susie, staring back at him. "What's up, kiddos?" he asked.

" _We noticed you disappeared a couple of minutes ago,"_ Jeremy explained. _"We were just making sure you were all right."_

Mike smiled. "I'm fine, Jeremy. Just making some dinner for myself. Still need to eat, after all."

Susie sniffed the air. _"What you're making smells really good,"_ she praised, then sighed wistfully. _"I wish I could eat food like I used to."_

Mike shook his head regretfully. "There's a lot of things that I can try and help you with the best I can, but unfortunately that one isn't something I can control."

Susie decided to change the subject before Mike started apologizing for something that wasn't his fault. _"The Internet is so amazing!"_ she exclaimed, her eyes filled with awe. _"How can so many things fit into one program?"_

"Oh, the net is so much more than a simple program," her new dad grinned, then a thought occurred to him. "Have you talked to anyone yet?" he asked.

Jeremy shook his head. _"The Marionette won't let us do that yet,"_ he answered. _"She wants to make sure we have enough experience on the Internet to know how to do things safely on it before she lets us start chatting with other people."_ He smirked. _"We did sneak in a couple of Youtube comments in while she wasn't looking though. Fritz's idea."_

His guardian gave him a deadpan look. "Please tell me you didn't use my email for that."

" _Nah,"_ Susie shook her head. _"We made a collective email for all of us to use, and used that for our Youtube account."_

"You guys are getting the hang of the modern world pretty quickly," Mike remarked. "Maybe it won't take them as long as I thought to get adjusted," he added mentally.

Both Susie and Jeremy grinned at the praise, and then Jeremy's expression turned thoughtful. _"So how does Reddit work, again?"_

Mike was about to explain, but was interrupted by the Marionette suddenly appearing in the kitchen entryway. _"Jeremy? Susie?"_ she called to them. _"The other kids are about to watch the next episode of Star Wars in Mike's TV room. Why don't you go join them?"_

" _Okay!"_ Jeremy and Susie eagerly rushed out of the room. _"I heard Mary say that Empire Strikes Back is even better than A New Hope!"_ Jeremy excitedly told Susie as they floated out of sight. Once the Marionette was certain they were gone, she turned back to Mike. Though she couldn't express facial emotions well, Mike could tell immediately that either something very important or very problematic had just occurred.

"What's going on, Mary?" Mike asked as he turned off the stove.

" _There's another ghost child,"_ Mary's voice was barely above a whisper. _"I sensed her presence arrive outside of the house a few minutes ago."_

"Should we bring her in to meet with the rest of the family?" Mike asked.

" _Not yet!"_ the Marionette fiercely hissed, and Mike almost flinched at the unexpectedly harsh tone in her voice. The Marionette seemed to notice it too. _"I'm sorry,"_ she continued in a much softer voice. _"But the others must not know about her yet. They have not detected her yet, for their senses are less keen than mine."_

"Why? What's wrong with this particular ghost child?"

" _Do you remember what I told you about the end of the Fazbear franchise?"_ the Puppet asked quietly, her voice deadly serious as they snuck past the room where all of the ghosts were now watching _Empire_.

"As if I could ever forget something like that," Mike muttered back as they approached the front door.

" _Then you must remember what I told you about the child who was corrupted into evil, through several tragic circumstances beyond her control,"_ the Marionette whispered intently.

"I remember…it was that bastard William Afton's daughter…" his eyes widened in shocked realization. "Wait, you can't be saying…"

The Marionette wordlessly grabbed the front door and swung it open. Mike looked down and gasped at what he saw.

Standing (or floating) in front of him was the ghost of a young girl who looked slightly older than Susie. The girl had long orange hair and piercing green eyes, wearing a purple sweater and small blue skirt. But it wasn't her physical appearance that stunned Mike into silence, nor even the fact that she was a ghost.

What truly horrified him was the look in her eyes. A haunted, broken gaze filled with self-loathing and shame. He _knew_ that look. He'd seen it on his own face in the mirror throughout the entirety of his late childhood and his early teens.

The girl looked like she was close to crying, and Mike quickly took initiative. "Shhhhh…" he spoke quietly and comfortingly. "It's all right. Nobody's going to hurt you. What's your name?"

The girl sighed _, "Elizabeth,"_ she answered quietly.

"That's a nice name," Mike commented gently. "You shouldn't be standing out here alone in the dark."

The girl shook her head. _"I don't belong here,"_ she whispered.

The Marionette reached out and put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. _"You aren't the first ghost child to find sanctuary here, Elizabeth. Mike has brought other lost spirits into his care, and he will gladly extend that welcome to you."_

" _You don't understand,"_ Elizabeth Afton interrupted. _"I don't belong here."_ She looked up at them, and Mike felt his heart sink at just how _miserable_ she looked. But that was nothing compared to what she said next. _"I don't deserve another chance._ _ **I should be**_ _ **burning in Hell with my father**_ _."_

/

I think that's a good spot to end this chapter. Cliffhangers are so annoying, right? :P

I had planned on introducing Elizabeth Afton into this fic from the very beginning. Since I'm pretty certain that she didn't become evil by choice, the only way her character would make any sense would be if she had the most tragic backstory out of all of them. As to why she's now at Mike's doorstep instead of staying in Heaven, I'll let you guys mull on that one for a bit.

I wasn't kidding when I said it was time to get serious. Considering that literally every single major character in this fic has a horrible past in some way, shape, or form, it would be incredibly poor writing on my part if I didn't address that. And as you'll soon see, being the daughter of a murderer had some very, _very_ nasty consequences for poor Elizabeth.

This fic is going to be the first time I attempt to legitimately write on dark topics, and the first fic in which I will use trigger warnings (for future chapters).


	5. Chapter 5 - The Broken Afton

A/N: Here we are. This is my first venture into genuinely dark territory. My other fics throughout the years, even at their most serious or darkest hours, had never required me to actually use a _trigger warning_ before. This is the first time I've ever had to actually post one, and in this fic, it won't be the last. All I'll say for now is this. If you hated William Afton before, you'll _really_ hate him by the time this chapter is done.

While I don't normally solicit reviews for fics, in this case I'm going to make an exception. As this is my first time tackling a dark topic directly and completely, I'd like to ask for your opinions on how I did and/or what to improve in the future. Despite being a writer for some time now, there are still territories that I have yet to explore, and I would be incredibly appreciative of any advice that you guys can give me.

Trigger Warning: References to violence, child abuse

Chapter 5 – The Broken Afton

Looking back, Mike would be incredibly thankful that the Marionette had been with him that night. He had been struck speechless by Elizabeth's self-condemnation, and yet somehow the Marionette had known exactly what to say at that critical moment.

" _That's not true, Elizabeth,"_ the Marionette spoke comfortingly as she gently stroked Elizabeth's ghostly hair. _"If you truly deserved to suffer in eternal agony, you would not be here now. No matter how much you try to deny it, I can sense that you want a home and a place to rest just as much as the other ghosts here."_

Elizabeth shook her head frantically. _"You don't know what I've done,"_ she mumbled. _"All the evil I tried to do, all the wrongs I've already done."_

" _I know more than you think I do, Elizabeth,"_ the Puppet replied, not giving up an inch. _"I would even go so far as to say that I know more than you yourself do about what has happened to you. And I can say, with absolute certainty, that you are not the monster that you think you are or that your father tried to make you become."_

Mike finally found his voice. "The fact that you feel guilty about whatever you did do is already a good sign, in my books," he added. "But I think you should tell us the whole story. It would give us a better understanding of what happened to you, and how to help you recover."

The evening was beginning to descend into night, and a warm breeze was flowing through the air. Mike flicked the switch for the outside lights on, shut the front door, and sat down on a chair he had brought onto his porch many years ago. "Now, why don't you start at the beginning?"

Elizabeth sighed. _"It was several years ago. I don't remember the exact time anymore, but it was at a birthday party. There was one animatronic that I used to love…Circus Baby. She was a singing animatronic, and I wanted to play with her. But my father…William Afton…he absolutely refused to let me play near her. At the time, I didn't understand why he was so insistent on not letting me play. So I sneaked off to play with her anyway, and she offered me an ice cream from a claw inside her belly. I tried to take it, but it suddenly grabbed me and then…and then…"_

The girl broke down into tears, and the Marionette rushed to soothe her. Mike felt a cold chill as he realized what had happened. The animatronic had sucked her into its body and killed her.

" _All I remember is the pain…"_ she murmured in a broken voice. _"The pain before the darkness finally ended it. I could feel Baby's insides tear me apart, ripping apart my bones and tearing at the insides of my body. I…I don't even think it would be recognizable anymore, if anyone ever found it. I thought dad would come and save me, but he…he never did. Nobody ever came to help me."_

Mike felt a hot rage ignite in his soul. What kind of psychopathic maniac would design this type of gruesome fate for _innocent children_? The fact that his own daughter had been in the same _building_ as that killer animatronic was a fucking disgrace in and of itself!

Even as he seethed with anger on the inside, he made sure that his face expressed nothing but sympathy for the poor girl in front of him. Considering how emotionally fragile Elizabeth was, she could easily misinterpret his rage as being directed towards her specifically, and that would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

" _Do you remember what happened when you regained consciousness?"_ Mary asked quietly.

Elizabeth took several breaths to calm herself down. _"When I woke up…it was in a dark room. I looked at my hands, and they were metal. One of them was a holding a microphone. It took me a long time to realize what was going on. I'd…somehow become Baby. I don't know how or why. The only things around me were the other Pizza Rental animatronics. I tried to form friendships with them…but it wasn't the same. They weren't living like you are, Mr. Mike. I was all alone…and then it started happening."_

Mike instantly became wary. "What started happening?"

" _I kept hearing…voices…thoughts…in my head,"_ the girl confessed. _"Telling me that I should kill other children. Act like a friend to them, get them to trust me, and then…get rid of them. I…I was horrified. I didn't know where they came from, but I had never thought anything like that before. I tried to block them out, refuse them, and at first I could fight or at least ignore them. Over the next few years, Baby was rented out to some birthday parties, and nothing bad ever happened. I don't know if it was because I could stop Baby from killing, or because there were always parents around and the animatronics were designed not to attack unless the children were alone. But they never went away completely. I could always hear them in the back of my mind."_

"That must have been Baby's programming," Mike thought grimly, "starting to screw with Elizabeth's soul. She's stronger than she thinks, if she was able to block that out for years." He could already tell from these beginning details that Elizabeth's fate had been the worst out of all the ghosts. The others had always had each other for companionship at the very least, and the capability of free will.

" _Over time, I learned that the other animatronics were just as tired of hurting children,"_ Elizabeth continued. _"I was so excited when I heard that. I thought that maybe, just maybe, they were more human and had more emotions than I thought. And that gave me hope."_

"Hope..." Mike repeated, suddenly looking much older than he had a second ago. "It can be one of the greatest things to keep your spirit going…or one of life's greatest liars." He glanced at the Marionette, who returned his gaze sadly; both had a feeling they knew which it would be for the girl in front of them.

" _Knowing that I wasn't alone after all inspired me. I felt I was meant to be their leader, and I wanted to be the one who would free us from the evil that my fa…my former father forced us to do. Even better, the voices in my head stopped for a while, almost as if they agreed with what I was doing. I spent many months after that trying to come up with a plan. We would take parts of our bodies and fuse them together to make a single animatronic. We would then lure a single person into what was known as the Scooping Room, take out his organs, and wear that person's skin as a living human being,"_ Elizabeth looked down at the ground in shame. _"I didn't want to kill anyone, but it was the only thing I could think of to finally free us all from our prison."_

Mary placed a hand on her shoulder. _"All of us have done worse than you have, and for less noble reasons, Elizabeth. I have no right to judge you, and I do not think Mike will judge you either."_

Elizabeth tilted her head and back and looked into the Marionette's comforting gaze. The haunted puppet's words had comforted her, but not by much. _"Very few people ever came to the abandoned Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. When they did, the other animatronics were too eager to kill them and take their bodies so we could carry out our plan. I tried to stop them, tried to get them to follow the specific plan I had created. But they did not listen, and the way they killed the first two rendered their bodies useless for our plan. Over time, Ballora began to have doubts about whether my plan was a good idea after all. Then, the third one came, and with him the ticket to our salvation."_

Mike opened his mouth to speak, but Mary silenced him with a shake of her head. _"Continue,"_ she beckoned.

" _This third man survived where the others failed, and all of us could sense that we would finally be free. On the fifth night, we combined our bodies together to create Ennard, and lured the new technician over to the Scooper Room so that we could take his body for his own,"_ Elizabeth sighed sadly. _"I wish it had never come to that, but all of us agreed that his death was a necessary evil. Wearing a human's skin, we could finally be free of the torment that had been forced upon us."_

Mike shook his head. "Except that's not how it works," he replied. "Humans aren't just a large bag of skin. It needs organs, blood, things to keep the body running. Or else it will just rot away and decay."

" _We didn't know how humans worked,"_ Elizabeth argued. _"The other animatronics were never human to begin with, and I barely learned anything about the human body even before I started forgetting details about when I was still alive."_

Mike shrugged. "Fair enough."

" _At first, we thought the plan had gone off perfectly. We were able to walk around in the body that we had taken, and others greeted us like a fellow human. We felt…normal,"_ Elizabeth described wistfully. _"And then…things started to go wrong. It is like you said, Mr. Mike. The body started to decay. The same humans who once welcomed us started to avoid us, and then the man we claimed spit our body out. We had no choice but to flee into the sewers, and somehow the body we had taken started to move even without any natural means to live."_ Elizabeth's face began to sadden again, and both Mike and the Marionette knew that the worst was about to be revealed.

" _Without a human body to hide under, our true nature was revealed. We could not even perform for children anymore, for what child would want to be anywhere near the monster we had become? We didn't understand what was going on….and the other animatronics blamed me for our failure,"_ Elizabeth's eyes began to tear up, and Mary whispered comforting words Mike couldn't hear. _"Our hopes for freedom were crushed, and I realized that the others never saw me as a true friend. I…I lost control of myself. I snapped back. I got angry at them, said things that I shouldn't have. And then they kicked me out, leaving me a bare shell of my former self."_

"This is far too real for my liking," Mike muttered. Both Elizabeth and Mary looked up at him with concern, but the man shook his head. "Sorry, some bad memories."

Elizabeth sighed. _"I do not know what happened to Ennard after I was banished, but my plan failed in one more way. The voices that I thought had been gone came back, and this time they were stronger than ever. I tried to fight them like I had before, but I was in so much pain after being ejected that I was getting weaker and weaker. It was all I could do to not give in and attack the closest child I could find on the streets, and so many times I was tempted to just give in entirely and become a monster after all. I fled back to the place that, despite being a barren prison, had been the closest thing to a home I had since my death. I thought that I could repair myself slowly, and maybe regain my strength. But when I arrived there, there was someone waiting for me."_

Mary's eyes narrowed furiously, and Mike had gone pale. "Springtrap," both of them hissed.

" _When I arrived at the Pizza Rental, an animatronic was waiting for me,"_ she whispered, and the shame from earlier was coming back in full force. _"I had never seen him before, but he told me that he was my father, and that he was sorry for leaving me to die all those years ago. He told me that he had a grand purpose for me, and that by fulfilling that purpose I would be his good little girl. He told me that there were other souls that were stopping him from fulfilling that purpose, and that we needed to find them and bring together to a new Pizzeria so that we could begin a new Afton era."_ At this, the girl burst into tears again. _"He lied to me!"_ she wailed. _"He only saw me as just another tool for his evil plans! All he wanted was for me to become another monster like him, a murderer of innocent children!"_

Mike couldn't help himself anymore. He opened his arms out to the broken Afton, and the girl desperately accepted, completing the hug as she wept freely into his chest. She hadn't been in control of her abilities long enough to manifest a physical presence, but that didn't matter to either of them right now. The Puppet looked over at the duo sympathetically, but nearly recoiled when she saw the expression on Mike's face. It was currently a model of sympathy and compassion for the girl in front of him, but Mary had known the man far longer than most.

She knew she hadn't imagined the fleeting sliver of hatred and rage that had crossed his face at the mention of William Afton's most despicable atrocity.

When Elizabeth had finally calmed down, Mike released her and wordlessly gestured for her to continue her story. _"If I had been fully aware of what was going on, I might have refused. But I was so…tired. So tired of being alone, so tired of being hated, so tired of fighting the voices that had plagued my mind for years. To my eternal shame, I finally gave in…"_ Elizabeth admitted. _"I gave in to my father, I gave in to the voices. Maybe they were right after all, and all my fighting had been for nothing. I listened to my father's instructions as he helped in my recreation, and followed him to the Pizzeria to carry out his orders."_ The tiniest of smiles flickered across her face. _"I did not know that it was a lie by a man more cunning than him, a trick to end everything once and for all. But whoever that man or his employee were, I am thankful that they had outsmarted us. I am thankful that they destroyed us and that they destroyed him. He ended the nightmare…"_ the ghost of a smile disappeared. _"But he cannot erase the guilt of my crimes. He cannot erase the fact that, in the end, I became a monster just like my father. And I must live with that fact forever."_

"What happened to you afterwards?" Mike asked.

Elizabeth shrugged. _"I'm…not actually sure,"_ she admitted. _"At the very moment that the Baby animatronic was destroyed, I felt all the evil influences in my life lift from my soul, and I was certain that I would be joining my father in Hell for aiding in his crimes. Instead, I fell into what I can only guess is unconsciousness, and when I woke up, I found myself still on Earth. I felt…something…call me here. Even though the last person I trusted was a monster, there was something about this presence that convinced me I should come here. I was afraid…I was a murderous monster like my father before me. But…I had to try, one last time…"_

The Marionette and Mike smiled. "We're glad you did," the latter said warmly, as the Marionette leaned down to look straight in Elizabeth's eyes.

" _Listen to me, Elizabeth,"_ the Marionette instructed, and her tone had completely shifted into that of a stern mother, whose words demanded absolute attention and held no room for argument. Mike still marveled at the fact that, despite dying as a little girl not too long before the other ghost children, she was an adult in all but physical age. _"You are not a monster. Not even close. Your animatronic was different than the others. Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, Chica…none of them had any type of malevolent purpose programmed into their core. Circus Baby was designed from the very beginning to kidnap and murder children, innocent children like you who had no idea what was hiding underneath. That programming twisted and tainted your soul, or at the very least made you much more vulnerable to Springtrap's lies and manipulations. You are not a monster. You are a victim. The most tragic victim in the entire nightmare of Fazbear's history, not just of murder but of a cold-hearted betrayal from one who should have loved you with his heart. The ghost children inside this house at least had each other for company and could exercise their own free will. You were trapped alone in the dark for years without any true friends, an isolation that can drive others insane even without any external malevolence. You tried to fight off that evil as long as you could, and you succeeded for years where others would have surrendered before all of your grief and ill fortune came crashing down upon you and Springtrap pushed you over the edge."_

For the first time, a glimmer of hope could be seen in Elizabeth Afton's eyes. _"Do you…do you really mean that?"_

The Marionette nodded. _"Absolutely. Elizabeth, we are not blameless either. All of our hands are, from a technical standpoint, stained with the blood of more innocents than the one who killed us. Even if I realized that I was destroying my own morals earlier than the rest, I and the others chose to kill of our own free will. You did not have that freedom, and we would be hypocrites of the worst kind to condemn you when you have technically killed only one person."_

Elizabeth's lips stretched into a hopeful smile, and this time her new friend and parent could clearly see it. _"Thank you…thank you…"_ she whispered, and her tears this time were of relief and happiness she hadn't felt in years. But a thought suddenly occurred to her, and that clouded her joy. _"But what if…what if the others reject me? I don't want to be surrounded by people who hate me…"_

Mike got up. "Well that's just too fucking bad for them, isn't it?" he snapped. "There's another thing that nobody's mentioned you. Let's take out all the shit in your past, Elizabeth. You've technically done _nothing_ to harm me at any point in my entire life. The others? They have, or at least tried to. Multiple times. As far as I'm concerned, you have more of a right to be a part of this household than they do, and if they can't accept that then they can get the fuck out!"

" _Calm down, Mike!"_ Mary pleaded, and Mike took in several deep breaths to cool down his mental state. _"I promise you, Mike, that it will not come to that. The ghost kids are wiser than they were when they attacked you, and once I tell them what I have told Elizabeth, they will welcome her or at the very least accept her."_

" _I trust you,"_ Elizabeth added as she reached out and clung to the Puppet's arm like a child clinging to a parent. _"I trust both of you."_

As the three of them continued to talk, none of them noticed the ghost child watching them from inside. While the other children hadn't noticed Mike's and Mary's disappearance, Fritz had always been the most alert and aware out of all of them. He'd seen the two walk past the room where they were watching their movie, and he'd followed them at a stealthy distance out to the front door. Using his ghostly vision, he had immediately recognized the girl in front of them, and while he'd felt a spark of rage at seeing his murderer's daughter, the broken and miserable look on her face had snuffed it out just as quickly.

" _For fuck's sake…"_ Foxy's former inhabitant muttered as Elizabeth told her tale. _"She's had it so much worse than any of us ever did."_ By the time she had finished, Fritz had to fight the urge to break his cover and wrap her in a hug like Mike had, even as his already soul-searing hatred for William Afton reached new levels that he hadn't even thought possible.

"…and if they can't accept that, then they can get the fuck out!" Mike was saying, and Fritz nearly panicked at that sentence. Thanks to the nature of their redemption quest, they could only stay if Mike allowed them to, and if he kicked them out then they would be forced to leave. But that wouldn't happen. Gabe, Jeremy, Susie, even Cassidy to a degree…they were all more mature than him. If he of all people could accept Elizabeth, then they would too, he rationalized, especially once the Puppet explained everything to them. But a small part of him kept whispering into his ear. _"What if they don't?"_

He was the only one who already knew Elizabeth's story, and that meant he needed to take initiative. Mike and the Marionette were already having a hugely positive effect on Elizabeth, but they were closer to parents than anything. Elizabeth needed a friend, someone who would be the first to welcome her, help her get adjusted to the closest thing a ghost kid could have to a normal life, and have her back. Despite everything, Fritz couldn't help but smile dryly at the sudden responsibility. _"Guess it's time to put on the ol' Foxy the Pirate charm one more time,"_ he thought as he slipped away, back to where the other ghost kids were watching the movie. But he wasn't interested in _Star Wars_ anymore. He had more important things to focus on now.

/

Well, I was certainly a very busy boy for the early part of this week. Poor Elizabeth…out of every victim of the tainted Fazbear legacy, she got fucked over the hardest by far, in my personal opinion. Many of the details were already provided by _Sister Location_ , but there is still a lot of potential backstory left in the dark that I have tried to fill in the best I can.

A lot of you who are familiar with the FNAF lore are probably wondering why I haven't made any mention of Eggs Benedict being Michael Afton, Elizabeth's brother. Considering how interested I am in the backstory of FNAF, how could I make such an elementary mistake and forget such a crucial detail?

 **I didn't forget. It wasn't a mistake.** There's a reason why I left it out, and to say anything further would risk spoilers for what might very well be the darkest part of the entire story.

While the other ghost kids are pretty well-established in their relationships with each other (if that statement makes any sense), I feel like Elizabeth will bond to some more closely and more quickly than she will with others. She'll obviously form familial relationships quickly with Mike and the Marionette, but I also wanted her to have a particularly close friendship with one of the ghost kids from the get-go before she and the rest warm up to each other. And, I don't even really know why, I just imagined Fritz would be the best for that :P Maybe cause they're the same age or have personalities that are drastically different from each other.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy chapter! Please let me know how I did in tackling a darker topic full-on.


	6. Chapter 6 - Honesty and Secrets

A/N: I have a bit of a unique problem. Sometimes I get so bored with being unproductive (eg. playing video games and whatnot) that I actually start studying med school stuff just to relieve myself of my boredom. Weird, right? Fortunately, in this particular case, I can write fanfic chapters instead! :D

Just to get this out of the way right now, in terms of the nature of the afterlife in this fic, I'm keeping the details deliberately vague. But it is based on the Christian idea of the afterlife (which is implied to be the case in the actual canon too). The good news is that this means Heaven exists, along with a benevolent God. But there's bad news too. After all, if there's a Heaven, then there has to be a Hell…

The last chapter was rather depressing, wasn't it? Fortunately, we can now return to a lighter and softer atmosphere. For now. Don't really have anything to say otherwise, so let's hop right in!

Chapter 6 – Honesty and Secrets

Mike leaned forward, propping his elbows onto his knees. "So, Elizabeth, what do you want to do?"

The girl glanced quizzically at him. _"What?"_ she asked, confused.

"How do you want to introduce yourself to the rest of the kids?" he explained. "How much do you want to tell them about what happened to you?"

Her answer surprised both him and the Marionette. _"I want to tell them the whole thing."_

Mike blinked. "Wait, what?"

" _I want them to know the whole thing from the beginning,"_ Elizabeth repeated. _"I want to show them I'm trustworthy despite everything I've done. The sooner they know, the sooner I can put the shadows of my past behind me."_

The Marionette raised a slender finger to her chin as she pondered her words. _"I did not originally intend to reveal your history to the others,"_ she finally decided, _"but now that you've brought it up, I do think it would be the wisest course of action for the reasons you described. We might as well do it now, the sooner this is resolved the better."_

Before either of them could move towards the living room, Mike suddenly interrupted them. "Mary, I need to talk to you. Now. Elizabeth, would you mind waiting here?"

The girl nodded as Mike opened the front door and beckoned the Puppet to follow, shutting the door behind them. Once they were a safe distance out of eavesdrop, he looked at the Puppet worriedly. "Mary, there was something about Elizabeth's history that bothered me. The way she described the man who showed up at the Pizza Rental and at your dad's final trap…if she knew who that man was she would've told us. I don't think she knows she lied to and killed her brother."

The Marionette sighed. _"Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. There was a reason why I stopped you from talking when Elizabeth started mentioning Michael Afton. I had suspected this and did not want you to reveal that to her."_ Mike opened his mouth to speak, possibly to challenge her decision, but she gestured at him to let her continue. _"You saw her face. You saw how emotionally fragile and devastated she was. She already carries an enormous burden of guilt. How do you think she would react if she learned that she committed her evil actions against a brother who risked his life, sacrificed himself, and condemned himself to undeath to save her?"_

Mike opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, trying to find an appropriate answer, but he couldn't. Mary was right. Dropping that kind of revelation on Elizabeth at the wrong time would end up destroying the self-esteem and hope that she was beginning to slowly piece together. "Urrrrgggghhhh…." he groaned, "as much as I hate to admit it, you're right." He looked up at Mary with a glare. "You know you can't hide this forever, Mary. Sooner or later, she WILL find out, and I'd rather she learn it from us than from something that we can't control."

" _Let her become happier and a part of the family first,"_ Mary replied. _"Then the time will come."_

"I hope you're right," Mike muttered as he went back to the front porch. "So, Elizabeth!" he greeted her like nothing was wrong as he extended a hand. "Why don't we get you introduced to the rest of the family?"

Elizabeth looked nervous, but she placed her hand in Mike's own and let him guide her into the living room. He knocked on the wall in front of the living room, catching all of the ghosts' attention.

"Hey, kiddos!" he called into them as Gabe hurried to pause the movie. "I've got a really important announcement for all of you. He gently pulled at Elizabeth's arm, bringing her into plain sight of the other ghosts. "We have another ghost who'll be joining our family. Allow me to introduce Elizabeth!"

He let go of her hand and she nervously stepped forward. _"H…hello…"_ she stammered, before calming herself down and pressing forward. _"I…I'm going to be honest with all of you. What my father did to you is inexcusable, but he's not alone in his guilt,"_ the ghosts all tensed once they realized the implications of that sentence. _"I've…I've done some terrible things in the past, things that you might hate me for once you learn of what I've done. But…I want to be a part of this family, and the only way I can do that is if I put my secrets out in front of me and show that I deserve your trust."_

Without any further introduction, Elizabeth revealed the same tale that she had told Mike and the Marionette. Mike seemed to be leaning casually against the wall, but in reality he was carefully studying the expressions of the other ghost children. He knew full well that the ghosts' past attempts to kill him as a night guard and their guilt for those actions was one of the most powerful tools he had against them, and while he hated the idea of manipulating them in such a cruel and petty manner, he was ready and willing to do so if they began to treat her with contempt and hatred like she had feared.

The expressions of the ghost children shifted as Elizabeth revealed more details about her past, but thankfully none of them were of hatred. From what Mike could tell, Susie and Cassidy seemed to be sympathetic to the tragic existence that Elizabeth had been forced into, though both of them shuddered when Elizabeth revealed that she had given in to her father's depravity during the last few moments of her life as Baby. On the other hand, Jeremy and Gabe both became more guarded and wary at that part of the story, but there was always some level of pity in their eyes and they were never openly hostile either. The only person Mike couldn't read at all was Fritz, whose face remained completely neutral throughout the whole story. The former night guard had no idea what to make of him, and that slightly worried him.

" _I know that Mary could come up with a lot of reasons as to why I became what I became,"_ Elizabeth concluded, _"but I'm not going to make any excuses. Free will or not, at one point, I was just as bad as the person who killed you. All I want to do now is to make things right, and put my past as Baby behind me. Please,"_ she pleaded, _"give me that chance."_

The ghost kids all began to look at each other, waiting for one of them to say something. Finally, Gabe decided to take charge and stepped forward. _"You know, just looking at you right now, I wouldn't have recognized you at all. But now that you've told us everything, I do remember. I remember what you were like as an animatronic in that trap pizzeria, and yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, you really were as evil as that murderer."_

Elizabeth started to lower her head in shame, but Gabe wasn't finished yet. _"You could have kept all of that hidden from us, but you didn't. You were open and honest, and that's definitely something I respect,"_ a faint smile flickered on his face, and he sighed. _"Elizabeth, I really, REALLY do want to trust you, but it's hard to. Especially since I know who you're related to and what you and your dad tried to do."_

" _I believe her,"_ Susie interrupted and everyone looked over at her. _"She's been through a lot worse than any of us, Gabe, and that's saying something. Considering how evil her father was, I'm honestly shocked that she didn't turn out worse from the beginning. None of us ever had a terrible parent like that. Can any of us really say we would've turned out any better?"_

Elizabeth smiled gratefully and was about to thank her, but her eyes caught the look of pain that appeared on Mike's face for the briefest of moments. _"Mr. Mike?"_ she asked, concerned. _"Are you all right?"_

All of the ghosts turned to Mike, who groaned. He was normally good at keeping his emotions hidden, but meeting the ghost kids and hearing Elizabeth's story had weakened his mask. "I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it right now," he finally mumbled, and it was clear to all the ghosts that that was the end of the discussion.

" _You know what I think, Gabe?"_ Jeremy suddenly asked. _"We should ask Fritz. He's the best one to tell if Elizabeth is trustworthy enough to join our family or not. If he's okay with her living with us, then I am."_

"Fritz?" Mike asked, confused. "What's so special about Fritz?"

" _Fritz is the toughest judge of character out of all of us,"_ Gabe explained. _"He doesn't trust people easily compared to the rest of us; the only people he really bonded closely with are you and us. It's the same reason why he was always so unforgiving and aggressive towards the night guards, running out of Pirate's Cove and banging at the door."_

At the mention of his name, Fritz stirred. _"I could have explained that to Mike myself, Gabe,"_ he interrupted, and the former Freddy inhabitant rolled his eyes. _"I heard everything Elizabeth said, and I already know exactly what I think about her."_

A look of sadness and resignation entered Elizabeth's face. Gabe and Jeremy were already reluctant to trust her – there was no way she could have ever hoped to convince Fritz. She waited for his inevitable condemnation and rejection; it wasn't any less than she deserved, after all.

But it never came. Fritz grinned at Elizabeth and then looked Gabe directly in the eye. _"I trust her. Completely."_

Every single person stared at him in utter shock. Mike's mouth was hanging open, and even the Marionette seemed noticeably taken aback. _"Wait, WHAT?"_ she asked, still trying to process his words. She remembered when she had tried and failed to stop the ghost children from their rampage against the night guards at the 1990s pizzeria, and it had been Fritz/Foxy who had been the most vengeful and rage-filled of them all.

Jeremy was able to collect his senses enough to say one word. _"Why?"_

" _You weren't there,"_ Fritz thought as he took in their confused expressions. _"You didn't see the guilt and misery on her face when she showed up at Mike's doorstep. You didn't see how close she was to breaking down with how much she hated herself before Mary started snapping her out of it."_ But he didn't say any of it, and he didn't need to. _"For starters, you guys are all forgetting something,"_ he answered coolly. _"If she really WAS evil and lying to us, she wouldn't be here. She'd be downstairs, enjoying the eternal barbecue with her dear old dad as part of a 2-course meal for whatever the literal Hell is down there."_

Everyone's eyes all widened as they realized what he was saying, and Mike smacked his forehead at his own stupidity. The Marionette had brought up this exact same argument only minutes before, and yet he'd somehow forgotten both that and the fact that _God existed_.

" _Even if we take that little detail out,"_ he continued, _"I've been looking at her closely while she was talking. I'm absolutely certain she's telling the truth. She really does regret everything she did, and believe me, after she told us that she decided to follow Springtrap, I paid attention VERY carefully."_

The Marionette had no idea why Fritz had started to support Elizabeth so fervently, but she gladly took hold of the opportunity that he had presented with his arguments. _"All of us are here to atone for the crimes of our past,"_ she stated sternly, looking at each of the other ghosts in turn. _"None of us are innocent, and while our motivations may have been less sinister than Elizabeth's, there was no corruptive force to influence our desire for revenge. Mike gave us all a second chance. We have no right to deny Elizabeth hers."_

Fritz nodded. _"I'm with Mary,"_ he declared. Gabe and Jeremy looked at each other. The doubt in their minds had lessened considerably with Fritz's arguments, though it wouldn't fade away completely. And the Marionette was right – Elizabeth deserved a second chance just as much as they did.

" _Sorry we didn't exactly greet you with open arms,"_ Gabe finally said. _"I guess now's as good of a time to introduce ourselves."_ He held out a ghostly hand. _"My name's Gabriel, though everyone calls me Gabe."_

Elizabeth smiled, relieved and happy that the worst was behind her. _"Don't worry,"_ she replied, _"I wouldn't either if I was in your shoes."_

As the ghost children all started introducing themselves, Mike audibly breathed a sigh of relief. He still had no idea why Fritz had jumped to Elizabeth's defense, but he had single-handedly changed the entire dynamic of her introduction to the family and made everything much easier in the process. The Marionette too seemed visibly pleased with how things had turned out.

" _I would have gone into full detail about how Baby's programming corrupted her soul if I'd needed to,"_ the Marionette quietly whispered to Mike as Cassidy shared a joke, causing all of the kids to laugh.

"I would've guilt-tripped or threatened them if I'd needed to," Mike replied just as quietly, causing the Marionette to shudder. She had gotten an entire year to know more about her adoptive parent, enough to know that he related to Elizabeth more than he was letting on and that he was not joking.

" _So when did you get here?"_ Elizabeth asked.

" _Not much earlier than you did, actually,"_ Jeremy replied. _"We got sent back by God to make things right with a night guard. Took us some time to actually find Mike, but now that we're here we're glad we did."_

Elizabeth frowned. _"Strange…I never saw God or Heaven or anything like that. When I woke up after Baby was destroyed, it was still on Earth. I just felt something telling me to come here."_

Susie scratched her head. _"That's kinda weird,"_ she shrugged. _"Doesn't make anything Fritz or Mary said less valid though."_

" _We were playing board games and watching movies,"_ Cassidy said excitedly. _"Mike has so many cool things in his house! He's the best old guy ever!"_

"I'm not THAT old," Mike grumbled audibly, and everyone burst out laughing. The former night guard looked at the clock on the wall. "Wow, only 7 PM? Seems like time was flying by, what with everything that's been going on today. Okay, well, I'm going to take care of some boring adult paperwork nonsense that none of you probably give a crap about. You guys can do whatever you want, but I'm going to bed at 11 tonight and I want a quiet house when I do. Not a problem for you guys, is it?"

A chorus of "No"s greeted him, and Mike walked out of the living room and up to his small library/study. He was about to open the door when he felt a small ghostly hand pointing at his back. A quick turn of his head revealed Elizabeth staring up at him.

"Something wrong, Elizabeth?" he asked. The kids had all started getting along pretty well when he'd left, and he dearly hoped something hadn't gone awry that quickly.

" _I have a question, Mr. Mike,"_ she explained. _"You and the Marionette went inside the house to talk to yourselves a couple of minutes ago. And you didn't want me around to hear it. Do you…do you know something about me that I don't?"_

Crap. Mike furrowed his brow and scratched his head, trying to think how to go about this. He didn't want to outright lie to her, especially since at this point he wouldn't be able to tell a convincing one anyway. "Here's the thing," he finally explained, "there is a detail about your time as Circus Baby that we don't think you know about. But I really, REALLY don't think you're ready to hear it right now. You were going through some serious depression when you showed up at my door, and right now it'll probably send you straight back down there."

" _It's that bad?"_ she looked torn between wanting to know right now and wanting to stay as far away from the full truth as possible.

Mike sighed. "Trust me, Elizabeth. Get adjusted to your new life first. Once Mary and I are sure that you can handle it, then we'll tell you. Remember, it's all in the past, right?" he asked with an encouraging smile.

Elizabeth gave him one back. _"Yeah…"_ she repeated, _"all in the past."_

/

And thus, Elizabeth has been fully introduced to the rest of the ghostly family. I could have made her acceptance into the family a lot more difficult or dramatic, but I wanted to give her a bit of a break after the colossal amount of shit she went through after her death. Fritz really made things a lot easier for her here. As for Mike and Marionette…they may be keeping Mike Afton's role in the events of FNAF 5 and 6 secret from her for her own good, but they better not wait too long. Secrets have a tendency to show up when you don't want them to, after all…

Speaking of secrets, there's one thing that Elizabeth is still hiding from everyone. Can you guess what it is? The only hint I'll give you is that even it doesn't innately bring any harm to the family, it's still a major source of her shame.

Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter or two will go back to being lighthearted fun for the family before I start tackling the serious plots again.


	7. Chapter 7 - A New Name, A New Game

A/N: I think it's time we go back to some light and humorous stuff. Elizabeth especially needs a break considering all the crap that happened to her. Let's give her some happy fun times for a change 😊 Gonna try a new idea for this chapter, which will either turn out really well or really badly lol.

This chapter will focus mostly around Fritz and Elizabeth. For now, their relationship is strictly "close siblings/friends". I'll only upgrade it to romantic feelings if the majority of reviews favor that particular direction.

Shout-out to Gokai for helping direct another reviewer to "A Legacy Laid to Rest." Thank you for helping him/her out, and I hope the answer clarified things up for you.

The Henry Stickmin series is owned by Puffballs United. Oh yeah, and SPOILERS if you haven't seen/played "Stealing the Diamond." I HIGHLY recommend you play or watch a Let's Play on the series first, you'll get a lot of good laughs out of it. In fact, some LPers, like Markiplier or BONNIE THE BUNNY (yes, really), make it even more hilarious. If you don't want the game to be spoiled or you don't care, the only parts REALLY important parts are the first page and the first part of the second page (aka the New Name part). I could have had the two play a major game like Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Crash Bandicoot, etc., but I figured that would be something better saved for the whole family.

Chapter 7 – A New Name, A New Game

Elizabeth floated/walked down the stairs as Mike began working on his "adult paperwork crap." She could hear the noises of a movie echoing from the living room, and assumed that the other ghosts had gone back to watching whatever movie they had been before she'd arrived.

She decided to make her way to the kitchen, wanting some time to think for herself. To her surprise, however, she discovered that Fritz was already there, looking at Mike's laptop and chuckling, which made her assume that she was watching something funny. She didn't really make any noise as a ghost, but Fritz was able to sense her presence anyway and looked up.

" _Hello,"_ she greeted him nervously. _"Aren't you going to watch the movie with your friends?"_

The red-headed boy shook his head. _"Nah. I missed a good chunk of it in the beginning, so I think I'll watch it on my own time. Maybe when the rest of us are asleep or something."_

Elizabeth nodded. _"I…I never really thanked you yet for defending me back there. I still don't know why you did it, but I don't think they would've accepted me if you hadn't helped me,"_ she stammered. _"So…thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance."_

Fritz sighed. _"To be honest, I kinda followed Mike and Mary out to the porch, and I eavesdropped on the whole thing. Let's just say you made a wounded puppy look like the happiest animal on Earth. There was no way you weren't telling the truth. I didn't want to spill the beans on that in front of the others, though. Didn't seem right."_

" _I can't thank you enough…"_ Elizabeth repeated quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. _"You don't know how much this means to me."_

Fritz smirked, though his eyes were much gentler than they normally were. _"Long as you're happy,"_ he thought, before suddenly cocking an eyebrow. _"You know what?"_ he suddenly declared. _"What I think you need is a name change, Elizabeth. Absolutely nobody in this house likes the name Afton, for reasons that should be obvious. Least of all, you. Wanna put the past behind you? Getting a new identity is one of the easiest ways to do it!"_

The girl thought for a moment. _"You mean like…changing my last name to Schmidt?"_

" _Yeah, that's a good way to start!"_ Fritz agreed encouragingly. _"But you can do more than that. Is there any way you can change your first name? A nickname you liked, anything?"_

Elizabeth thought for a moment. Her memories of her life when she was alive had all but faded entirely, but maybe she didn't need to think that far. If she shortened her first name… _"Beth doesn't really sound right. Maybe…Liz?"_

Fritz grinned. _"Perfect. Liz Schmidt. Got a nice ring to it."_

Liz laughed, looking the happiest she'd been so far ever since she'd showed up. _"Amazing! I feel better already! I can't wait to tell Mike and the others!"_

" _We should probably all change our last names to Schmidt,"_ her new friend mused. _"I mean, we ARE his family now."_ He shook his head. _"Eh, whatever, we can talk that over with Mike later. For now, I was about to play this cool game that's part of a series we found earlier on the net. Do you wanna help me?"_

Liz smiled. _"I'd love to,"_ she replied, and she moved next to Fritz. Her brow furrowed. _"Does that say…Steal the Diamond? And is that guy a stick figure?"_

" _Yep,"_ Fritz confirmed, _"but don't be fooled. We spent almost five to six hours on the Internet today after Mike introduced it to us, and this series is still one of the funniest things we've seen today."_

He turned on the game, and both he and Liz smiled as they watched Henry's eyes flash with green dollar symbols upon seeing the massive Tunisian diamond. _"I'm about to go full Foxy the Pirate on this museum,"_ Fritz all but cackled as the intro ended. The first choice appeared: Bust In or Sneak In.

" _Sneak In might be smarter…"_ Liz thought out loud, _"Nah. Bust in!"_

Fritz's grin grew. _"I think I just found my new first mate,"_ he gleefully said as he clicked the option. On the screen, Henry got on a motorcycle and began racing towards the two guards in front of the museum. _"Quick!"_ he called out. _"What should I do?"_

" _Jump?"_ Liz suggested tentatively. The two of them were rewarded with Henry jumping off the motorcycle, only to fall flat on his face and crash. A FAIL screen promptly showed up, scolding them for thinking that jumping off of a moving vehicle was a good idea.

" _Yeah…I don't know why I thought that would be the one,"_ Liz admitted. _"Kinda panicked. Maybe try ram?"_

Fritz shrugged and redid the sequence. This time, Henry crashed through the door and sped deeper into the museum, even as one of the guards desperately tried to call for help. _"That's more like it!"_ he whooped as the next options showed up. Unfortunately, he was so caught up in the thrill that he failed to click any option in time, resulting in Henry getting smacked in the face by a police baton.

" _I think you need to pay a little more attention,"_ Liz deadpanned as the FAIL screen popped up. _"Ha ha, very funny,"_ she muttered dryly as she read it. _"We're ghosts, we can't even get sick."_

Fritz rolled his eyes as he restarted the sequence, this time clicking shield. The option worked perfectly as Henry blocked off all the bullets and the police baton with the shield, and continued his charge straight into the diamond exhibit. _"Pick the tow cable!"_ Liz exclaimed, and Henry promptly attached a tow cable on the diamond and made his escape.

" _First try!"_ Fritz grinned as Henry sped past two night guards who were talking. Both he and Liz cringed a bit as the policeman talked about "night guarding being safer," but the thought quickly faded past their minds as the chase sequence continued. Fritz and Liz were so caught up on the action that they failed to make a decision between the rock and the branch in time, resulting in Henry getting shot by one of the policemen.

" _I can see all those hours of video game playing has really sharpened your reflexes. Oh wait…"_ Fritz read from the FAIL screen. _"Okay, screw you game!"_ he ranted. _"I've been stuck in a goddamn pizzeria for 30 years! I don't even know what a video game is!"_

Liz grabbed Fritz's shoulders. _"Calm down!"_ she insisted. _"You saw all those game consoles near Dad's TV. He'll show us soon!"_

" _Yeah, I guess you're right,"_ Fritz admitted. He replayed the sequence, and clicked branch. Both Fritz and Liz were impressed as Henry deftly spun up off the motorcycle and into the tree. _"Wait, what happened to the…"_ he didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as the screen revealed the diamond still on the road, right in front of the police offer. Fritz and Liz glanced at each other and then wordlessly facepalmed as the FAIL screen popped up.

Fritz restarted the sequence and this time picked the rock, and he smirked as Henry threw it at the officer and knocked him out. His smirk quickly faded, however, as a helicopter with a sniper sitting on its perch flew in. _"Quick!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"Pick the bubble!"_

He selected the option, and both of them cheered as it turned into a defensive shield that effortlessly blocked the sniper's attacks. _"Hey, wait a minute, how does a guy who's so poor he has to steal a diamond have advanced defensive technology that doesn't even exist in real life?"_ Liz questioned as the chase continued.

" _Who knows, who cares,"_ Fritz blithely replied as the policemen cornered Henry on the broken bridge. On a whim, he clicked on the diamond, and the two watched as Henry fell off the bridge inches before the policeman shot him. Henry climbed out of the river, exhausted, but his eyes lit up as he saw the diamond in front of him.

" _YES!"_ both Fritz and Liz cheered as the message "You won the AGGRESSIVE way!" appeared. _"We have to play more!"_ Liz insisted as Fritz reset the game back to the game.

" _Not gonna disagree!"_ Fritz replied as he clicked on "Sneak In." His eyes narrowed as he saw one of the options was "teleporter." _"Oh fuck no,"_ he growled, _"I saw Cassidy and Jeremy both get fucked over by that thing in the other two games, I am NOT clicking it."_ He looked down at the options pointing "left." _"Got a Shrink Ray, a Pick, and a…Liquidifactor?"_

" _Shrink Ray sounds like it will work,"_ Liz commented as he clicked it. Henry shrunk down and fell to the ground, where he could see a small crack leading into the museum. _"Yeah, it worked just…"_

A "giant" worm suddenly lunged out of the ground in front of him, and the screen shifted back to the museum wall before the FAIL screen appeared. _"Actually…yeah, things like bugs and worms probably are scarier up close and personal,"_ Liz admitted as Fritz reset the choice.

" _Pick seems kind of stupid, but then again, so does Liquidifactor,"_ Fritz commented as he clicked on the pick. _"Oh, fuck…"_ he mumbled as a green creature thingy showed up behind Henry and caused the wall to explode. Both waited for the FAIL screen to show up, but to their surprise Henry was still alive and no worse for wear after being exploded through a wall. _"Wait, that was the GOOD option?"_ he asked dumbly as the scene shifted over to 2 night guards. As they talked about some random crap that neither of the two ghost kids cared about, the scene shifted over to a choice between the Gun, Bomb, and Plane.

" _Gun sounds fun,"_ Liz commented, and Fritz clicked it. There was a crash as Henry leaped in front of the two officers, ready to fire…except that the only thing coming out of the gun was empty clicking noises. The two ghost kids exploded into laughter at the expression on his face once he realized the gun had failed.

" _Oh my God,"_ Fritz wiped a ghostly tear from his eye. _"That face…that face is just too damn perfect! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"_

Liz wasn't faring much better. _"Best FAIL so far by a long shot,"_ she gasped out as Fritz reset the choice. _"In all seriousness though, if the gun didn't work there's no way the bomb will."_

" _True,"_ her new brother agreed as he clicked on the Plane. The two of them were treated to an amusing show as the plane knocked one of the guards out and the other ran smack right into a column. Henry progressed over to the next part of the museum, where he had to sneak past a drowsy guard.

" _There's no way just walking into that Grand Exhibit is going to work,"_ Liz commented, and Fritz picked the room next door instead. True to their expectations, that turned out to be the correct choice. Henry sneaked open the door to the exhibit there, and found two guards waiting. Four options popped up, while Liz and Fritz watched baffled.

" _Uh…what exactly are those?"_ Liz asked. She'd never seen any of those things before.

" _I think those are video game references,"_ Fritz explained. _"I don't know much more apart from that, I don't know any more about video games than you do."_

" _That Pokeball looks interesting,"_ Liz replied, and Fritz clicked it. The two of them watched in interest for any hints on how the game would play out, only to look on in horror as the MissingNo glitch fucked up the entire "game world" beyond recognition. Both of them cringed as a blue screen of death showed up, along with a FAIL screen.

" _Okaaaaaaaayyyyyyy…"_ Fritz finally found his voice again. _"If and when we ever play this Pokémon thing, let's NOT fuck up the game with a glitch."_

" _I'm with you there,"_ Liz agreed as he reset the screen. Fritz decided to pick the Crowbar this time, only for a ton of head crabs to fall on his head. _"Ouch,"_ they winced as the FAIL screen popped up. _"How did that even happen?"_

" _It's a video game, who knows?"_ Fritz replied as he clicked on the Super Mushroom. They watched in awe as Stickmin grew to a giant size, easily shrugging off the guards' bullets and snatching the diamond for himself.

" _Does being larger actually protect you from bullet wounds?"_ the former Afton asked as the museum descended into chaos.

" _Probably not, but this makes me want to pretend,"_ Fritz replied as a cannon ball shot into Henry, forcing him down to normal size. The game switched perspectives over to the Center for Chaos Control, where the supervisor instructed one of his subordinates to take care of the chaos going on at the museum.

" _Ooh, so many choices,"_ the former Foxy inhabitant leaned in excitedly. _"What's that one on the top left?"_

Liz shrugged as Fritz clicked on the "/ 0" button. A calculator suddenly dropped from the sky, and he suddenly understood. _"Oh, fuck…no, no, no, no, no…"_ he mumbled as the calculator typed in the equation: "1337 / 0 =", which resulted in the destruction of the entire world. _"As a meme, Dividing by zero causes a reality-breaking, world-destroying paradox,"_ he explained to Liz as the FAIL screen popped up. _"It's one of the many things we found on the Internet earlier."_

" _Isn't dividing by zero supposed to be impossible in actual math?"_ Liz pondered as Fritz reset the scenario.

" _Ugh, who cares? Do you think I remember anything, or want to remember anything from math class?"_ he scoffed as he chose the nuke and satellite options in that sequence. The two of them were treated to two darkly hilarious scenes of complete and total destruction, as well as two FAIL screens. _"I knew these were wrong,"_ Fritz admitted, _"but I couldn't resist picking them anyway."_ He clicked on the final gear option, and a gigantic robot suddenly emerged from a pack dropped off in the center of the museum.

" _Uh, Henry?"_ Liz commented as the robot began rampaging around the place. _"You might want to get the hell out of there."_ Fortunately, Henry took her advice, and started running out of the museum as quickly as possible leaving the diamond behind. The two of them couldn't resist a chuckle as they watched Henry run from the museum in slow motion. Liz and Fritz both looked disappointed as Henry stopped to catch his breath, until the diamond suddenly landed on the ground a few feet away from them.

" _Aww hell yeah!"_ Fritz cheered as the message, "You won the EPIC way!" appeared on the screen. _"This was even better than the aggressive ending!"_

" _There was one more way to win, right?"_ Liz asked.

" _Yep,"_ Fritz confirmed, _"going up the wall instead of to the left."_ He reset the game, going back to the wall where the six choices had been. _"Okay, any ideas?"_

Liz thought for a moment. _"Well, I'm pretty sure the Anti-Gravity thing is just gonna send us flying to space,"_ she reasoned. _"Are you SURE that teleporter is gonna screw us over?"_

" _Yeah, just watch,"_ he clicked on the option, and the two watched as the teleporter sent Henry into the sky…only to land him perfectly on his feet on the roof of the museum, unharmed. Liz smirked at her brother as Fritz shrugged. _"Hey, of course the teleporter works for me! I'm the best!"_

Liz rolled her eyes as four options showed up to get past the guard on the roof. _"The Penny option sounds really dumb, so it's probably correct. What's that Falcon Punch thing?"_ she asked. _"I want to see it!"_

Fritz clicked on the option, and Henry leaped in front of the guard, ready to deliver a devastating blow…only for him to deliver a weak, normal punch with a fart sound. Both Fritz and Liz chuckled as the guard took his gun out and the FAIL screen popped up.

" _Video game reference?"_ Fritz guessed as he clicked on the invisibility pill. Henry disappeared, and took a few steps forward…only to fall off the root. Both of them gaped at the FAIL screen. _"What the fuck?"_ he spluttered. _"How the fuck does this make any sense? Other people don't see you, not the other way around!"_

" _I'm not even going to comment on that one,"_ Liz muttered. Fritz decided to just proceed with the penny and Henry snuck into the museum. _"Dropping down sounds like it's completely wrong,"_ she said. _"Wire?"_

Fritz clicked the option, and the two high-fived as Henry made it down to the bottom safely. He then proceeded to choose the hammer, and Henry shattered the case with the diamond. The stick figure "hero" snuck his way over to the same exit that he'd broken out of earlier, and a choice of cheese, plank, or cannon presented itself.

" _Cannon sounds like it'd be too loud,"_ Liz said.

Fritz pouted. _"Aww man, but I wanna go full pirate!"_ he complained, before sighing, _"But yeah, you're right. Let's go with the cheese. I bet with this game's logic it's gonna turn Henry into a god or something."_ The two watched as Henry ate the cheese….and that was it, leading to a FAIL screen. _"What the fuck…"_ the two of them muttered. _"That's it, I'm just done."_ He clicked on the plank, and Henry used it to launch himself onto a pillow and sneak past the guards.

" _I think this is the last choice,"_ Liz said as they watched Henry consider snapping a neck, the diamond, jumping, or a gun on how to get past the last remaining guard outside. _"Maybe steal his gun?"_

Fritz clicked the option, and Henry leaped forward in front of the guard, snatching his gun from him. He then proceeded to fire at the man…only for him to miss an entire volley of bullet shots on a man _literally standing in front of him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me,"_ Fritz deadpanned as the FAIL screen popped up.

" _That's just embarrassing,"_ his new sister dully agreed as Fritz reset the choice. _"What now?"_

" _Maybe snap his neck?"_ Henry leaned forward to snap the guard's neck, only to stumble and tumble backward down the stairs. _"Are you serious?"_

" _Henry, you are a goddamn idiot,"_ Liz muttered as she facepalmed. At this point, Fritz was getting fed up and clicked the diamond option. To their satisfaction and relief, Henry dropped the diamond on the guard's head and ran off, leading to the message, "You won the UNDETECTED way!"

" _Still think the Epic and Aggressive endings were better,"_ Fritz commented as he shut off the game. _"That was still a lot of fun, though."_

" _Can we…do something like this again sometime?"_ Liz asked hesitatingly. She didn't know the other ghosts as well as Fritz did, and she just felt…more comfortable around him. He was already becoming a new brother to her ever since her older brother Mikey had disappeared.

Fritz smiled at her. _"You're a great gaming partner, Liz. We should definitely do this again sometime. Until then, wanna watch Empire Strikes Back after the rest of our friends are done?"_

The newest addition to their family smiled back. _"That would be amazing."_

/

Yay, some light-hearted humor and family fluffiness between Fritz and Elizabeth! Or perhaps I should call her Liz, now that she has discarded the tainted identity of Elizabeth Afton, broken and corrupted daughter of a child murderer, and replaced it with Liz Schmidt, newest "adopted" daughter to Mike. She kinda needed this after two straight chapters and an entire backstory of serious and depressing atmosphere.

I apologize if my humor attempts flew over your head, but you really need to have been exposed to "Stealing the Diamond" to fully appreciate it. Luckily, most videos of it are only around 13-15 minutes long, so it shouldn't be too much of a time investment.

We'll be shifting back to the whole family next chapter. These kids have not yet been introduced to the glory of video games, and Mike has a LOT of work cut out for him XD


	8. Chapter 8 - The Importance of Grammar

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Here's another light and humorous chapter that involves the entire family this time. It will take place the morning after the night before.

I was going to originally have this be another video game chapter, but I have another idea since I don't want to use the same idea twice in a row. In fact, we get to see Mike do some actual pseudo-normal parenting! :D

"Your Grammar Sucks" is the brilliant brainchild of Jack Douglass from jacksfilms. Also, DISCLAIMER: this chapter features examples of grammar and spelling so atrocious that you will feel your soul decay to oblivion by the time it's done. Seriously, I think I legitimately lost some brain cells watching these.

Chapter 8 – The Importance of Grammar

Everyone was very satisfied with how the evening had turned out, all things considered. The kids had loved _Empire Strikes Back_ (which Fritz and Liz had watched after the rest) even more than they had _A New Hope_ and Mike had gotten all his "adult paperwork crap" done. After Mike's appointed bedtime had passed, the Marionette had divided the kids into different rooms (Gabe + Jeremy, Susie + Cassidy, Fritz + Liz) before heading off to a music box she had stationed inside the living room (Mike had offered her a bed multiple times throughout the year he had gotten to know her, but she had declined every single time, as the music box was where she was most comfortable). None of the ghost kids had disturbed Mike during the night, which Mike took as a good sign since that probably meant none of them, not even Elizabeth, had any nightmares.

"I should be calling her Liz now," he reminded himself as he groggily climbed down the stairs to the kitchen. He generally woke around 8 AM and always got himself ready for the day with some good ol' fashioned coffee. As he began stirring, he heard _Pop Goes the Weasel_ go off in the living room and he smiled dryly. The song had once meant certain death for any Night Guard who had failed to keep her at bay, yet now it was part of his morning routine.

"How're you doing, Mary?" he mumbled as he drank some coffee.

" _Great,"_ she replied as she floated in. _"I'm pretty happy, especially with how well things turned out yesterday."_

"Yeah, Fritz was definitely the MVP of the night," he agreed, then groaned. "I had two dreams, one of them was about my old shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria." The good humor in Mary's eyes faded as she looked at him in concern. "Guess which one was the nightmare?"

" _The Pizzeria…"_ she whispered. To her surprise, Mike laughed.

"You'd think that, but nope, you're completely wrong," he replied. "Freddy's was the boring one. Instead, I got buried alive under a mountain of bills and tax forms. I can take on God-knows-how-many Nights at Freddy's, but the IRS? That's REAL terror right there."

Mary rolled the balls of light that constituted for eyes as Mike drank his coffee. "For what I have planned today I'm gonna need every drop," he muttered.

" _What are you planning to do?"_ Mary asked.

"A lot," was Mike's only reply as the other ghosts slowly meandered drowsily into the kitchen. Mike and Mary both immediately noticed that, despite her tired state, Liz looked significantly happier or at least less depressed than she had been yesterday.

" _Morning,"_ Gabe greeted them, and the rest of the ghosts gave some variation of a hello. _"What are we doing today?"_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "You guys get tired? I thought ghosts didn't get tired."

Jeremy shook his head. _"We're human in origin, so we still need rest. Otherwise we'd have gone even more insane than what we already were. Back in the pizzeria, we usually quote-on-quote slept in the animatronics during the day."_

"Huh." Guess you learned something new every day.

" _What are we going to do today, dad?"_ Cassidy asked.

"Well, we're going to have a lot of fun today," Mike replied, and the ghost children grinned at the news. "But before we do, I need to talk to you about something important." He leaned onto the table and stared straight at the ghosts, "and that's your education."

All the ghosts instantly groaned. _"Uh, Mike?"_ Fritz mumbled. _"I know that you're our dad and all, but do we REALLY have to?"_

Mike smirked. "You didn't let me finish. I was about to say that, for the most part, you don't need an education. You obviously can't go to school, and the whole point of an education is to prepare you for life in the real world. You're dead, so that's pretty much irrelevant. If you want me to teach you something cause you're interested about it, go right ahead and ask, but you don't have to worry about being bored to death through studying and whatever."

The ghosts started to cheer, but Mike raised his hand up to silence them. "However, there is ONE topic that I _insist_ that you learn. It's one of the few things that can and will still help you, and I'm not negotiating on this one."

Gabe thought for a moment. _"I mean, if it's just one topic, I guess that's fine…"_ he conceded. _"But which topic are you talking about?"_

Mike had already opened his laptop and started typing in things. "Spelling and grammar," he answered succinctly as he took out several sheets of paper.

" _Why grammar of all things?"_ Liz asked.

"I could go on into a long and detailed spiel about how grammar is critically important for understanding and communicating with the English language, or any language for that matter," Mike replied. "But that will start putting me to sleep, not to mention you guys. So I'm going to go with the answer that people will actually care out…" he spun the laptop around, revealing a Youtube video, "…and that's so that you don't sound like a fucking moron."

The ghosts crowded around the laptop. _"Who's Jacksfilms?"_ Susie asked.

"The guy's Jack Douglass and he's a really famous Youtuber. One of his projects is compiling comments with bad grammar from all over the Internet and showing just why bad grammar and spelling is fucking unacceptable," Mike responded. "And trust me, you're about to see why."

" _Can't be that bad,"_ Jeremy said confidently.

The video started, and…

"hes back halalugieugh"

The ghosts all stared at the screen blankly, then looked at each other in utter horror. _"Oh, God…"_ Jeremy murmured.

" _What was that word supposed to be?"_ Cassidy asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer. In response, Mike wordlessly wrote something on one sheet and passed it across the table. "Hallelujah."

" _This is going to suck, isn't it?"_ Susie asked glumly.

"Yes, it is," Mike blithely replied as he continued the video.

"Ider you're a genius or very very boerd."

"This give me think how short life is, lol"

"This is hilariouse, your halaries, Still hallaries."

" _Please tell me that word isn't what I think it is,"_ Liz begged, and she groaned when Mike confirmed that it was indeed meant to be 'hilarious.' _"There's nothing hilarious about this,"_ she muttered.

"Oh, I don't know," Mike shrugged. "I personally tend to get amused by idiocy when I don't get pissed or lose my faith in humanity because of it."

"Happy birthday to my favor nice I hope you hey if nice day"

"I have now seen your True colours…Its they aint no Rainbow."

"Yo mam so ugly shes the reason why that the dinosaurs"

" _What the fuck are you trying to say?"_ Fritz growled. _"That's not even a complete sentence!"_

"Only because there plenty of fishs in the doesn't mean on of them is for you"

"Far cry 4 Is shoted in india so it eill be gona awesome"

"I'm a one d fan so bart ur going to pay hard I'm dislikeing all of ur videos hater u just jeslouse"

"I Got A Concouciom"

"Wat da fu dickshionnaire"

Cassidy buried her head in her hands as Mike wrote the correct words out (jealous, concussion, dictionary). _"How do you screw up a word's spelling THAT BADLY?"_ she exclaimed. _"I didn't have any real grammar classes before I died and even I know that's wrong!"_

"U fuking diptad i hape u dies in fires"

" _My eyes would be bleeding right now if they could,"_ Gabe muttered. _"There can't be anything worse than this."_

"Dammit, nOt the riqht sOnqq im LOOkinq fOr buhh iht stil qO"

" _Nope, never mind, the bottom of the barrel doesn't exist,"_ the former Freddy inhabitant corrected with a groan.

"Have you ever fell like your life is over. But it really just starting ya you will be mad or upset but thats life. Life is the hardist shit you will have to go throw but thats like get over it but im just ponting it out. Fuck the police and every butty elts."

" _I don't know what's worse,"_ Susie dryly commented. _"All of the bad spellings or that random part at the end that makes no goddamn sense. And that spelling of everybody else…I've seen six year-olds way smarter than that! One example being present company."_

Cassidy smiled up at her. _"Thanks, Sus."_

" _There can't be anything worse than that…right?"_ Fritz asked. The moment he asked the question, Jeremy and Gabe both groaned.

" _Fritz…we've been through enough shit to know that you should never, ever ask that question,"_ Jeremy scowled.

"Gonna have to agree with that one," Mike agreed as he clicked on another long video. "This next one's even worse. Or better, if you find this funny."

"I also saw was your mom"

"You pewds…gonna be always gotta awesome"

" _I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the fucking pizzeria,"_ Fritz muttered under his breath.

"Heavy money is the back of hungry"

"I m not like other, because when they thinking they do but when i m thinking i m not do i m think n think and than start doing..."

"This film makes me want am kids learn more England! Think about THAT!"

" _And this sentence makes me want to die again,"_ Susie snapped. _"Just like everything else in these videos."_

"Kuinsadins"

"WELL THE ANGELS WHERE SERTINAULLY CRYING TODAY"

"With Great power comes great respinsinlity" – Stan Lee

"Can't wait to cut the andbuildadacord when my daughter is born"

"It was so bad that it was akushualy pretty good"

"Ugh my dad loves holopeniouse"

"Im am now afisholoy afraid of my favorite food CHOCOLATE!...Dalphinatly one of my favs"

Mike wordlessly wrote down the correct spellings of each word (certainly, responsibility, umbilical cord, actually, jalapenos, officially, definitely) and passed it to the children. _"I can actually feel my intelligence rotting from my brain when I read this,"_ Liz threw her hands up in the air. _"Seriously, just…how?"_

"Guess he didn't was so toasted after all"

"One D is awome and amazin evan if Zayn leaved! If u dont agre u r sucks"

"Tis not cry, its chas, chap, chat, chaf, chad"

" _You had…five tries…"_ Gabe ground out through his teeth. _"Five…fucking…tries. And not a SINGLE one of them made ANY FUCKING SENSE!"_ he exploded at the last three words. Mike raised an eyebrow. If _Gabe_ was the one cursing up a storm, then things really and truly had gone to shit.

"Row-says are red, Voilets are blue, Day-cease are yello, Grass is gren…Merry Christmas!" Jack suddenly exclaimed as the comment flew away to oblivion.

" _Yeah man, I'd stop giving a shit too if I was in your shoes,"_ Jeremy nodded sagely.

"There are many traditions of turkey. one of them is hospitality."

" _Oh, thank God,"_ Liz breathed an audible sigh of relief. _"Finally, a comment that's relatively normal if you ignore the capital letter mistakes."_

"guest for before he gets cleaned house when it comes to the person the most beautiful place to stay are done eating slippers are the most beautiful way entertained attempted if the turkey if you come to make sure you make the most accomodating our best will do 😊"

Liz buried her face in her hands. _"I don't have anyone but myself to blame for expecting anything positive to come out of this gigantic pile of grammatical crap,"_ she moaned.

" _Well, to be fair,"_ Gabe had calmed down by this point, _"this person's first language might not be English since they're talking about Turkey. If that's the case this is more forgivable than at least half the garbage we've seen so far."_

" _That's fair enough,"_ Liz conceded.

"bOrN 2 PleeZ, bUt TaUgHt 2 TeAsE^XoXo"

"Why u del3t ze vidz, when zers ze probl3msz..and zen uploadzz et anywerrrs?"

Mike paused the video. "Speaking of garbage, if any of you ever write a sentence like that on Youtube or any other website, I'm going to revoke your Internet privileges because that is an abomination to nature and a complete fucking disgrace," he warned.

" _You don't have to worry about a thing, Mike. I think it would take more work to mutilate a sentence like that instead of just writing it correctly,"_ Jeremy deadpanned. _"Are there any other eyesores we need to see?"_

Mike grinned sinisterly, and all of the ghosts shuddered. "Just one more, I think, will be enough…" he answered smoothly as he revealed the last one.

"tH1$ CapTa1nn KeyV1nn RAY cHECKL1nn OUT in 1982 for JuUuJU j0dYcottonPICKING ann THING cuz U ALL SUXkKk and don't KNOW itt…! fuKEa$Ther 1982 that the EAR we all went FAR OFF j0dy and PUBureTTy HITTING TOWN sisiTAH duH coke and A WH1Le iMMa 75 itt uP duH right WAY long SIDE on CHRIS IS AN ASS ask her EVE 1984 for J)HO CB butterfly making babYes and KILLING THEM…nice TO FINALLY BE HERDededer Trent SAY he is 4RANT now FUK RENT and STuPeR BOWL wisHpA"

All of the ghosts stared in horrified fascination at the comment. _"Nope!"_ Gabe finally exclaimed. _"Fuck this! I'm getting the fuck out of here before this comment destroys my brain!"_

" _Right behind you!"_ Susie added.

" _I think it's too late for poor Jack,"_ Liz pointed at the video. They all watched as Jack proceeded to go absolutely insane and attack the comment frenziedly with an entire barn's worth of eggs, destroying most of his kitchen and a cupboard in the process. It was equal parts disturbing and hilarious, and the ghosts didn't know whether to laugh or run.

" _A moment of silence for the sanity of Jack and the entire universe,"_ Jeremy bowed his head in respect, and the rest of the kids followed suit. After a few seconds later, Mike X'd out the video.

"So…does anybody still have any questions about why I want you guys to learn good spelling and grammar?" Mike asked cheerfully. The Marionette, who had been watching silently the entire time, simply facepalmed.

There was another moment of silence. Then… _"When do we start?"_ Fritz asked weakly.

/

These comments managed to break _Fritz_. Yeeesh. And no, I didn't make up any of these. All of them are from the actual jacksfilms YGS series, which means that yes, all of these utterly atrocious grammar and spelling errors were typed by people who actually thought this was okay. Seriously, elementary school kids have better grammar than this garbage! And before you ask, yes, I actually looked up that last comment on YGS 100 and typed it out word for word. You're welcome.

I need to drown my brain in bleach after seeing these Youtube comments. If you ever want to show your kid why good grammar and spelling matters, show them this clusterfuck.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Next up will be topics that hopefully won't rot everyone's brains the wrong way. Instead, we'll rot them the right way…with video games!


	9. Chapter 9 - Fun with Video Games 1

A/N: I seriously hate how sometimes my fic shows up as an earlier version on the FNAF fic listings with like 8 reviews and 2 chapters sometimes. I don't know what the hell is going on with the site, but it really annoys me how my fic seems to be affected by this glitch more often than others. I won't ever delete reviews (unless they're spam BS) or chapters en masse, guys, so keep a look out in case screws up the display.

Anyway, on to the next chapter. This one will be the last light-hearted one before things start getting serious / advancing forward again. But kids at this age just want to play, and play they shall. Be warned, though: some of the depicted situations might be a little too _real_.

I'm not going to be explaining how the 3 video games I chose for this chapter work, because seriously, you should know how these games work if you have any rudimentary video game knowledge at all. Also, for most of them, I'm not going to be explicitly assigning the ghost kids any characters. You're free to use your imagination to decide that for yourselves 😊

Chapter 9 – Fun with Video Games 1

One hour after the black cesspit of atrocious grammar and their first online grammar lesson, the ghost kids were all racing to the living room. Mike knew he had a daunting task ahead of him – these kids were _woefully_ behindwhen it came to the glory that was video games, and it was now Mike's solemn duty to bring them up to speed. He'd only show them "kid-friendly" video games for now (showing them mature or even teen games at this early stage sounded like a very bad idea), but even in that category he had plenty of material to work with.

"All right," Mike said as he sat down onto the couch. "Video games. Where do I start? They are, without a doubt, one of the best and most exciting ways to entertain yourself and, if you have friends for multiplayer, others who're playing with you. Quite a few different companies have made consoles for video games, but for now I'm just going to stick to this one." He tapped one of the consoles lightly. "Nintendo. They've made a TON of different video game series that have captured the hearts and minds of children and adults alike, and a lot of them I consider appropriate for kids your age."

" _You've got a lot of Nintendo consoles scattered around,"_ Gabe observed. _"Some of them look small, like they're meant to be held in your hand."_

"Good eye!" Mike grinned. "Some consoles are meant to be played on a TV, while others are for you to hold and play in your hand. But just because a game is played on a smaller handheld doesn't make it inherently worse."

" _Will we get to play on all of them?"_ _Cassidy_ asked, eyes wide and excited.

Her new dad thought for a moment. "Eventually," he decided. "But I'm not going to jump right into the new ones for all of them. Some of them have the same or similar functionality over the years, but others have progressed a LOT beyond their early days. There's a lot of old games that are considered timeless classics, still highly popular to this day even in comparison to newer ones."

Jeremy reached out and picked one of the games. _"Like Mario?"_ he asked. _"That name shows up a lot in your stack of games."_

"Mario is a legend, a heroic plumber who rescues his princess from the evil Koopa monster King Bowser," Mike explained, "or at least that's the short summary. He has a lot of spin-off games, and in the interest of keeping as many people interested and having fun as possible I'm going to start with those. Mario Kart's as good of a place to start as any for playing with lots of people. Here's how it works…"

 **[[ONE LONG AND DETAILED EXPLANATION ABOUT MARIO KART AND A FEW PRACTICE ROUNDS LATER…]]**

" _Dammit!"_ Fritz shouted as his kart got smashed aside by a chain chomp. _"What the hell? Why did it come out JUST as I was about to pass it?"_

" _Cause you're a noob who doesn't know how to stay away from the big fat hungry bowling ball?"_ Jeremy taunted as he sped past Cassidy. It was their final lap, and all the ghost kids were playing to win. Mike had to marvel at the fact that they were already being this competitive over a single race, not even a Grand Prix.

Susie sighed as she ran into yet another Goomba. _"I'm no good at this,"_ she admitted as her character spun out. _"Everyone else is a lot better at this than I am."_

"No reason to give up, though," Mike pointed out. "If you're sucking and you know you don't have a chance to win, you can still have fun by screwing around with other players! Lower places get better items."

Susie hit another item block and a lightning bolt appeared in her item box. Mike smirked. "Hit it, Susie."

Jeremy's eyes widened. _"Wait, no!"_ Too late. Lightning struck every other kart except hers, shrinking them and destroying the speed boost that he had snagged in the process. _"Oh, come on!"_ he complained. _"Now I'm slow as hell!"_

" _Eat my dust, you two!"_ Fritz smirked as he sped past Jeremy and Cassidy, having recovered from the lightning first. He whooped in victory as he crossed the finish line, leaving the others to sigh in defeat as they passed the line behind him.

Mike rolled his eyes "I wouldn't get too cocky yet, Fritz," he warned. "That wasn't even a Grand Prix. If you really are as good as you say you are, then you should be able to handle _this_ track." He took the P1 controller and selected Rainbow Road. The ghosts' eyes widened at the beautiful sight of a rainbow-colored road high up in an outer space filled with stars and lights.

" _It's so pretty!"_ Susie and Cassidy gushed at the brilliant and colorful graphics. Mike smirked. These kids had no idea of the true Hell that awaited them underneath the track's heavenly façade.

"Ready, kids?" Mike asked as Cassidy, Susie, Fritz, and Jeremy grabbed their controllers. "Three…two…one…"

What followed was absolute chaos. The kids had only just gotten an understanding of how the controls worked, and Rainbow Road was a course designed for experts. It seemed like every three seconds one of them would fall off the track and another racer would zoom past, only for THAT racer to fall off and squander that momentary lead. Funnily enough, this actually kept the race relatively close, as nobody could maintain a consistent lead due to the numerous failures.

And that was BEFORE the racers started throwing items at each other.

" _Oh, screw off!"_ Jeremy snarled as Cassidy hit him with a Green Shell. This would have been bad enough, except for the fact that the impact managed to knock him off the track entirely as well. _"That's bullshit!"_

" _Too bad!"_ Cassidy smirked as she charged ahead, only to hit a fake cube. She barely managed to regain control of her cart in time, but the loss of momentum had given Fritz the opportunity to pass her.

" _Why the hell is this track so GOD DAMN LONG?"_ Susie exclaimed. Her luck had not improved in the slightest since the last race, and it was only thanks to a Chain Chomp and the others' constant failures that she was able to even be in the running. She sighed as she picked up three mushrooms from an Item box. _"Ugh…I'm not sure I even want these with how easy it is to fall off. I'll take what I can get I guess…"_ she muttered, waiting until the road was straighter or protected by railways before activating them.

" _I'm not done yet!"_ Jeremy snapped as he picked up a star and activated it. He grinned as he sped forward, and Cassidy yelped as he smashed into her kart, and this time she _did_ fall off. _"Payback!"_

Fritz, in the meantime, had taken advantage of the chaos messing with the other racers to boost himself to first place, with Susie following behind thanks to the three mushrooms she had gotten earlier. _"Final lap!"_ he thought excitedly as he crossed the checkpoint line. _"I can do this!"_

" _Dammit, Fritz is getting away!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. He drove forward into an item block, and cursed as it yielded a Blooper. _"Oh, God dammit!"_ he shouted. _"That doesn't help me!"_

"On this track, it might," Mike commented. Jeremy activated the Blooper, but unfortunately for him, Fritz managed to avoid falling off the Road. "Or not."

" _We have to stop him!"_ Susie exclaimed.

" _Why are you guys teaming up on me?"_ Fritz complained as he narrowly avoided falling off a sharp turn.

Cassidy drove into an item block and got a lightning bolt. _"Perfect."_

" _Ah, shi…"_ CRACK! Fritz cursed as the lightning bolt struck him, but unfortunately for the others, he had gotten struck by it on a straight track just behind a boost panel, and he was able to use that to make up for the lost speed.

Jeremy, meanwhile, had gotten an item that none of them had seen before. A spiky blue shell with wings? _"Hey, Mike, what does this do?"_

"Why don't you use it, Jeremy?" Mike suggested in an innocent tone that sounded all too fake.

Jeremy activated the item and watched it fly off. _"So what does it do?"_ he repeated.

His dad grinned sinisterly. "It screws over whoever's in first place."

Fritz's eyes widened in horror. _"Wait, but that's…oh, fuck. Oh, fuck! OH FUUUUU…!"_

The blue shell spun around his cart and exploded, creating a devastating blast that sent his cart flying into the air. To add insult to injury, a Red Shell thrown by Susie knocked right into him seconds later, and that small push was just enough to force him off the track. _"DAMN IT!"_ Fritz howled as he watched his cart plummet into the abyss. As he was forced to watch Lakitu rescue his cart, every other racer zoomed past him and made it to the finish line, leaving him in last place. _"What the hell?"_ Fritz shouted. _"How is that fair?"_

"Welcome to Mario Kart," Mike smirked. "Where everyone and anyone can get screwed at any time, and nobody gets first place until somebody crosses that finish line after the final lap."

" _I won!"_ Susie cheered. _"I barely even knew what I was doing and I'm the worst racer here, but I won!"_

" _This game seems kind of luck-based,"_ Gabe commented.

"Pretty much every video game has some kind of luck factor," Mike replied. "Skill does matter, but being better doesn't mean you're always going to win. If that were true, then every game would be boring because nobody would be able to catch up to first place ever. Being better means you can minimize the number of times you get screwed and you can recover from when you get screwed as quickly as possible. Because in Mario Kart, whether it's from a well-aimed shell or a blue shell of doom, you WILL get screwed."

" _That was pretty fun until the part when Jeremy and Cassidy wrecked the crap out of me…"_ Fritz grudgingly admitted.

"Anyway, that's enough Mario Kart for now," Mike turned off the game. "I've got more to show you guys. This next game is just as famous as Mario Kart, and has a LOT more than just a fat red plumber. It's time to show you guys the glory of Super Smash Bros.!"

 **[[ANOTHER LONG EXPLANATION OF SUPER SMASH BROS. AND HOW IT WORKS LATER BECAUSE IF I ACTUALLY WROTE OUT THE DAMN THING IT WOULD BORE THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYONE WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT SMASH BROS. IS, AKA EVERYONE]]**

Everyone watched excitedly as four fighters from different game genres started beating the ever- loving crap out of each other in different ways. This time, Gabe, the Marionette, Liz, and Jeremy were playing, the latter having won the right to play two games in a row by correctly guessing how many fingers Mike was holding behind his back. Mike had chosen Final Destination as the playing field, the most basic field so that they could play without worrying about obstacles.

" _Hah!"_ Gabe shouted triumphantly as he sent Mary flying off the screen and to oblivion. _"Take that!"_

" _So you managed to finally knock me off at 170% damage, when I still have more lives than the rest of you,"_ Mary retorted. _"I hope you feel proud of yourself."_

" _Uh oh, this isn't good,"_ Jeremy muttered as he tried to keep away from the other fighters and attack from a distance. He'd been ganged up on by both Liz and Gabe earlier, and had only avoided death because the two had noticed that Mary was relatively healthy and had started attacking her instead. Unfortunately for him, Liz had noticed his vulnerable position, and was now charging toward him.

" _Ah, crap!"_ he tried to jump out of the way, but Liz had predicted his movement and had also jumped to attack him midair. Her attack sent him flying off the screen, but not quite far enough to instantly KO him. He tried to jump and spin back to the platform, but he had been too far off and ended up falling to his death anyway. _"Dammit!"_

" _Gotcha!"_ Liz cheered, only for Mary to attack her while she was distracted. She managed to get out of the way, but Gabe was waiting for her and grabbed her. He leaped off the platform and sent them both plummeting into the abyss, killing them both instantly. _"What….why?"_ she spluttered.

" _I was at high damage and figured I might as well take you with me,"_ he replied nonchalantly.

Mike shrugged. "It's not a bad idea. If you're going to die anyway, might as well make sure somebody else goes down with you."

" _Well played,"_ she grudgingly admitted as they both respawned. At this point, everyone only had one life left, except for the Marionette, who still had 2.

" _If we don't do something soon, Mary's gonna win!"_ Jeremy suddenly realized.

" _Everybody get her!"_ Gabe shouted.

Mary sighed. _"You've got to be kidding me!"_ she muttered. Still, she put up a valiant fight, and managed to get around 50-60% damage on everyone before Gabe finally blasted her off the arena, destroying her extra life. The lights in her eyes flickered on as she respawned. _"If that's how you want to play…"_ She suddenly started playing much more expertly, using combos that the other kids had no idea were even possible. Jeremy and Gabe tried to gang up on her again to their frustration, but the Marionette was done messing around. She effortlessly dodged every attack that the two ghost kids tried to land on her, and her counter-attacks gave no room for either of them to block or dodge. Within a few seconds, she had utterly wiped the floor with both, leaving only a very nervous Liz behind.

" _Ummm…"_ she stuttered as she watched Mary's character advance on her own. _"What just happened?"_

" _We got wrecked is what happened,"_ Jeremy mumbled.

The Marionette smirked. _"Come at me,"_ she taunted as she waited for Liz to attack. To her credit, Liz did her best, and was even able to land a few hits on Mary. But it just wasn't enough. Mary pummeled Liz and sent her character rocketing into the sky, where she flew off into the horizon and disappeared in a twinkle of light. _"And that's game."_

The results screen appeared, with Mary as the obvious winner. Gabe had done the second best, with Liz third and Jeremy fourth. _"Maybe we should've had somebody besides Mary play this round,"_ Jeremy commented. _"I mean, she's had a year's worth of practice ahead of everyone else."_

Mike shrugged. "It is what it is. There's a very competitive environment around Smash, and people actually hold tournaments for games like Smash and Mario Kart. This one takes a lot of practice to master, and that's not even taking character tiers into account."

" _Character tiers?"_ Cassidy repeated.

"Some characters are better than others," Mike explained. "You can look up the tier lists on the Internet later. Right now, I've got one more game to show you, and this one is one of my _personal_ favorites."

 **[[YET ANOTHER LONG-ASS EXPLANATION ABOUT A VIDEO GAME EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT, BECAUSE SERIOUSLY, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT MARIO PARTY IS YOU MUST HAVE BEEN LIVING UNDER A FUCKING ROCK FOR THE PAST TWENTY YEARS OR SOMETHING…]]**

Mike was particularly enthusiastic about this set of games, and it was easy for the ghosts to see why. Most of the minigames were loads of fun, and the way the game combined them with the board game dynamic made it a huge hit with everyone. However, his decision to pick the second game instead of the first had confused everyone except the Marionette. Jeremy had even asked Mike why they weren't playing any of the newer games, especially since they had much better graphics from being on newer consoles.

"Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy," Mike shook his head. "You are but a novice to the inner workings of Mario Party, and have yet to understand the fundamental truth that the oldest Mario Party games are the best Mario Party games. Mario Party 2 and 3 are timeless classics that will never be replaced."

" _What about Mario Party 1?"_ Susie asked.

Mike scowled. "Fuck those control stick spinning minigames…" he muttered under his breath.

" _What?"_

"Don't worry about it."

Back in the present, Fritz was about to take his turn. _"Come on…_ " he pleaded as the dice block appeared over his head. _"Don't give me a one!"_

" _Why did you say that?"_ Liz asked in bemusement. _"Now you're going to get a one for sure."_

The two of them, Susie, and Cassidy had been playing Pirate Land on Mario Party 2. Currently, Susie was in the lead with 2 stars (one of which she had gotten from a Hidden Block, to the consternation of every other player), Cassidy and Liz both had 1, while Fritz had 0. They all had a medium-high number of coins, except for Cassidy, who had managed to stockpile over 100 thanks to a 30-coin battle minigame of Bowser's Big Blast.

" _I hate luck-based mini-games!"_ Fritz had complained when he had been the first one to get blown up.

Mike shrugged. "Yeah, me too usually, but I dunno. There's always been something about Bowser's Big Blast that makes me like it despite everything. Day on the Races, on the other hand, can fuck off and die…" he had muttered the last part under his breath.

Fritz hit the dice block, and breathed a sigh of relief as he landed a 5, which was enough for him to reach the star. _"Oh, thank God…"_

"To be honest, when you said 'don't roll a one' I kind of expected you to get screwed over and roll the one," Mike said dryly as Fritz hit a blue space.

Susie hit the dice block and groaned as she got a 2. _"Dammit…"_ she cursed. _"Now I get Bowser."_ The Koopa King's menacing visage showed up, and forced Susie to spin his roulette. She breathed a sigh of relief as it landed on "Bowser's Appearing Act." _"Oh, well at least I might not be getting screwed this time."_

" _Bowser will appear on the board?"_ Gabe read. _"What does that do?"_

Mike grinned. "Oh, nothing much. All he does is show up where Baby Bowser is, roll three dice blocks, and steal every single coin from every person he passes."

" _Oh, that's it?"_ Susie asked. Then she fully processed what Mike had just said. _"SHIT! I'm only a few spaces away from Baby Bowser!"_

Liz also was panicking at this point, as she was also within killing range. _"I need to roll high so I can steal Susie's star!"_ She rolled her dice and only got a 4. _"Oh, thank God…"_ she might not have escaped Bowser's incoming attack, but she _had_ reached Boo. _"Gimme that star!"_

" _NO!"_ Susie shouted, but it was too late. Boo had taken one of her stars, and there was nothing she could do about it.

" _Thank God…"_ Liz sighed in relief. Even if she lost her coins now, at least the star would keep her high up in the rankings.

" _I am so, SO happy I got the star first,"_ Fritz thankfully muttered. He didn't have as much coins as everyone else, so Bowser taking everyone's coins might be a hidden blessing rather than a game wrecker for him.

"This is a weird game," Mike muttered. "Usually, people get screwed over by dice rolls when they need them the most. The fact that nobody's failed this turn is very weird."

" _Well, they're about to get screwed over by something else,"_ Gabe pointed out as Bowser took to the field. The kids couldn't help but giggle at his pirate costume. _"Let's see what he hits."_

Bowser hit the first block. 10. _"Well, that sucks…"_ Fritz muttered. He hit the second block. 10. _"Again? No way…"_ Jeremy breathed. He hit the third block. , physical or otherwise, dropped to the floor. _"HE ROLLED A THIRTY?"_ everyone exclaimed.

" _Wait…that means…OH NO!"_ Cassidy suddenly exclaimed. _"I'm in range!"_ The players could only watch helplessly as Bowser ruthlessly charged forward through the island, showing no mercy whatsoever. Liz had been the lucky one – her star steal expenditure meant she only lost around 25 coins. But as for the others…

Fritz: -35 coins. Susie: -67 coins. Cassidy: -156 coins.

" _NOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ Cassidy wailed as Bowser completed his rampage. _"WHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY?"_

Mike cringed. That was a tough pill to swallow no matter how many times you played the game. And on the last turn, too…that was a game-changer right there, that's for sure. "Uhm…" he mumbled, "there's still…Chance…Time?"

" _Oh, yeah, sure,"_ Cassidy mumbled sarcastically as she hit her dice block. _"Like that'll help me."_ She rolled her dice block and hit a 3. _"Wait a minute…there's a Chance Time spot over there…and I have a Skeleton Key…"_

"Oh, wow!" her dad exclaimed. "I was just kidding about the Chance Time thing, but this might actually be real!"

" _Do it!"_ Fritz challenged her. _"What've you got to lose?"_

" _Absolutely nothing, let's do it!"_ Cassidy exclaimed as she landed on the space. The Chance Time stage showed up, and she hit the middle block first. The players and the crowd "oooooh"-ed as it revealed a star giveaway.

"This could define the game right here," Mike commented as Cassidy hit the giver block next, revealing…

" _Awwwwww!"_ Liz moaned. _"I just got that star!"_

"One more…" Mike breathed as Cassidy hit the giver block, revealing…

" _YES!"_ Fritz cheered. _"Finally, I get some GOOD luck for once! After getting shafted in Mario Kart! Thank God!"_

Liz looked over at him, and couldn't help but smile despite everything. _"Well, if I had to give a star to someone, I'm glad it was you."_

He grinned back at her. _"Thanks, Liz."_

"Wow, that is one of the most chill reactions to losing a star on Chance Time that I've ever seen," Mike commented as the last minigame played out. It was Demolition Dash, and the four players began smashing away and pummeling at a Bowser statue. Cassidy and Susie destroyed their statue first a few seconds later, and the game reached its conclusion.

"These bonus stars are going to decide the entire game," Mike declared as the characters lined up on the screen.

The first one appeared, the Mini-game star, and it went to…

" _Yes!"_ Susie exclaimed. _"I don't go home with nothing!"_

The Coin star appeared next, and there were no surprises as to who won this one.

" _If I didn't get the Coin star after stacking up over 130 coins, I was going to be very angry,"_ Cassidy snarked.

"All that's left is the Happening Star," Mike announced. "Whoever wins this might win the game…"

The Happening Star appeared, and the last game-defining star went to…

" _YES!"_ Fritz whooped. _"I WON! AFTER GETTING SCREWED OVER IN RAINBOW ROAD, I FINALLY WON!"_

Liz smirked. _"Bet things wouldn't have turned out so well if you hadn't gotten that star I stole from Cassidy,"_ she commented.

Fritz brushed it off. _"Who cares, I finally won! But seriously, Liz,"_ he smiled, _"thanks for the help."_

" _Did the entirety of a 20-turn game get decided by that last turn?"_ Gabe asked. _"I'm starting to sense a pattern here…"_

Mike shrugged. "That was an incredibly rare sequence of events, Gabe. Getting Bowser's Appearing Act on the roulette, him rolling a freaking thirty, AND Chance Time? The chance of that happening in one turn is probably less than 1 in 10000. Besides, who cares? At the end of the day, it's all in good fun. Plus, in its own weird way, seeing people get screwed in video games makes for some top-tier hilarity in and of itself. If only because you get to see the rage-filled reactions of whoever got the short end of the stick." He smiled fondly. "I still get together with some of my old buddies from college sometimes for a game, and I never get tired of seeing their reactions whenever I fuck'em over with a Boo."

" _Will we ever get to meet your college friends? Or their kids?"_ Cassidy asked.

Mike's smile faded. "That's…a difficult question to answer, Cassidy," he admitted. "I told Mary this and I'll tell you too. I have to be very careful about who I tell about you guys. Remember, as far as everyone else is concerned, ghosts and souls either don't exist or don't stick around. And there's a lot of problems that can happen if I fuck this up. You can talk on the Internet as much as you want, but when it comes to the actual meet and greet, that's gonna be tricky for me to deal with."

The children all sighed. In the bodies of the animatronics, they had been forced to watch endlessly from the stage as children happily played with each other and took part in something they never could. They were happy just to be with each other, especially now that they were free from the Fazbear curse, with so many new toys at their disposal and a loving parent to watch over them, but they had missed playing with other kids for 30 years and still missed it to this day. Still, it was out of there hands, and all of them trusted Mike's judgment.

"Anyway," Mike looked up at the clock. "It's 1 pm and I need lunch. You guys can continue playing whatever you want while I eat, and when I come back we can move on to other things. Sound good?"

" _Yep!"_ the children chorused, and he couldn't help but smile inwardly as he got up and left. Even after 30 years of pain and loneliness, the kids had reacted to the video games exactly how people normally would. Some things never changed, and as far as he concerned, that was a good sign.

/

A/N: I didn't grow up with larger Nintendo consoles, surprisingly enough. Most of my experience with things like Mario Kart and Mario Party are from Youtube videos. But I've seen plenty of those to know ALL about the rage-inducing moments that can happen. The possibilities of getting screwed over are simply endless XD

After getting mentally tortured by horrendous grammar, I figured I should give the kids something that would be just as fun for them as it would be for the readers. Video games have advanced so much in the past 30 years that it isn't even funny, and they have a LOT to catch up on. Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros….that's only scratching the surface. There's an entire world out there. But that's for another time.

Hope I didn't give any of you guys PTSD flashbacks from getting your ass kicked by bad luck in any of these games :P


	10. Chapter 10 - Old and New Friends Part 1

A/N: Thanks for following along with the story guys! I had a really rough week and have no clue how I managed to write out two chapters for this fic, but I guess it goes to show I'm invested in it.

I've depicted the family as mostly sticking to itself so far. Let's add some other characters into the mix, why don't we? Mike might live by himself, but he does have friends.

This isn't going to be a "pure humor" chapter like the others, but it's not going to be dark either. I was originally going to have this be a darker chapter, but I'm going to push that a little farther back.

Chapter 10 – Old and New Friends Part 1

The rest of the week had passed by in much the same way that the first two days had. Mike had taken the time to introduce the ghost kids to various games they could play while teaching them the basics of good grammar, and then either left to take care of his own business or joined in on the fun depending on the circumstances. The kids had settled in with relative ease all things considered, and Mike couldn't help but smile as they started calling him "Dad" or other variations instead of "Mike", like they had when they'd first met him.

It was now early Saturday evening, and Mike had pondered the earlier question of how and when to introduce the ghost kids to the outside world or other people. The issue had never quite left his mind, and the earlier he could find an answer that would satisfy him and everyone else, the better.

As it turned out, the answer came much sooner than he'd expected.

 _RING! RING! RING!_ His cell phone suddenly started beeping, and Mike looked at the number. It was Ryan, one of his closest friends from his college days. He let the call through. "Hey, Ryan! What's up?" he greeted the man cheerfully.

"Mike! How're you doing?" Ryan voice was as friendly as usual, but Mike could tell that something had gone awry in his friend's life. "Everything is just dandy."

"No, you're not," the man cut him off. "Ryan, I've known you for 25 years. What's wrong?"

Ryan sighed. "Straight to the point as always, Mike. There was a big gas leak in my house today. Nobody's hurt – I noticed it quick enough and the kids and I got the hell out of there as soon as we smelled it. But it's going to take the utility company all goddamn night to fix it."

"What about your wife?"

"She had a family issue she needed to deal with and she was out for the weekend. I offered to come with but she told me she wanted to handle it by herself. Whatever she wants, I guess…"

Mike rubbed his forehead, already knowing what was coming. "You and your kids need a place to stay, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"Mike, believe me when I say I tried to hit every other option first before contacting you. All our buddies are either busy this evening or out of the area. You're a good guy, Mike, and I didn't want to bother you. But this leak is gonna take a huge bite out of my finance already, and all this happened way too quickly for me to deal with it properly."

Mike groaned inwardly. Normally, he would've been more than happy to let Ryan and his family stay the night. But now there was the issue of seven ghost kids complicating matters. He did trust Ryan enough to keep a secret, but he wasn't sure about his kids.

Although, maybe this _could_ be the answer to his earlier problem…

"Two questions," Mike decided. "How old did you say your kids were, and can they keep a secret?"

"Uhmmm…" Ryan wasn't sure how this was relevant to his issue, but he was already asking for a huge favor from Mike and he didn't want to jeopardize it by refusing to answer. "They're 11 and 13. And yeah, they can keep a secret. I raised them to be as trustworthy as possible."

Good answer. "All right, Ryan, you can come over, but just until the problem's fixed."

He could hear Ryan breathe a tremendous sigh of relief on the other end. "Oh my God, Mike, you are a goddamn lifesaver. I promise, as soon as the leak is fixed we'll be out of your hair."

"Are you sure you don't want me to just pay for your gas leak instead?" Mike asked dryly.

Ryan laughed. "Hell no, wouldn't be right for me to mooch off you that hard. See you in a bit."

Mike shook his head and hung up. Even after 30 years, his old friend hadn't changed.

/

"All right, guys," Mike called out to the ghost kids. As soon as they heard his voice, they immediately paused the game they were playing. "Got a very important announcement to make."

" _What is it?"_ Gabe asked.

"One of my friends had a big gas leak in his house and needs a place to stay for the night. He'll be coming over with his two kids."

The ghosts' eyes widened at the implications. _"Does…does this mean we can finally play with other kids?"_ Cassidy asked excitedly.

Mike thought for a moment on how to respond. "Here's the thing," he finally answered. "I can trust my friend. I've known him for 30 years. But I know almost nothing about his kids, the last time I met them were when they were like 5. I have no idea if they're good kids and if they can keep a secret, though my friend promised that they could. I want you to make the call. Do you like them? Do you think you can trust them? If both of those answers are yes, then I don't have a problem with you meeting them."

" _In other words,"_ Gabe clarified, _"don't just run in and say hi."_

"Exactly," his dad agreed.

The Marionette gestured towards the other ghosts. _"With the exception of myself, being in a physical body and all, the others are naturally invisible and should be able to conceal themselves."_

" _I'm really hoping we can finally have some fun with other people,"_ Susie said wistfully, and the other ghosts made various noises of agreement.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and all of the ghosts looked up startled. _"Crap, he's here already?"_ Fritz asked.

All of the ghosts disappeared as Mike went over to the front door and swung it open. "Hey, Ryan!" he greeted him cheerfully. "You sure got over here quickly!"

Ryan grinned. "You're the best, Mike. Thanks for doing this on such short notice." He gestured over to his car. "Alex, Meghan! Say hi to Mike!"

A 13-year old boy and an 11-year old girl climbed out. "Hello, Mr. Schmidt!" they chorused. Their eyes widened when they saw the house Mike was living in. "Whoa…" Alex exclaimed, "your house is so cool!"

Mike chuckled. "I get that a lot," he commented. "You guys can do anything and go anywhere in the house except the basement," he told them as they eagerly entered the house. He turned to Ryan. "Guess your wife's lucky she isn't around."

Ryan shook his head. "I dunno, man. I think she'd rather be here than dealing with whatever she is right now." He followed Mike into the house and into the kitchen.

"Want something to eat?" Mike asked.

"We had something before we came here. I'm already in your personal space for an entire night, I'm not gonna take advantage of you anymore than I already am."

Mike shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Ryan's sat down at the table, and his smile faded slightly. "Now, what was that question you asked me earlier about if my kids are trustworthy?" he asked, deciding to cut to the chase. "Normally, I would've gotten annoyed if someone asked me that, but I know you a lot better than most people, Mike. You wouldn't have asked that without a good reason."

Mike sighed. "It's…something that I'm not sure I'm ready to tell you yet. Still debating."

Ryan put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know you can trust me, right?"

"That's not the issue at all, Ryan. Please…" he looked at earnestly at his friend, "drop the subject for now."

Ryan looked a bit disappointed, but he decided to let it go. "So!" he asked in a cheerful tone that indicated a change in subject. "What've you been up to, Mike? I don't think I've seen you around in a while outside of church and the monthly reunions with our buddies."

Mike smiled dryly. "Been busier than I've been in a while, Ryan. You have no idea…"

 _Meanwhile, in the Living Room_

"How does Mr. Schmidt have so many video games?" Meghan exclaimed. "There's like, 10 consoles here!"

"I don't even know why he'd have this many video games, but I'm not complaining!" Alex agreed. "But what's that thing over there?" he pointed at what looked like a gigantic gift box.

Meghan shrugged as Alex approached the box. "Help me lift it up," he said, and the two of them opened the box. The lid swung back and they peered in.

"Yeesh…" Meghan shuddered. "What is that?"

"I dunno," Alex mumbled. "It looks like some kind of…Puppet thing? Kind of creepy…"

"It looks…kind of sad. Like it's crying," Meghan stared at the purple lines flowing out of is eyes. It almost felt like it was looking back at her…but that was ridiculous…right?

Alex shuddered. "Let's just leave it alone," he decided. "I don't want to get in trouble with Mr. Schmidt if we end up breaking something after he invited us to his house."

They closed the box and returned to the center of the living room. "Sooooo…" Alex gave his sister a challenging smirk. "Mario Kart?"

"You're on."

The two kids set up the console, completely unaware of their invisible audience watching them from the next room.

" _They seem nice enough,"_ Jeremy whispered, deciding that the noise of the video game would drown out the conversation. _"Had enough responsibility not to touch Mary."_

" _Hold up,"_ Gabe replied, _"did they get permission to touch dad's video games?"_

" _Dad said they could do anything except go into the basement. Which they haven't,"_ Fritz pointed out.

" _That's fair,"_ Gabe conceded.

" _Ooh, they're playing Rainbow Road! And they're so good at it too!"_ Susie pointed out excitedly.

" _Shhhhhh!"_ Liz warned. But she wasn't quite fast enough. Meghan paused the game and looked around confusedly.

"What's up, sis?" Alex asked.

Meghan frowned. "I dunno…I thought I heard a girl's voice just now."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Schmidt doesn't have any kids," he pointed out skeptically. "I think you're just hearing things."

"Okay…" Meghan reluctantly agreed, and two of them went back to their game. They raced on to the third lap, and the ghosts couldn't help but marvel at how good the two were. Neither of them fell off once, and by the end of the final lap they had left the CPU players in the dust. Meghan had a green shell and Alex had a mushroom he'd been saving from a three-pack.

Then one of the CPU players threw a blue shell, and the ghosts sighed as they knew what was coming. "Watch this," Alex grinned. He activated the mushroom just as the blue shell hit, dodging the explosion entirely. Meghan's jaw dropped as Alex sped away, securing an easy first place with a play that she didn't even know was possible.

"How did you…" she gaped. "I can't even be mad. Just…how did you…"

Alex laughed. "Cause I'm the best Mario Kart player ever," he replied smoothly.

" _That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"_ a voice interrupted them.

Both of them turned towards the source of the voice. It was a red-haired boy, around 10 years old. This wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, except for the fact that he was translucent, pale, floating, and emanating a ghostly aura. The boy's eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

"Uhm…Alex?" Meghan asked with a surprising calm. "That guy's a ghost, right?"

"I believe he is," Alex agreed emotionlessly.

"So, I haven't gone insane in the past few seconds, right? I'm not imagining this?"

"Unless we've both gone insane at the same time, no, you're not."

"Oh, okay," Meghan said calmly.

The two kids stared at the ghostly boy for a few seconds. And then…

/

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ryan looked up from the table in shock. "Alex! Meghan! What's going on?"

He looked at Mike in a panic, but to his surprise, instead of sharing his shock and fear, Mike simply smacked his forehead with his palm in exasperation. "Fucking damn it," he groaned. "I didn't expect the secret to be blown open this early." He sighed and got up from his chair. "Don't worry, Ryan, your kids are completely fine."

"So…why are they screaming?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Come over to the living room. You're about to learn why I asked about your kids and secrets earlier."

/

" _Wait, calm down, please!"_ Fritz desperately tried to pacify the two screaming kids. _"I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise!"_

"What the fuck?" Alex exclaimed. "Why is there a freaking GHOST in Mr. Schmidt's house?"

A second ghost, a boy with black hair, also materialized. _"Nice going, moron!"_ Jeremy snapped at Fritz. _"You just blew your cover wide open!"_

Meghan's eyes widened. "There's MORE of you?" she asked.

A third voice sighed. _"Might as well get this out of the way now,"_ it muttered. Four more ghosts materialized, one boy and 3 girls. The voice's owner turned to Alex and Meghan. _"Sorry about giving you that scare earlier,"_ Gabe apologized. _"Please excuse my friend. He's a nice guy, but he's also an idiot."_

"Uhmmm….uh….uhm…." neither Alex nor Meghan could come up with any kind of coherent response.

The youngest of the ghosts, a little girl with long black hair, spoke up. _"I mean, we were thinking about showing ourselves eventually."_

" _Not like that, Cassidy,"_ Jeremy muttered. He heard rapidly approaching footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen and looked up to see Mike and Ryan coming towards them from the doorway. Ryan's jaw dropped when he saw the six ghost children looking uncertainly back at him.

"All right then," Mike immediately asked, seemingly unfazed by what had happened. "Who screwed up?"

Every single ghost pointed at Fritz, who smiled sheepishly at his dad. _"Uhm…in my defense…Alex dodged a blue shell…and I got excited?"_

Mike facepalmed. "Somehow this doesn't surprise me…" He turned to Ryan. "Kids, meet Ryan. Ryan, meet the six kids I adopted at the beginning of the week."

Ryan repeatedly switched glances between the ghosts and Mike. "Hey, Mike, was this house built on an Indian Burial Ground?" he finally asked. "Any unholy or satanic rituals happen here? Any violent suicides or murders?"

The ghosts all shuddered at the last part, but nobody aside from Mike noticed. "No, Ryan, none of the above."

"Okay, then why are there six ghost kids currently living in your house?"

" _Seven,"_ the Marionette corrected as she started climbing out of her box, and Meghan couldn't help but shudder as she realized that what she thought she'd imagined before had turned out to be completely real. _"Seven ghost children."_

"Yeah, that." He looked a little more closely at the Marionette. "Weird…I could have sworn I've seen that puppet thing somewhere before." He shook his head. "Anyway, what were you saying, Mike?"

Mike sighed. "It's a long and incredibly complicated story that would take me all night to explain, and I don't feel like being Mr. Exposition right now. All you need to know is that they've been lost for a very long time and needed a place to call home, so I gave that to them."

"I'd say you're way too nice for your own good, Mike," Ryan replied dryly, "except I know for a fact that I'd be wrong."

The ghost of a blond-haired girl spoke up. _"Mr…uh, Mr…"_

"Marshall," Ryan helpfully supplied.

" _Mr. Marshall…"_ Susie continued, _"…we haven't talked to anybody besides Mike for a long time. We just wanted to meet other children and maybe play with them."_

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "By play, I'm going to assume you mean 'video games and board games' kind of play and not 'screw around and torture their minds and souls until you move in for a sadistic and brutal kill' kind of play." The moment he said that, he wanted to smash his head into the wall. That was an incredibly harsh thing to say to children, dead or otherwise, and he knew it.

The ghosts all looked at him in horror. _"No!"_ Gabe exclaimed, unable to fully hide the hurt in his voice. _"We'd never do something like that to them!"_

"Sorry about that," Ryan apologized. "I'm kind of a horror buff and there's lots of ghost stories that don't end well for the living people involved." He looked at the ghosts, searching carefully for any sign of hidden deception or cruelty. Finding none, he shrugged. "I guess it's all right, then." Visible expressions of relief appeared on the ghosts' faces. "You seem like good kids from what I can tell. Mike trusts you and believe me when I say this doesn't happen often. Besides, this'll give Alex and Meghan something else to do besides play Mike's video games all night." He sat down on the couch heavily. "I'm probably going to break my brain if I think about this too hard. I need a freaking drink…" he muttered.

"Come with me and I'll go get you one," Mike offered. The two men got up and Mike guided Ryan down into the basement, leaving both the living and dead kids behind.

Alex and Meghan stared silently at the ghosts. Seeing just one had thrown them off guard; meeting seven had wreaked havoc on their mental processes.

" _Are you guys all right?"_ a girl with orange hair asked with concern.

" _I'm guessing this isn't something they see every day,"_ Jeremy muttered.

This time, Meghan was the first to recover. "I have so many questions and I have no clue how to begin," she replied dumbly.

Mary gestured at the clock. _"We have all night to get to know each other,"_ she said. _"I'll be the first to admit that this wasn't how I imagined the night to progress, but maybe this isn't a bad way for things to play out."_

Despite everything, Alex couldn't help but chuckle sardonically. "Looks like I was completely wrong when I said this was going to be a boring night."

/

A/N: It's funny how Mike thought taking the kids outside was going to be the easier problem to deal with between that and having them meet other people, but the other problem was the one that got (kinda) resolved first.

So yeah! It's time I bring in some other living people into this fic. There won't be very many of them, but they will show up every now and again. The point of Ryan and his family is to give the kids an opportunity to do something they've wanted to do for over 30 years.

There's no way I could write something like this in one go, so this will be the first multi-chapter arc in this fic. It will not be the last.

Anyway, I hope you liked Ryan, Alex, and Meghan! Mike and his ghostly children are special characters in their own ways, so it felt weird writing "normal" people for a change.


	11. Chapter 11 - Old and New Friends Part 2

A/N: I had the worst week last week. Three med school tests and four med school quizzes in a single week. You'd think that having Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day would be easier, but nope. We get at least one exam and 3-4 quizzes every single week here. Good times!

Lots of dialogue coming up this chapter. Shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering the topic.

To answer Rebiele in the reviews, I do have something very special and specific planned for Michael Afton. However, his presence requires a significant amount of setup for me to execute properly that also ties in closely with character development for Liz/Elizabeth, and he won't directly show up for a while. I WILL be making mentions of him a few times before that though, such as in this chapter.

Chapter 11 – Old and New Friends, Part 2

Alex and Meghan sat down on the sofa as the ghost kids stood/floated around them. The living and dead kids had exchanged introductions as soon as their parents had gone down into the basement, and now they were brimming with questions and curiosity.

"What's it like being a ghost?" Meghan was the first to voice a question. "Do you just float around, do you have any special powers, or…?"

Gabe shrugged. _"Well, we can turn invisible and we're basically intangible for the most part,"_ he explained. _"We can interact with the physical world to some degree, although not as much as a living person. For example,"_ he moved over to the pile of consoles and picked up one of them _, "I can pick up this Nintendo controller just fine, but I can also float through the walls."_ He quickly walked through one of them and came back a few seconds later. _"Like this!"_

"Cool!" Alex said approvingly. "But what about interacting with other people?

Jeremy decided to answer this one. _"Well, I'd probably just float through you normally. We can solidify ourselves enough to do things like receive hugs from Mike,"_ the ghosts all smiled at this one, _"but according to Mary he already has a bit more supernatural attunement than the average person so that might have something to do with it."_

Meghan looked over at the Marionette, who was idly watching the conversation unfold. "Mary's a bit…different…isn't she? I mean, why isn't she a simple ghost like the rest of you?"

" _Mary's soul possessed the Puppet when she died,"_ Susie explained. _"I don't remember why, but to this day she refuses to leave the Puppet's body."_

The Marionette's relaxed demeanor stiffened slightly. _"I would rather not go into details,"_ she interrupted in a tone that made it clear this topic of discussion was over.

" _On the topic of Mary, out of all of us she's by far the most powerful,"_ Jeremy added. _"Besides everything we just talked about right now, Mary can also do magic."_

The kids' eyes widened. "That is SO COOL!" they exclaimed. "CAN YOU SHOW US? PLEASE?"

Mary shrugged and stretched out a hand in front of her. It suddenly burst into blue flames for several seconds before quickly dissipating, leaving her hand unharmed.

"That is the coolest thing ever!" Meghan praised.

" _A simple trick, really,"_ Mary replied. _"But I'm afraid I can't show you some of my more powerful abilities. It's harder to control stronger magic without proper focus and training, and I haven't practiced in a while since I've been busy integrating my friends into our new family."_

"So besides Mary, you guys have only been around for about a week?" Alex asked. "That's what it sounded like based on what Mr. Schmidt said just now."

" _Yeah,"_ Fritz confirmed. _"We came to his house early in the week, and he adopted us as his family."_ He gestured to the Marionette. _"Mary's the one exception, she's been here with dad for about a year now."_

"And what've you been doing with Mike in the past week?" Meghan followed up on her brother's question.

Susie grinned. _"Dad's been catching us up on everything fun that's happened since we died. Movies, video games, the Internet, there's so many things to do and explore! It's incredible!"_ she gushed.

Alex and Meghan looked at each other. The Internet was new to them? "How…how long has it been since you…uhm, well…" Alex hesitated.

Gabe shook his head. _"It's all right for you to ask. We died over thirty years ago."_

Their eyes widened. "ALL of you?" Meghan gasped. "Did you…all die at the same time?"

" _Most of us did,"_ Cassidy answered. _"Gabe, Susie, Fritz, Jeremy, me…yes. Mary died earlier than the rest of us, and I don't know when Liz died. All of us except Liz have known each other from the beginning; Liz died somewhere else."_

"I'm so sorry…" Meghan murmured sympathetically. She didn't know how it had happened, but whatever had caused these many children to die at a young age couldn't have been pleasant.

" _It's not your fault,"_ Jeremy replied. _"What's done is done, and we're happy with where we are now."_

"So how is Mr. Schmidt?" Alex decided to change the subject. "Seems like a chill guy."

The ghosts' eyes all glowed with admiration. _"Mike is absolutely amazing!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"The best dad ever, hands down!"_

Alex smirked. "I'm going to have to challenge that with _our_ dad."

Mary tilted her head. _"Your dad may be great from what little we've seen, but keep in mind that he has had 13 years of practice to raise only 2 kids. Mike has had only 1 year with just me, and only 1 week to be a parent for seven. It's not really a fair comparison."_

Meghan shrugged. Fair enough. "So what have you guys been doing?"

" _Aside from the movies and video games? Not much…"_ Gabe admitted. _"We can't really go out of the house, at least not right now. We'd probably cause a mass panic if people realized ghosts were real, since we aren't really all that good with keeping our presences completely hidden. Dad spent all of this week trying to figure out how to get us out of the house or introduce us to other people without any problems."_

" _Well, the second problem's already on its way to being solved,"_ Jeremy commented. _"Admittedly, not the way we wanted it…"_ he flashed a dirty look at Fritz, who shrugged sheepishly.

Mary glared at them. _"Knock it off, you two,"_ she ordered, before turning to Alex and Meghan. _"To continue answering your last question, Mike has been teaching them good spelling and grammar for their education."_

"Spelling and grammar?" Meghan repeated. "That's it? No full-blown homeschooling or anything?"

Fritz grinned. _"Yup!"_ he replied cheerfully. _"No point in learning math and all that crap if we can't even apply that to the real world cause we're dead!"_

"Ugh, I'm so jealous!" Alex groaned. "I had three freaking tests this week. I swear my teachers are working together to screw us over as hard as possible! You guys are so lucky you don't have to go to school. Being a ghost must be the best thing ever!"

The smiles and happy expressions were instantly wiped from the ghosts' faces. Alex looked at them uncertainly. "Uhm…"

"Alex…" his sister muttered warningly. Thankfully, her brother wisely took the hint and refrained from making further comments.

" _Trust me, Alex,"_ Mary finally answered, _"you are infinitely, unquestionably better off being alive as you are now. All seven of us will tell you the exact same thing."_

"Was it that bad?" Alex asked quietly.

Liz's voice was barely above a whisper. _"We died 30 years ago, Alex. None of us found any peace until Mike took us in."_ Everyone, living and dead, shuddered at the implications.

" _I think a change in subject would be a good thing to have right about now,"_ Gabe announced. He gave his new friends a curious look. _"What do you plan on being when you become older? We won't ever have that opportunity, but I'm interested in knowing what you want to do in the future."_

"Oh, geez, I have no idea," Meghan was taken aback, "you're probably getting a better answer from us a few years down the road. Right now the only thing we're trying to do is get good grades in school and that's about it."

Alex shrugged. "I always liked science. Might do something with that, but yeah, Meghan's right. Middle school is way too early for something like that. Heck, Dad didn't know what he really wanted to do until college."

" _What is school like?"_ Susie asked. _"I mean, if we put away all the jokes about it being crap and boring and all that."_

"Has its ups and downs," Meghan answered. "As Alex just said, he had an absolute hell of a week with all his tests and it doesn't get much worse than that, and yeah it can be pretty boring at times, but otherwise it's not too bad. We both do a couple of extracurriculars like music to make things more fun."

"Upside to having a mass test week is that I don't have any homework this week," Alex smirked. "Neither does Meghan, though in her case she just lucked out. And thank God for that, because talking with you guys is so much more fun than trying to solve a bunch of math problems."

The ghosts all grinned at the praise. _"You should definitely play some music for us sometime,"_ Jeremy insisted. _"What do you guys play anyway?"_

"Alex plays a saxophone and I play the violin," Meghan replied. "We don't do it hardcore like some of our friends, but it's still a nice way to pass the time."

"Hey, we've all got to have hobbies of some kind," Alex added, receiving general agreement from everyone. "Otherwise life is gonna be nothing but a giant slog."

" _Speaking of friends, college was when your dad met our dad, right?"_ Cassidy asked.

"Yup!" Alex grinned. "The two of them were best buds in college and still keep in touch regularly to this day. They sometimes hang out together on the weekends, though the last time we saw Mr. Schmidt was when we were really young so neither of us remember much about him."

"Wasn't Mr. Schmidt the one who recommended to Dad that we take that vacation over to the Grand Canyon and all those National Parks?" Meghan asked her brother. "I think he was!"

" _Wait, what?"_ Susie interrupted them. _"He helped your dad plan a vacation?"_

"Oh, yeah!" Alex explained. "A few weeks ago we took a trip over to the western part of the United States. We saw so many cool…things…" his eagerness faded as he realized he was talking to an audience that might never get to see them. "…I'll shut up now."

" _No, go on!"_ Gabe pressed. _"It's not like we're trapped here forever. After Mike figures out how to get us out of the house without causing a mass panic, we'll be able to see everything that you saw eventually. It won't happen now, and maybe not even for a while. But someday we will. We trust Mike to make it happen and we'll do everything we can to help him. And the more places we get a glimpse of before, the more places we can explore once everything's said and done."_

Meghan smiled. It was amazing just how much confidence he had in a man that he had known for only a week. "In that case, Gabe, we'll be happy to show you." She took out her smartphone and began looking up pictures. "This is the Grand Canyon," she showed them a picture of her, her brother, and her father smiling happily at the edge of the mighty rock formation. All the ghosts stared at the picture in awe.

" _That looks amazing!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"It looks like it stretches forever!"_

" _What's all the way down there?"_ Susie asked curiously, referring to the bottom.

Alex shrugged. "No idea. I've heard there's trails and even a river you can raft on, but we're too inexperienced for that and I'm not sure Dad could handle it anyway." She filtered through a couple pictures she had taken of just the Canyon itself, before shifting over to other pictures that the Marshall family had taken at Bryce Canyon, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park, and Yellowstone. Each of these natural landmarks had a unique appearance and atmosphere that separated them from each other, but all of them possessed an incredible grandeur that represented Mother Nature at its most beautiful. About a third of the pictures had Alex, Meghan, and/or Ryan on them, while the rest were simply of the parks themselves. Gabe had gotten a pencil and paper to start jotting down the names of the locations. Ironically, the two Marshall siblings were now the ones being bombarded with questions about what each park and canyon was like.

As Alex answered a question about what they did between park visits ("Not much. It's kind of funny, but a lot of that state is just a single long road in the middle of nowhere that stretches for miles. Can get pretty boring, but it makes the destinations even more awesome in comparison."), Fritz noticed that Liz was looking somewhat gloomy despite her awe at the pictures that the Marshalls had taken. Nobody else had apparently noticed, so he sidled closer to her. _"What's wrong, Liz?"_ he asked.

Liz sighed. _"It's just…I see Alex and Meghan smiling happily in those pictures, and…I miss my brothers,"_ she confessed. _"I can barely remember their faces anymore. I know that you guys are my new family now, and I'll always be grateful and happy about that. But I can't help but think about my old family…"_

" _What were they like?"_ Fritz asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

" _I had two,"_ Liz explained, trying to repress a sniffle. _"Eric was younger than I was. I don't remember much about him, but I…I found his grave when I searched around the town after I was freed from Scrap Baby."_ _She wiped the tears that were threatening to form in her eyes._ _"It wasn't fair…he died so young."_

 _"I'm sorry to hear that,"_ _Fritz murmured sympathetically._

 _Liz took a few seconds to collect herself before continuing._ _"And Mike…Mikey…was my older brother."_

" _Mike?"_ Fritz repeated. _"Huh…he has the exact same name as dad."_

The corners of Liz's mouth twitched upward. _"Yeah. Mikey was someone I was really close to before everything fell apart. It's strange. He didn't like my younger brother very much, but he was always much nicer to me and knew how to make me smile."_ Her face fell. _"Then, I died…and I haven't heard anything from him since. I tried to look for him on my own after I was freed from Baby and before I came here, but I never found him."_

" _Maybe you could ask Dad to help?"_ Fritz asked.

Liz shook her head. _"Even if he had any idea on where to start, he already has enough to deal with without me adding more to his plate as it is, Fritz. Besides,"_ she suddenly smiled. _"I have a new family now. With Dad and you guys, the present and the future are so much brighter than the past ever was."_

Fritz smiled back, but his next words were spoken in an unusually serious tone. _"Doesn't mean you should just ditch your brother, though. We don't make him any less important."_

" _Maybe someday…"_ she mused absent-mindedly.

"Hey!" Alex's voice suddenly called out to them. "You guys all right?"

Both of them quickly moved towards the rest of their friends and family. _"Yeah, sorry,"_ Fritz quickly replied, _"Liz and I got sidetracked for a bit. We're cool. Whatcha showin' us?"_

Meghan showed them an exotic city filled with bright lights and exotic-looking buildings. The picture she was currently showing them was of herself and Alex smiling happily in front of a gigantic building with Roman architecture. "This is Las Vegas. There are so many casinos there it isn't even funny. We stayed at this for a few nights, it's called Caesar's Palace."

" _That is SO COOL!"_ Susie gushed.

"Definitely," Alex agreed, "but we only stayed there for only a few days. That was enough time for us to see most of the buildings of interest there, and according to Dad the place gets boring if you stay there too long. Lots of adult games there, if you have the money to gamble it."

" _Gamble?"_ Liz asked. _"What does that mean?"_

"Betting money on a game. If you win, you get more money. If you lose, you lose what you bet," Meghan clarified. "You can't play if you're too young, though. Dad was actually pretty lucky, he won enough money to cover the cost of the entire vacation. It's rigged so that you're more likely to lose, though."

" _Anybody here want to see Dad try a few rounds?"_ Fritz asked, and the rest of the ghosts had to admit that it would be exciting to watch Mike try his luck.

Alex shrugged. "Depends on whether he's the kind of guy that likes to bet money," he said as Meghan put away her phone. "So what'd you think?"

" _We SO need to convince Mike to take us all on a vacation out there,"_ Jeremy insisted, then added as an afterthought, _"once we figure out all the kinks."_

" _I still think Disneyworld would be so much better though,"_ _Cassidy_ argued. _"I mean, Alex and Meghan showed us so many cool amusement parks there from their vacation the year before they went to the West! We saw those Disney movies, how could you NOT want to see the closest thing there is to seeing them in real life?"_

Sensing a potential argument about to start, Mary quickly stepped in. _"I am fairly certain that Mike will be fully accommodating of whatever we present to him,"_ she interrupted them. _"But first we need to make sure we can do it without scaring the public."_

"Good luck to you and him on that," Alex replied. His eyes caught the shelf of games and they suddenly bulged. "NO WAY!" He rushed over to the shelf and took out a game. "Mr. Schmidt has Super Mario Odyssey AND Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy? How does he have all the newest games and systems?"

" _Super Mario? Crash Bandicoot? Wha…?"_ the ghosts mouthed in confusion.

"Wait, you've never heard of them? Crash Bandicoot? Mario? Nintendo? Any of those?" Alex asked in shock.

The ghosts all shook their head. _"Well, I mean, Mr. Schmidt mentioned Mario a few times for Mario Party, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros., but that was pretty much it,"_ Susie replied.

" _We're way behind when it comes to things that kids like nowadays,"_ Jeremy admitted. _"Dad was pretty freaked when he learned that we'd never heard of things like Harry Potter, although he did try to hide it."_

Alex and Meghan stared at each other in horror. Their new friends had never heard of any of these childhood staples? Just _what_ had happened to them? An unspoken agreement was struck between the two siblings: they needed to fix this, and they needed to fix it now.

"Every kid needs to see and/or read _Harry Potter_ ," Meghan began. "Normally, reading the books for things like fantasy is strictly better since the movies more often than not screw up a lot of the storyline, but in this case I'd say both the books and the movies are great in their own ways. You'll have to ask Mr. Schmidt about the books, but we CAN start with the movies. For whatever reason, your dad has all of them here on the shelf even though nowadays most people buy movies online."

" _What's Harry Potter about?"_ Liz asked curiously. The ghost kids were eager to expand the childhood experience that they had lost until recently, and the fact that they now had living children as friends to experience it with made things even better.

Alex grinned. "You'll see," he promised as he started the movie.

/

As the children began watching the first movie, Ryan and Mike were busy watching a football game from their own college. Both of them cheered as one of their team's players intercepted the ball unexpectedly and rushed to the enemy goal, earning an unexpected touchdown.

"NICE!" Ryan declared approvingly as they won the extra kick point right after, spreading their already significant lead even further. "Team's doing just as good as they ever did."

Mike smirked. "I wouldn't know," he chuckled, "I rarely went to any of these things."

"You should've, man," Ryan replied. "These things were great fun, and a great way to hang out when you're not studying."

Mike shrugged. "Whenever I personally showed up to these things, our team ended up losing most of the time. Me not showing up was me doing a public service on behalf of our school."

Ryan held up a glass of Pepsi. "Let's hear it for Mike Schmidt, unsung hero of our college football team!" Both of them laughed as they drank their sodas.

"Hey, Ryan?" Mike's joking expression suddenly turned into something a lot more serious. "You know you can't tell anyone about the ghosts, right? I don't want to go into the details, but they've been through a lot of shit and exposing them to the rest of the world will make things even harder for them."

Ryan sighed. "Mike, if I told anybody that there were seven ghosts in your house, they'd throw me into the nuthouse the next day," he said half-jokingly, and then his voice took a more solemn tone, "and we both know that neither of us would do anything to ever hurt each other or our families. Besides, I've kept the secret of your dark past completely under wraps for over 25 years now."

"For which I'm eternally grateful.".

"Mike, the way you saved my ass when we were in college probably helped me out to this day." Ryan replied. "Keeping my mouth shut is such a small favor to ask in return that it might as well be nothing."

"Means a lot to me, old friend," Mike replied with a grateful smile. He shut the TV off; and looked back towards the stairs leading up to the main house. "Wanna go check up on the kids?"

"Sure thing, buddy," Ryan grinned. "If the way we turned out is any indication, their new friendship will be just as close as ours."

Mike laughed. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

/

A/N: And that's part 2! Mike's and Ryan's kids really hit it off, didn't they? Of course, you'd be eager to make friends too if you were alone in a place for 30 years without ever being able to talk to anyone. Hope you enjoyed the friendship between the Marshalls and the (adopted) Schmidts!

I've dropped quite a few hints regarding the past in this chapter, and more than just hints with regards to the past of the Aftons. Oh, poor Elizabeth…you have no idea just what happened to your brother, do you? And I already feel really bad for what I'm going to put her through when the day she finds out finally comes…the only thing I'll say now is that things will get worse before they get better.

The next few chapters are going right back into dark, trigger-warning-worthy material. If you're reading this fic because you wanted me to write darker stuff, you won't have long to wait anymore. As Ryan mentioned, Mike's past is not much happier than the ghost kids', even if he did endure and survive it in the end. And yes, this will indeed include Mike's experiences as a Night Guard during the first FNAF game. Hope you're as excited as I am!


	12. Chapter 12 - Pictures of the Past

A/N: I actually had two ideas for this next chapter, which I shared around with two of my oldest readers. I ultimately decided to go with this one since I felt it flowed better, although I will probably use the other one for a later chapter.

So here we go. This chapter is a prelude to one of three big moments in this fic that I had planned from the very beginning, none other than Mike Schmidt's backstory. Kids are naturally curious, but they should care that they don't go too deep into certain topics…

Trigger Warning: Child abuse (only towards the very end)

EDIT: Had to re-upload because the site decided to pull a new type of stupid shit on my fic and pretend that the newest chapter didn't exist.

Chapter 12 – Pictures of the Past

"I'm gonna miss you guys!" Meghan lamented as she and Alex said their good-byes at the front door of Mike's house. The two of them had talked with their new ghost friends deep into the night when they weren't watching movies or playing video games, and it wasn't until around 2 am that they all finally went to sleep. Both the Marshall and Schmidt kids had begged Mike for the Marshalls to stay longer the next morning, but unfortunately neither Ryan nor Mike were able to accommodate that request.

"Can't, kiddos," Ryan shook his head. "Mom's coming back today, and you guys both have school tomorrow."

"I've got to leave the house today to take care of some things," Mike added. "I make it a policy not to have anyone else in my house when I'm gone, Mary and you guys being the recent exceptions."

"Awwwww…" both groups groaned, but in the end there was nothing to be done.

"We'll keep in touch!" Alex promised. "And we'll try to come back as soon as possible!"

" _You can count on it!"_ Fritz insisted. _"You're the first friends we've made in years! We definitely have to do this again some time!"_

"Wish we could tell other people about you guys," Meghan sighed, "but we can't, and we all know why."

" _It is what it is,"_ Gabe shrugged. _"We're just glad to have met you guys."_

"Hope to hear from you soon!" Alex replied as he and Meghan both waved at their new friends. The ghosts gave their final farewell, and none of them stopped watching or waving until the Marshalls' car left the driveway and disappeared from sight.

"So what'd you think, guys?" Mike asked once they were back in the house.

" _That was the best thing that happened to us in over 30 years apart from you adopting us, dad!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"I can't even say how happy I am!"_

" _100% in agreement with that!"_ Susie added, and all the ghosts made similar affirmations.

"I'm glad that worked out so well," Mike commented. "Man, I thought that problem was going to be the harder one to solve out of the two I was working on. Even though two new friends admittedly doesn't sound like very much."

" _Two new friends are better than none,"_ Mary replied. _"We'll never have the same number of friends that we used to have when we were alive, so with that in mind, this was definitely a success all around."_

"Glad to hear it," their dad replied with a smile. "Now then, I've got some things I need to take care of for the day, so I'll be out for the next couple of hours. Think you guys can handle being here without me?"

" _I'm sure we'll be fine,"_ Gabe replied dryly.

"All right, guys," Mike opened the front door. "Try not to destroy the entirety of my house while I'm gone," he said jokingly.

" _We won't unless I find a way to do it that's hilarious enough to justify it!"_ Fritz cheerfully assured him.

Mike snorted and closed the door behind him, leaving the ghosts to themselves. For the next couple of hours, they predictably did what any kid that was home alone would do – video games, movies, all the fun stuff. After a while, however, they were starting to get bored with their repetitive routine.

" _Ugh, we've been doing the same crap for hours now,"_ Jeremy groaned. _"Things are a lot less fun now that dad's not around."_

" _Maybe we should read some of the books that Alex and Meghan suggested?"_ Susie suggested.

" _Not a bad idea. Problem is, we don't actually own any of those books,"_ Gabe replied.

Jeremy suddenly perked up. _"I think I have an idea!"_ he declared as he rushed out of the room.

Gabe facepalmed. _"Dammit, Jeremy…"_ he grumbled.

" _He's going to do something really stupid, isn't he?"_ Liz asked.

Gabe sighed. _"He's usually fairly serious, but honestly right now he's pulling a Fritz."_

" _Hey!"_

" _I think the boredom's gotten to his head,"_ Gabe continued, ignoring Fritz's protest. _"At that point he gets even crazier than Fritz does."_

They waited for a few seconds and Jeremy returned, carrying a binder. _"Found this on Dad's desk,"_ he explained. _"I thought it would be interesting to go through it and see what's inside."_

Mary's mouth hung open. _"You STOLE that off Mike's things?"_ she spluttered. _"This is already a terrible idea!"_

" _Look, it's not like I went digging through Mike's desk to find it,"_ Jeremy protested. _"I just found it sitting there on his desk and it looked like worth looking at. Besides,"_ he added, _I'm bored! I want to do something else that doesn't involve us staring in front of a TV screen for hours and hours!"_

Susie took one look at the folder, a seemingly innocuous thing with only the words "My Life" scribbled on it. _"To be honest, I'm kind of curious too,"_ she pleaded. _"Mike really hasn't shared a lot of details about his life to us yet, and I kind of want to know more."_

Mary groaned. _"Not you too, Susie!"_

" _C'mon, Mary,"_ Cassidy pleaded. _"What's the worst that could happen?"_

" _As much as I hate to admit it,"_ Gabe finally confessed, _"I'm just as curious as the rest of you. If this was something that Mike had carefully hidden away, I wouldn't touch it. But it must not be something he's desperate to keep secret. Just a simple look, that's all. I promise, Mary, we won't look any deeper into any of his things."_

Mary sighed. _"Fine,"_ she relented, _"But I'd rather he not know that we've been through his things. Do not take too long."_

Jeremy grinned and opened the binder. Inside were a series of pictures that had each been magnified to fit an entire sheet of printer paper. The divider on top of the first set told them that the newer ones were higher up near the front.

Cassidy turned the page. _"Oh, wow!"_ she exclaimed. The first picture was a group of five adults sitting at a large table. The kids could clearly recognize two of them as Mike and Ryan, though they had no clue who the other three were. All of them were holding two playing cards, with four more cards face-up along with the rest of the deck. There were also a group of what looked like plastic coins in the center of the table and in front of all five adults. It seemed like quite an intense competition, but all five of them were grinning cheerfully at the camera, their game forgotten.

Gabe couldn't help but sigh. _"It reminds me of us,"_ he said wistfully. _"Before everything went to hell."_

" _It took us 30 years, Gabe,"_ Jeremy replied comfortingly, _"but the nightmare's over. Living or dead, we can pick up where we left off. With Dad, Mary, Liz, Alex, Meghan, and any new friends we make."_

Gabe smiled at his best friend. _"You're right, Jeremy,"_ he agreed. _"At long last."_

Susie looked at the picture again. _"I wonder what game they're playing,"_ she commented.

" _Yeah, and who those other people are,"_ Cassidy added. _"Maybe they also have kids that we can be friends with?"_

Mary shook her head. _"Unless you want to give away the fact that we went through Mike's things, we can't ask him that yet. You'll have to restrain your curiosity for the time being."_

Liz shrugged. _"I'm sure he'll tell us eventually."_

Jeremy flipped over to the next page. This time, it was Mike standing on a stage in front of a large robot carrying a wrench in one hand. He was shaking hands with an important-looking business executive, both of whom were smiling proudly at the camera. Behind them, a large banner with the words "EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR" on it hung in the background.

" _Dad has a job?"_ Susie asked in shock.

" _Until about a year ago, yes,"_ Mary explained, _"and even now, he occasionally does some freelance work as a hobby more than anything. He is a robotics engineer, if you can believe it. Ironic, considering…"_ she let her words trailed off, but everyone knew what she would have said if she had continued.

" _Why'd he get fired if he was Employee of the Year?"_ Fritz asked, trying to steer the topic away.

" _He didn't get fired,"_ Mary clarified, _"he chose to retire from full-time work."_

" _That early? I know he's not a young guy anymore but isn't it a bit too early for that?"_

To their surprise, Mary chuckled. _"He doesn't need revenue from a job to get by, I can assure you."_

" _You said Dad still does freelance work,"_ Liz suddenly asked. _"Does he still have any of his tools and stuff?"_

The mouth on Mary's mask smiled. _"He has a workshop building next to the house."_

" _REALLY?"_ the ghosts exclaimed. _"How come we never saw this?"_ Jeremy demanded.

" _Because you haven't actually left the house yet,"_ Mary answered smoothly. _"Just ask Mike if you can leave the actual house. So long as you don't leave the property entirely and can keep yourself invisible, I'm sure you'll be fine."_

" _Now I'm REALLY curious,"_ Liz replied. Jeremy turned the page over. There were several more pictures of Mike either by himself or with his friends in different environments. Similar to the Marshall kids, there were also a few pictures of some very beautiful and interesting vacation areas, though there were surprisingly little of these considering the many years in Mike's adulthood. One picture that particularly caught the kids' interest was a wedding photo. The ghosts could see Ryan in a garden dressed in a tuxedo, arms gently holding a beautiful woman in a wedding gown. Mike was standing respectfully to the side, smiling contentedly at the couple. Both Ryan and Mike looked significantly younger, suggesting that this picture had been taken a few years back.

" _Aww, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall look so adorable!"_ Cassidy cooed.

" _Dad must've been the best man for their wedding,"_ Gabe observed. _"No surprises there, considering that he and Ryan have been best friends for a long time._

" _I wonder why Dad isn't married to anyone?"_ Susie wondered aloud. _"I think he certainly deserves it. Besides, it would be nice for there to be a Mrs. Schmidt who we can call Mom."_

They all turned to Mary, who they expected to have the answers. But to their surprise, she shrugged. _"I honestly have no idea,"_ she admitted. _"I never really asked him that."_

" _That's one question we can ask him when he gets back,"_ Fritz replied. _"I mean, we didn't need to have seen these pictures for this particular question."_

Jeremy snorted. _"Maybe we should ask that a little later, Fritz,"_ he deadpanned. _"Seems like a rather sudden thing to ask out of the blue, especially since we've only been here about a week."_

" _That's true,"_ Fritz conceded. Jeremy flipped over the next few pages, and the ghosts made some offhand comments until they reached the end.

" _Dad seems like he had a very fun and happy life,"_ Cassidy said happily. The other ghosts agreed, though none of them noticed the Marionette lower her head slightly. She was very glad that she couldn't express emotions through her mask, because otherwise they would have seen the sadness on her face.

" _This one's marked College Years,"_ Jeremy read the title as he flipped the divider over. He smiled. _"Well, this one doesn't really surprise me at all."_ He showed the rest of his family a graduation picture. A much younger Mike was grinning and waving, with several friends of both genders standing beside him. All of them were wearing ornate graduation gowns and holding diplomas in their hands. There were a few others following just like it, including some with a younger but still very recognizable Ryan.

" _After four years of hard studying, he definitely deserves it!"_ Liz commented, and everyone agreed.

" _Both of them do!"_ Jeremy added as he flipped the next page. Immediately, he exploded into laughter. _"Pfffftttt! AHAHAHAHAHA!"_

" _What?"_ Fritz asked as he looked at the picture. He too instantly burst out laughing. _"Oh God that is so funny!"_

The picture was of a dance party of some kind. Mike was standing in the middle of a circle formed by other dancers. He was in the middle of doing a solo routine of some kind, and it was clearly a big hit, considering that the others surrounding him were cheering and whooping at his moves. _"Oh God, I wish we were there to see this!"_ Cassidy choked out when she'd caught her breath.

Even Mary couldn't resist a snicker. _"Unfortunately, there are no video recordings of this. So I guess we'll never know."_

" _Man, I need to ask Dad what dance he was doing,"_ said Gabe of all people. _"It looks like he's definitely got some moves!"_

Still chuckling, Jeremy turned to the next page. This time, Mike was leaning on a different machine wearing workshop clothes, putting a thumbs-up in front of the camera. _"I guess even back then Dad was pretty interested in robotics stuff,"_ he commented.

" _I wonder when that got his interest,"_ Susie pondered aloud. _"Whenever it happened, he seemed pretty invested in that career path."_

" _Yeah…"_ Fritz muttered, _"if I were him, I'd stay the hell away from anything to do with animatronics after…well…"_

The ghosts shuddered. _"I'm glad that, despite the terrible things that we put him through, it didn't kill his passion for this stuff,"_ Gabe finally replied, _"I'd feel even more guilty than I already do if I learned that Dad abandoned one of his favorite interests because of me."_

" _Same for me,"_ Susie murmured, and the other ghosts made varying noises of agreement. Jeremy turned the page and started laughing again.

" _This is just too good,"_ he chortled as he showed it to the rest of the ghosts. It was a picture of Mike holding a large mallet as he prepared to smash it against a machine that, even to the ghosts, looked more like a pile of scrap than anything. It wouldn't have been nearly as funny, and might've even been a sign of a tragic failure, if it weren't for the banner that proudly displayed the words "DEMOLITION DAY" in the background.

Liz couldn't help but laugh. _"That looks like a lot of fun,"_ she said with a grin. _"Just as long as nobody gets hurt."_

" _Hey, I guess even Dad needs to vent sometimes,"_ Cassidy replied. _"I wonder if he got to do something like that in his job."_

Mary shook her head. _"In a professional work environment, Cassidy? Not likely."_

Jeremy continued to flip through the pages, which showed Mike at various points in his college career generally enjoying himself with his friends. It was quite similar to the pictures of him as an adult, factoring out the obvious age difference. As the ghosts expected, Ryan periodically showed up in these pictures as well, taking part in whatever fun activity Mike was participating in at the time.

" _I guess that's that,"_ Jeremy said as he turned aside the last picture, which showed Mike and his hallmates piled up in a dormitory hallway smiling at a camera. He turned the picture over to see the headline on the next divider…

…and instantly, any smile or trace of happiness was wiped off his face. _"Oh, God…"_ he breathed. _"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is…"_

" _What's the matter, Jeremy?"_ Fritz asked. The rest of the ghosts read the title and they immediately understood Jeremy's sudden gloom.

The divider was marked with a single word. "Freddy's."

" _I don't want to look anymore,"_ _Cassidy_ murmured.

" _We can't run from this,"_ Gabe said assertively. _"We can't just flee from our mistakes and our crimes, pretending they never happened. The sooner we can confront them, the sooner we can rise above the sins of our past and focus on becoming better."_

" _Well said, Gabe,"_ Mary agreed.

Liz sighed. Even though she'd never done anything to harm Mike, she didn't feel any sort of relief from that. How could she, knowing that at one point her own intentions had been so much worse and she'd outright embraced the path of evil, something that the other ghosts had never done even at their worst. _"I'm not going to judge you guys for whatever we see here,"_ she murmured. _"I definitely don't have that right."_

" _Maybe it's not what we think it is?"_ Susie hopefully suggested. _"Maybe all this means is that Mike went to Freddy's a lot as a kid and had a lot of fun there?"_

Jeremy turned the divider and Susie's hope was instantly dashed. Unlike the pictures from college and beyond, these were not photos but rather drawings that Mike had made of the pizzeria. The artistic quality was quite good, really good actually, but the ghosts were so absorbed in the subject of those drawings that they barely noticed.

The first drawing was that of the West Hall Corner, where the ghosts remembered there being a Let's Party! Freddy poster. But _this_ particular poster had Freddy grabbing the upper part of his head and pulling it to the side, as if he were trying to rip his own head off.

" _Oh God…"_ Gabe breathed. _"I remember trying to spook out the Night Guards with these hallucinations. Was I seriously this messed up in the head?"_

" _No more than the rest of us,"_ Fritz replied, all humor gone. The rest of the original five wordlessly nodded in agreement as Jeremy turned the page. The next one was a drawing of the backstage area, with all the various animatronic heads. But every single head was staring straight at the camera, including the Bonnie head on the table and even the exposed endoskeleton.

" _It feels like they're looking right at my soul,"_ Susie murmured nervously.

" _Now I know how I all the Night Guards felt,"_ Jeremy shuddered. _"And we can't blame anybody but ourselves for this."_

He turned the next page, revealing the East Hall. The kids remembered that there were three posters of Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica on the wall, with the lines "Eating Time, Fun Time, and Party Time" respectively. But instead of those posters, the only thing left was "IT'S ME!" scrawled multiple times on the wall.

" _I can't even remember why we kept using that phrase over and over again,"_ Cassidy mumbled. _"Was it to mess around with the Night Guards we thought were our killer, or were we trying to tell the story of what happened to us to somebody, anybody who would notice?"_

Fritz shuffled uncomfortably. _"I sometimes changed the sign to IT'S ME when I ran out of Pirate's Cove,"_ he admitted. _"When I did it, it was definitely meant to be a threat."_

He flipped over to the next drawing, one of Pirate's Cove, empty with the curtains hanging wide open with the sign reading IT'S ME! instead of the usual SORRY OUT OF ORDER. _"I guess Dad noticed that too…"_ he muttered. _"Thank God he was quick enough to block me."_

The next two pages were disturbing images of Bonnie's and Freddy's heads, both with the words IT'S ME in the center. The heads were large enough to cover most of the page, and while Bonnie's eyes were black with tiny white pinpricks, Freddy's were wide with bloodshot eyes. _"This was a hallucination we used as a scare tactic to freak the Night Guards out,"_ Gabe confessed.

" _I don't want to talk about this anymore,"_ Jeremy murmured. _"This is bringing up some bad memories about stuffing Night Guards in suits."_

Mary put a hand on his shoulder. _"It's okay,"_ she whispered comfortingly. _"Everything's okay now. You've been forgiven. We all have."_

Jeremy took a deep breath and nodded silently in thanks. He turned to the next page and gasped in shock. It was the East Hall again, but this time instead of the regular posters or the graffiti, it was the paper pal-like faces of three crying children, mouths open in a soundless scream as tears erupted from their eyes. It was the most vivid and life-like picture Mike had drawn so far, and unlike the other pictures, Mike had written something on the back. "This can't be normal. There's no way this can be normal. These poor kids…what the hell happened to them? And what the hell is wrong with this pizzeria?"

" _Oh my God…"_ he breathed. _"This...this is meant to be us, isn't it?"_

" _I can't believe it…"_ Gabe murmured. _"We thought everyone had forgotten about the tragedy that had happened to us back in 1987. How did Dad know something was wrong?"_

" _He must have paid attention to the hallucinations,"_ Liz surmised quietly, _"during his hours as the Night Guard. But I don't understand how he was able to pay attention to all this while effectively fighting for his life."_

" _I don't get it either,"_ Susie replied solemnly. _"But I'm just glad he did. Even if all of this is making me feel worse about what we almost did to him, part of me is glad to know somebody cared even back then."_

" _It makes you almost wonder if Mike was destined to be our future parent,"_ Fritz added. _"The one guy who paid attention to what was going on just happened to be the same guy to adopt us decades down the road?"_

Mary shrugged. _"I couldn't possibly tell you that,"_ she answered, _"but I wouldn't be surprised if that was true at this stage."_ She reached out and turned the page. Unlike every other page in the binder, it was not a drawing or picture at all, but rather several paragraphs in the style of a news article. The headline read "Kids vanish at local pizzeria – bodies not found." The next three pages were also transcripts of news articles. "Local pizzeria threatened with shutdown over sanitation." / "Five children now reported missing. Suspect convicted." / "Local pizzeria said to close by year's end."

" _Hold on a minute,"_ Mary read the first article, then the second, then the third, then the fourth. She gasped. _"Impossible,"_ she whispered.

" _What's wrong?"_ Liz asked.

" _Mike copied down every single one of these articles, word-for-word, with 100% accuracy,"_ she explained.

The ghost kids sat bolt upright. _"No way…"_ Gabe replied shakily. _"That's…that's impossible. He must have found them somewhere and gotten transcripts of them. There's no way he actually took the time to write this stuff down while he was actually AT the pizzeria while we were trying to kill him."_

" _We would have ended up catching him if he ended up that distracted,"_ Susie mused. _"This must have been done sometime afterwards."_

Mike had left notes on the back of these articles too. "What the hell! FIVE children were murdered in this pizzeria? Their bodies were stuffed in the goddamn suits, weren't they? How the fuck has anyone not figured this shit out already? Are the police or management that fucking incompetent? Oh wait, yes they are, considering how many Night Guards have gotten stuffed in suits here. God, no wonder people are afraid of this place, I'd be too if I knew exactly what the hell was going on. Hope those poor kids are resting in peace…"

" _If only you knew, Dad…"_ Cassidy murmured.

" _He DID know,"_ Gabe added. _"He knew about the murders, and he even knew why nobody ever found us. The only thing he was wrong about was the fact that…"_

"… _we were never able to find peace."_ Jeremy finished. He looked up at his friends _"Until now. Even though we're not in Heaven yet, being here with Dad and the rest of you is good enough for me."_

" _Amen to that,"_ Susie affirmed, and all the other ghosts made varying noises and gestures of agreement.

" _We're getting close to the end,"_ Liz pointed out, and Jeremy turned through the last five pages. Each one was dedicated to a different animatronic, but all of them were disturbing and scary. Bonnie was standing at the left door gazing soullessly into the office, Chica was staring into the office from the right window with her mouth open in an eternal scream, Foxy was out of Pirate's Cove with his head titled, as though he were pondering whether or not to attack the office, Golden Freddy was sitting in front of the office desk with pinpricks of red light in his eyes, and Freddy was on the stage, gazing at the camera with a hate-filled glare. All of the ghosts shuddered again, knowing that unlike the past hallucinations, these images were VERY real and had almost certainly happened to Mike at some point or another.

" _Is that how Dad thought of us back then?"_ Cassidy whimpered. _"Did he only see us as monsters?"_

" _We didn't give him much reason to think otherwise,"_ Fritz replied. _"And back then he didn't know we were the ones in the suits."_

" _That doesn't make me feel better,"_ Gabe muttered. The Freddy picture had been the most terrifying one of them all to him, especially since it was a living reminder of his misguided desire for vengeance.

" _Dad might have forgiven us, but it doesn't change the fact that we might have ruined the image of Freddy's forever,"_ Susie murmured. _"Both through what the Purple Guy did to us and what we did to the Night Guards. Would there have been a Fazbear's Fright if we hadn't gone so overboard in killing the Purple Guy and getting our revenge?"_

None of the ghosts could answer her question. As most of them began to ponder what they had seen, Liz noticed a smaller picture that was hiding in the folder on the back of the binder. She took the picture out of its covering and turned it around to look at it.

And screamed in horror as she threw the picture down.

" _What is it, Liz?"_ Fritz asked in concern as all of the other ghosts snapped out of their introspection.

With a trembling finger, Liz wordlessly pointed at the small picture, and once the other ghosts saw what she was pointing at the felt their essences go cold.

It was the picture of a teenager. He was facing away from the camera, his back exposed to them. A back filled with countless scars and wounds. Many of them were shallow and thin, a sign that they had healed properly and that the worst was behind them. But there were still far too many that had been made deep and wide, grotesquely discoloring the skin, and they were still very clear long after they had been made. The worst part was the fact that these scars seemed to have been layered on top of another, a sign that this child had been beaten and abused for _years_.

The grotesque and dreadful image stunned the ghosts into a horrified silence. Even though they themselves had been brutally murdered, they couldn't fully process the fact that someone this young could possibly have undergone this much suffering at such an early age.

Gabe was finally the one to find his voice. _"Is that…Is that…Mike?"_ he dared to bring up the question.

"That would be correct, no matter how much I wish it wasn't," a familiar voice answered him.

The ghosts' heads all whipped around towards the entrance to the living room. Mike was standing there, gazing down grimly at the grisly reminder of his own childhood abuse. "Fucking hell…" he muttered, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "This wasn't how I wanted you guys to find out about this. Actually, I'm not sure if I ever did want you guys to find out about this."

Jeremy fidgeted guiltily. _"I'm sorry, Mike. I was the one who convinced the rest of the guys to go through your pictures. I thought it would be fun. This is my fault.,"_ he confessed.

"I should have kept _that_ picture away from the rest of them," Mike muttered. "I'd have been completely fine with you going through my life if it weren't for that one. So, how did you like the little summary of my life?" he asked with a smile, though it was clearly forced. "Get a good laugh out of some of them?"

" _I can't laugh or even smile after seeing…seeing THAT!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"Dad…what…what happened to you?"_

Mike sighed. "I guess you might as well learn the whole story about my past," he answered. He suddenly seemed older and more exhausted than he had been seconds ago. "I know all about what happened to you guys, I guess it's only fair that you learn about my past." He took a deep breath. "To be honest, kids, I relate to you more than you think. Especially you, Liz. I might still be alive and I'm not going to compare what I went through to what you suffered, but the truth is…my childhood wasn't much happier than any of yours."

/

A/N: And here it is. Mike is going to be revealing his backstory in the next few chapters. This is going to be some of the darkest material I've ever written, and I will also reveal why Mike's life seemed to suddenly do a complete 180 flip from tortured childhood to successful college student and engineer. And yes, this will indeed cover Mike's shift at the 1993 Freddy's location and how he was able to survive when so many others failed.

Hope you guys are ready, because there's a lot that's going to be covered in the next few chapters.


	13. Chapter 13 - Suffering and Survival

A/N: And here it is. The first part of Mike's backstory revealed at last. Whatever way you look at it, it is NOT a pretty picture by any stretch of the imagination. And it's such an unfortunate coincidence that this chapter happens to be unlucky 13. Yeesh.

This chapter has got plenty of dark stuff in it, and it's a really long one. Even longer than FNAF – A Legacy Laid to Rest, and that one covered 10 pages on Word. Hopefully, really long chapters are your cup of tea :D Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

I tried to keep things as close to reality as possible, for a given definition of "close to reality" since we're talking about a universe with ghosts and haunted animatronics. If something I've written here isn't entirely in touch with reality, sorry for that.

Trigger Warning: child abuse, suicidal thoughts

Chapter 13 – Suffering and Survival

The next few minutes passed by in a heavy silence. Mike had asked the kids to wait in the living room as he went upstairs to "get a few things." None of the ghosts were entirely sure they wanted to see what he was going to bring after Liz had stumbled upon the picture of the scars. The sound of footsteps heralded Mike's return, and when he finally appeared he was carrying a box of some kind. The former night guard sat down on the couch, sighing heavily as he prepared to reveal one of his darkest secrets.

"So…" he finally began, "I think I should start by telling you that I didn't actually grow up here in the suburbs, or near Freddy's. I spent my childhood in the city that's about 30 minutes down the road. I didn't come here until I reached my teens. Just a little background info for you to keep in mind."

He took a deep breath. "The first six years of my life were…fairly normal, all things considered. I grew up with my mom and dad in an apartment in the city. It wasn't the best standard of living by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't bad either. My mom was definitely the kinder of my two parents, while my dad was…more distant, but he treated me well enough."

Jeremy shook his head. _"The way you say that makes me think that something's about to go horribly wrong."_

Mike sighed. "It happened a few weeks after my sixth birthday. My mom had to stay overtime at her job one day, and it didn't end until late into the night. She normally drove to work, but our car was in the garage for repairs that week so she was forced to walk instead. Walking alone at night in any city is dangerous, but our corner of the city wasn't particularly known for violence, so while my dad and I were a little concerned that she was coming back so late, we weren't overly worried about what would happen. But that night…"

 **1981**

"Hey, Dad!" a six-year old Mike called out to his father. "I think I see Mom over there! But she's…she's walking so slowly."

Mike's father looked out of the window. His wife was coming home, but something seemed…off. She was stumbling, limping as though in great pain. "Mike, come with me, now!" he ordered sharply.

Mike didn't understand what was going on. Mom was finally home. What could possibly be worrying him? But he obeyed his dad and quickly put on a coat to follow him outside. The two of them ran over to Mike's mother. "Hey, mom!" he cheerfully called out to her. As he got closer, however, his smile disappeared as even he could tell something was horribly wrong. There were holes in her clothes that weren't there before. And red…why was his mother covered in so much red?

His father's eyes widened. "Mike, stay here!" he ordered. "I need to call the hospital."

"But, dad…"

"Stay here!"

Mike was too terrified to act and could only nod helplessly as his father rushed into the house. He ran over to his mother, who weakly wrapped around him. Despite the obvious pain she was in, she tried to smile at him the best he could. "Mom?" he asked, confused and now rapidly starting to panic. "What's wrong? Why…why are you hurt?"

Mike's mom coughed up blood, but despite the obvious pain she was in she smiled at her son. "I got into…some trouble…that I shouldn't have…" she managed to gasp out. "Got hurt…really badly…"

"Mom? You're going to be all right! Mom? Mom?" Mike frantically tried to get an assurance from her.

"I don't know, Mikey…" she confessed. She didn't want to tell her son she was dying, but she didn't want to outright lie to her either. "I may be going…someplace…that you can't follow…very soon."

"Why, mom?" Mike desperately asked. "Why can't I come with you?"

"It's…complicated…son…" she whispered. "But no matter what happens…I want you to know that…I'll always…love…you…"

She slumped forward, Mike only barely having the strength to keep her from falling to the ground. "Mom! MOM! WAKE UP!" he shouted as he heard a siren wailing in the distance, coming closer. "Please…" he begged, tears streaming down his face. "…please wake up…"

 **Present Day**

" _No…"_ Susie whispered. _"Your mom…she…"_

"She passed away in the hospital that night," Mike confirmed grimly. "I didn't understand what death really was back then, but I knew instinctively that I wouldn't see her again for a very long time. From what I've heard around the block, a gang was trying to set up some business in our area, but another gang caught wind of it and a gunfight broke out. My mom…she got caught in the crossfire."

" _How could something like that happen?"_ Gabe asked furiously. _"She didn't deserve this!"_

"How could seven children with their full lives ahead of them get murdered and condemned to a cursed existence in animatronics?" Mike replied with a shake of his head. "You didn't deserve your fate any more than she deserved hers. The world, for all the good that it might hold, can be a cruel place especially for the unfortunate or the unprepared. That is a fundamental truth that I learned very, very quickly."

" _Are you all right, dad?"_ Cassidy asked as she placed a gentle hand on her father's lap.

He smiled. "Yeah. I've had plenty of time to move on, Cass. And as you saw, that wasn't even the worst thing to happen to me." His smile vanished. "I didn't know it at the time, but my mom's death hit my dad really, _really_ hard. I vaguely remember him calling her the light of his life, even though I didn't really know what that meant either. But her death…it completely broke him. He started drinking. A lot. And as the ears slowly passed, everything just went downhill from there…

 **1986**

"Get out of my sight, you worthless piece of trash!" the drunken man snarled at his son. Something bad must have happened to him earlier in the day, a fight at work or a demotion, Mike didn't know. But whatever it was, his father had taken out his rage on him in an unusually brutal manner today. The scars on his back, which had only just managed to heal from the last time his father had whipped him with his belt, had been torn open once again with new ones to join them.

For a terrible second, the boy thought his father was going to throw his empty bottle at him. But instead, he aimed a kick in the boy's general direction, which he was quick enough to dodge this time around. Cowering in fear, Mike quickly fled from his father's presence, desperate to avoid any further punishment.

It had been like this ever since his mother had died all those years ago. Her death had broken his father and transformed into someone barely recognizable anymore, and Mike was the one who had to suffer the consequences of his eternally black mood. Pain and agony had been a part of his life ever since the day when his father had first started beating him with his belt, and they had been his constant and unwelcome companions ever since.

With a whimper, he shuffled into his room and shut the door behind him. Hopefully, his father's attention had been sufficiently distracted that he wouldn't continue where he'd left off. Mike started picking up some towels and draping them across his back, trying to clean the blood from his wounds and keep them from getting infected. Once he was finished, Mike collapsed onto his bed, and only then did he let the tears flow. He reached out to pick up a picture of his mother, smiling joyfully with a beautiful beach in the background. One of the few things left that still brought anything resembling happiness to the life he now lived.

"Why, mom…" he whispered brokenly at the picture. "Why did you have to go…why is dad always beating me? I don't understand…" He buried his face in his pillow. "I miss you…I miss everything about you…I miss when you would come home, when dad didn't hit me all the time." He let the tears flow in earnest, not caring that his pillow was getting drenched. "What can I do? I can't take this much longer." He put the picture back on the stand next to his bed. "Help me, mom…please…"

 **Present Day**

Even before he finished this part of his tale, Mike could immediately detect a dark change in the room's atmosphere. His instincts, which hadn't dulled even after thirty years, were screaming at him that something was wrong. He looked down at his new children…and what he saw made his blood run cold.

From the moment that he'd met them, William Afton's victims had taken on a form similar to what they'd looked like in life, appearing as normal children when not taking into account their ghostly characteristics. But now, their appearance was something straight out of a parent's nightmare. The eyes of the ghosts had been replaced by black voids, with dark ichor streaming out of their sockets and their cheeks. Gaping, vicious wounds had appeared all over their bodies: Gabriel had a huge slash across his body, Fritz's throat had been sliced open, Susie had a gaping stab wound straight over where her heart would've been. All of them had been killed in different and brutal ways, but as horrific as their scars were, it was nothing compared to their facial expressions. Every single one of their lips were drawn back in a furious snarl, teeth gritted together in an unholy rage at the injustice that Mike had suffered at the hands of his own father. Cassidy, normally one of the sweetest and kindest among them, was especially terrifying – instead of black voids, fiery red pinpricks of light were blazing in the darkness that had once been her eyes. The Marionette was the only one that seemed relatively normal in comparison; even though she had heard this story before and the only seeable change was that her eye lights had flickered on in her mask, it was clear that her anger hadn't lessened in the slightest since the last time she'd heard this story.

But it was Liz that disturbed Mike most of all. Unlike the others, she bore no major wounds, though she had the same facial expression as the other ghosts. Instead of black voids, her eyes were glowing bright green with her rage, a sharp contrast to the other ghosts but no less effective in displaying her fury. But what really had Mike concerned was that her body seemed to…flicker…in and out. It was almost as though she was trying to maintain a human form, as though she was trying to stop herself from transforming into…something else.

These weren't the happy, smiling children who had played games with him and each other, despaired over bad grammar videos, and bonded with the children of his best friend. These were the vengeful spirits that had terrorized the Night Guards of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria. And he knew very much who the target of their rage was now.

" _How…"_ Gabe barely managed to choke out in his rage, _"…how could someone do this to THEIR OWN SON?"_ he roared the last three words.

" _I can't believe he did this to you for SIX YEARS!"_ Jeremy spat. _"What kind of monster does this?"_

" _I think we should stuff HIM in a suit and see how HE likes being torn apart!"_ Fritz snarled, and all of the ghosts made various noises of furious consensus. Even the Marionette, the voice of reason, was visibly fighting the urge to voice her agreement.

Deep inside him, Mike could feel an ancient primal fear rising, an urge to run and hide. But he took that fear and crushed it under an iron will that he had forged from the ashes of his early years. As terrifying as the ghosts' rage were, he reminded himself, the only reason they were acting this way at all was because _they cared about him_ , even after only knowing him for one week. And wasn't it natural to be angry when one's loved ones were harmed?

Despite how touched he was at their reactions, Mike knew that he had to choose his next words very carefully. If he didn't defuse the situation, someone might end up saying or doing something they'd end up regretted. And even if they didn't, he didn't want the ghosts reverting to their vengeful and murderous ways, even if it was for his sake. _Especially_ if it was for his sake.

He took a deep breath. "You know the real funny thing about this is?" he asked with the dry tone that those who knew him well had become so familiar with. "I think I'm the only person in this house who doesn't hate my dad for what he did to me back then."

He had timed and chosen his words perfectly. The looks of fury and hatred on every ghost's face collapsed into complete and total shock. _"WHAT?"_ they all exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm not going to pretend I reached that point right away," he clarified. "It took me quite a long time for me to forgive him. But I don't hate him anymore. In fact, the night I learned what Liz had been through because of the Purple Guy, I thanked God that what I went through wasn't any worse than what it actually was."

" _But…but…"_ Susie spluttered. _"How? How can you forgive…"_ she picked up the picture with Mike's many scars. _"THAT?"_

"A couple of reasons," Mike replied with a casualness that disturbed his children. "Some of them, I'll get to later. But the only one that's relevant right now was that, while he had many, MANY flaws, he was always honest. He never tried to pretend to be anything else than who he actually was. Compared to William Afton, my father was a fucking saint."

" _But…my old dad never hit me like that…"_ Liz murmured confusedly.

"There's other forms of abuse besides physical," Mike coldly replied. "I can say right now, without any hesitation whatsoever, that if I had to choose to relive the entirety of my childhood with my dad or spend a month with William Afton, I'd choose my dad every single time. He never tried to manipulate me into becoming a monster, and the body's a lot easier to heal than a mind."

Liz looked away guiltily, knowing what Mike was talking about. Mike smiled and gave her a pat on the head. "It's also the reason I relate to you so much, Liz." His smile vanished and a dark look entered his eyes, "and if the rest of you had been less kind to her when she'd first come here, I would have reacted _very_ poorly," he growled.

The other ghosts besides Liz and Fritz shuddered, realizing that they'd unknowingly dodged a bullet that none of them had even known existed. _"So…what did you do?"_ Jeremy finally asked after a long silence. _"How…how did you deal with all this?"_

Mike took a deep breath. "After six years of this, I finally decided I had enough," he picked up on his story. "At that point, I figured out that mom couldn't help me from the grave, and I decided to take matters into my own hands. The thing about my dad being drunk was that when he went to bed, he was out like a light. And on my twelfth birthday, I decided to run away from home."

" _After years of suffering, I can't say I'm surprised,"_ Mary commented.

Mike nodded, then stopped. "Wait a minute…1987…why does that year sound familiar?" he asked.

The ghosts suddenly looked very sad. _"That was the year the Bite of '87 happened,"_ Jeremy solemnly explained. _"None of us remember any details, since we usually go to sleep in the animatronics during the day. From what we heard, though…it wasn't pretty. And if I remember correctly, that wasn't even the first time that happened. There was also a second Bite even earlier in a different Freddy's restaurant…I think it was in 1983?"_

Mike flinched. "Holy shit," he muttered, "this franchise was fucked up even before you started possessing the animatronics."

" _It's a miracle the whole thing didn't close down in the 80s,"_ Fritz grumbled.

"You're telling me," his dad replied dryly. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, right…I was running away from home. One night, my dad came back and he completely ignored me. He just went straight for the bottle and knocked himself out like a broken light. It was lucky for me, since if he'd whipped me that night I wouldn't have been able to escape safely. Once I was sure he was asleep, I took my jacket, some clothes that would let me blend in with the city, some money I stole from his wallet to help me out in the beginning, and a knife to defend myself just in case."

Liz shuddered. _"Sorry, Dad…"_ she interrupted, _"it's just that…the idea of you holding a knife…the same thing that killed all of my new family…it just scares me."_

" _You're not the only one,"_ Gabe murmured, the memory of his and his friend's deaths still clear in his mind.

"I'd never start the violence," Mike reassured them. "Not then, and not now. But if someone attacks me or if I see someone I care about getting attacked, then I have every right to fight back, and if that means I end up killing the person that started it, well that's their fault for starting shit in the first place."

" _That's…fair enough, I guess,"_ Jeremy reluctantly conceded. _"It's not like we have any right to talk."_

"I didn't have any long-term plan apart from get away from my dad for as long as possible," Mike admitted. "The only thing on my mind was that anything was better than sticking around. For some reason, even though I'd taken his money, my dad never did anything to try and chase me down."

Fritz snorted. _"He probably didn't give enough of a shit about you to care,"_ he muttered.

" _So…what did you do after?"_ Susie asked.

Mike sighed. "I did the only thing a kid out on the streets for four years could do," he answered. "I survived. I wandered around the streets for four years, keeping to the shadows, doing whatever I needed to in order to stay alive."

" _All alone?"_ Cassidy whispered, saddened at the image of a young Mike wandering in the streets. _"Out in the cold and the dark?"_

"Not always," Mike answered. "Sometimes I had companions, but I never stuck around with them for too long. The only one I could trust was myself. Anyone I might have joined up with could stab me in the back the next day. I learned to inspect and study my surroundings at all times, keeping an eye out for anything that I could use and anyone that was a potential enemy. I was incredibly careful at all times, and that was how I kept myself safe."

Mary put a comforting hand on Mike's shoulder. _"You're not alone anymore, Mike,"_ she murmured, and all the other ghosts made varying noises of agreement.

Mike smiled warmly. "Thanks, guys. But as rough as life was on the streets, it still wasn't as bad as the six years with my dad. At least I had more control over my own fate than I ever did in the past."

Fritz looked confused. _"I don't get it,"_ he said. _"If all that is true, how are you living in such a nice house now! You have so many things and you look really happy as an adult. How did you ever get that far if you spent your teens in the streets?"_

Mike grinned, and everyone noticed that he looked the happiest he'd been since the start of telling his tale. "Because I came across the man who would end up changing my life in more ways that you could possibly imagine."

 **1991**

The old man stared silently at his attacker. He wasn't entirely surprised by this – an old man out in the city could easily be marked as a target by muggers in the streets. But his attacker was about to be disappointed if he sought to frighten him…he was not one to back down from a challenge so easily, no matter how old he might be.

His attacker held out a knife straight at him. "Gimme your wallet, old man!" he snarled. "You sure as hell don't need it more than I do! So I think I'll take it off your hands!"

The old man gave him an unimpressed look. "Of all the people you choose to rob, you target an old man who can barely fend for himself?" he asked calmly. "I'm not afraid as much as I am disappointed at your lack of courage."

His attacker bared his teeth in fury. "Gonna talk to me like that, old man?" he spat. "Hope you enjoyed your long, sad life, cause I'm about to…"

He never finished his sentence. A knife suddenly plunged into his shoulder, and the mugger screamed in shock and agony. He didn't even have a chance to react as someone grabbed him by the head. The old man watched in surprise as his apparent savior smashed his attacker's head into the wall and knocked him out cold.

The figure that had saved him quickly checked to make sure the mugger was thoroughly knocked out, then slowly looked back at the old man. The old man was shocked to find that his savior was a teenager, one who had seen and experienced far more than any normal person would have at his age.

The teenager was watching him carefully, not hostile but definitely cautious. The old man decided to take the first step. "You saved my life," he began. "While I'm certainly grateful for that, may I ask why?"

The boy didn't say anything for several seconds. To be honest, he wasn't even entirely sure why he'd intervened. After all, one of the best ways to survive was to avoid conflict whenever possible. Finally, he spoke a few words. "It wasn't right," he muttered, "to attack someone who can't fight back."

The old man nodded at his answer, then took a closer look at the boy. It was clear that he had suffered far more than any child at his age should have, and that he had been harshly beaten down by whatever life had thrown at him. Beaten down…but not broken.

If this had been any regular homeless person, he would have maybe given him some money and moved on his way. But this child was far from ordinary. He could see that, even though the darkness in his life had understandably hardened the boy to the outside world and forced him to experience its cruelty, there was still a kindness and compassion, or at the very least a sense of justice, deep within his eyes that still flared underneath the cold exterior. Deep within his gut, he could sense that this child had the potential not only to be a good person despite everything, but a great one. And his gut was never wrong. But he would never be able to fulfill that potential out in the streets, alone with no one to help him.

Besides, the child had saved his life. It didn't matter that he didn't have much longer to live anyway. He had always paid his debts, and he wouldn't stop now.

"What's your name, child?" the old man gently asked.

The child hesitated for several seconds. "Mike," he finally answered.

Oskar Schmidt smiled kindly at him and held out his hand. "Come with me, Mike," he offered.

Mike hesitated again, then reached out and took it. After all, what did he have to lose?

 **Present Day**

" _Wait, Oskar SCHMIDT?"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"So your last name…"_

"…is the name that I adopted from him to honor his memory," Mike confirmed. "A great man, and the closest thing that I truly had to a father." He reached into his things and took out a picture. "Here's the best picture I have of him."

The ghosts all crowded around to look. The picture was of an old man wearing an army uniform with several medals. The man's face was dignified and stern, a man who had weathered the storm of a long life and proudly endured whatever it had thrown at him. A man who commanded respect just by looking at him. But there was an innate kindness and warmth in his eyes, and all the ghosts ended up thinking that he would have been an excellent grandfather.

"Oskar drove me out of the city and to his home in the suburbs," Mike continued. "He was an old man, who didn't really have all that much. By most people's standards, our life would have been relatively simple. But he gave me food, drink, shelter, and most importantly, he treated me with dignity as a human being. He gave me everything that I had ever needed or wanted, and everything that I had any right to ask for. I spent most of my days taking care of him and helping him through every day of his life, instead of going to school. It was the least I could do for saving me."

He thought back to the two years he had spent with Oskar. "But the most important thing that he gave me was life advice. Advice and guidance that I follow to this day."

 **1992**

"Mike!" Oskar's voice called out to him.

"Coming, Oskar!" Mike replied as he rushed to the living room where his friend and mentor was sitting in his couch. "Do you need anything?"

"Not for me," Oskar shook his head, "but rather, something I want to speak to you about." He took out a photo from inside his pocket. "Do you remember that time when I asked to take a picture of the scars on your back?"

Mike shuddered. The mention of those scars always brought a shiver down his spine, even though the time when he had fled from his father had long since passed. "Believe me, son, I would not bring this up if I didn't think what I had to tell you was incredibly important."

"I trust you, Oskar," Mike replied. "I'm ready to listen."

Oskar nodded, then sighed. "I can still sense that you are haunted by your past, Mike, at least to a degree. Nobody could possibly blame you for that. I have seen my fair share of horror and tragedy in my own life, though I had several years' worth of advantage over you to prepare me for that. And all I wanted was to say this."

He held the picture out for Mike to take. "You are far, far stronger than you think you are, Mike. I have seen many people older than you break after suffering far less than you have. Some of them give up completely, becoming broken beyond repair. Others become twisted and tainted by the darkness forced upon them, turning into the very monsters that oppressed them. But you, Mike. You have done neither. Against the cruelty of life, you endured. You grew stronger. You learned the lessons hidden underneath the harshness and found the hidden wisdom, even if it is wisdom that you shouldn't have been forced to encounter at such a young age. These scars on your back symbolize the torment of your past, that is true. But they also represent your inner strength and your ability to endure, to fight, and to overcome. Whenever you feel the pressure of life crushing down upon you, look upon these scars. Remind yourself: 'I survived this. I can endure what comes next. And I will grow stronger because of this.' Because you will, whatever comes. I have complete faith in you."

Mike bowed his head. "Thank you, Oskar," he murmured, then saluted the old man. "I won't forget what you have taught me."

 **Present Day**

" _Everything Oskar said is true,"_ Susie said solemnly. _"You ARE strong, dad. In more ways than one."_

Mike gestured towards the photo. "Now you know why I keep that thing around," he said. "If it had been just me, I would have kept anything reminding me of those scars as far away from me as possible. But Oskar showed me that I can't run from the worst parts of my life, cause at the end of the day, they're still part of me. It was more important me that I use them to better myself, no matter how painful the reminders might be."

The ghosts were listening with rapt attention, wondering if they could use Oskar's lessons for themselves. Liz especially was in deep thought, though everyone else was too engrossed to notice.

Mike sighed. "I only spent two years with Oskar, sadly. Though we had an unspoken agreement never talked about it, we both knew that Oskar didn't have much longer to live. He was an old man, after all. When the time finally came, I was more resigned than anything. There was nothing we could do about it, and Oskar took the whole thing in stride."

 **Early 1993**

Oskar coughed as he lay in his bed, Mike at his side. Both of them knew instinctively that this would be there last moment together, and both of them wanted to make it count. The time for grief would come later.

"Mike…" he coughed out. "We both know death's coming for me soon. Don't take too long grieving for me. I'll be with God soon, and my family and friends too. My last words are far more important focused on you than they are with me."

"I'm listening," Mike said quietly, waiting to hear his old friend's last words of wisdom.

Oskar coughed again. "Mike…I know I haven't been able to give you much. I know that ever since your mother's death, you've lived with almost nothing. I tried to help with that as much as I could, but there's only so much an old man can do."

"You did all that I could ever hope for or ask," Mike assured him.

"Mike…you're a good lad," Oskar rasped. "I knew that the moment I laid eyes on you in that alleyway two years ago. I think you know what I'm about to tell you already, but it's worth saying all the same. The quality of one's life isn't measured by how much one does or doesn't have. It's measured by how what you do and how you live your life with what's available to you." He grasped Mike's hand in his, and his eyes were clearer and sharper than Mike had ever seen before. "Promise me, Mike," he whispered, "promise me that no matter how much or how little you have, you'll do what you can to help others. If you can keep that promise, then I'll always be proud of you, and I know your mother will be too."

Mike closed his eyes silently. "I promise," he swore, "I'll do my best."

Oskar smiled gently. "Then I can pass on in peace. I've left some things in my last will, and taken care of a few things that'll help you deal with the next few months without me. It isn't a permanent solution by any stretch of the imagination, but it'll give you the start you need." He pat the elbow of his son in all but blood. "Good luck, Mike. My legacy is in your hands. You are destined for great things, even if you don't think so. I'm certain of it."

 **Present Day**

"Oskar died that night," Mike said solemnly. "I reported it to the police as soon as possible, and I learned from a lawyer that Oskar had left a few thousand dollars to me to help me get adjusted to life alone. He also asked that my last name be changed to Schmidt, which was something I could definitely get behind."

" _And you…didn't…have any problems?"_ Jeremy asked skeptically. _"You were still a run-away kid from the city, weren't you?"_

Mike shrugged. "Maybe if I was younger. But I was 18, so I was technically a legal adult. Plus, Oskar had a few friends in the police to help me with this, and even if he didn't, the police don't give a shit about some runaway kid in the streets. He also guided me to an apartment building that was owned by a close friend of his. The guy wasn't exactly keen on letting some random 18 year old into one of his apartments, but apparently Oskar wrote a glowing letter of recommendation about me so he let me stay. It probably helped that the few thousand bucks I had made sure that I could pay rent on time and not cause problems."

He sighed. "Unfortunately, all those preparations couldn't help me with a more dangerous problem. One that I'd been facing for a while…"

 **October, 1993**

Mike sighed as he ate the small meal he had prepared for himself. He was still jobless, and the money Oskar had given him had soon run out. He could hear the dark temptation in his head. The one that whispered at him to just end it all, take the knife he had carried in the streets and end his life on his own terms.

He had been able to ignore that whisper while he had been in the streets, since survival mandated complete and total focus, and he had been able to ignore it while he was living with Oskar, for the old man had needed him to take care of him. But now, he was without a true purpose for the first time in a long time. His life was worthless anyway…Oskar had spoken of greatness, but what could a guy like him possibly achieve?

He looked over at his knife, wondering if maybe he should just give in. But then he remembered Oskar's final request: no matter how much or how little he had, he would always use what he had to help others.

The old man had used his last breath to make one final request and make his expectations clear. How could he dishonor the final words of the man who had saved his life, and possibly even more? Mike got up from the chair. He couldn't deny that he still wanted to die, especially at the prospect of seeing Oskar or his mother again, but he was not going to die a meaningless or cowardly death. He had almost nothing apart from his own life, so it would be his life that he would give to help others.

As he looked back at the knife, Mike felt the urge to take his own life with it disappear, and it would never come back again. He might be worth almost nothing in life. But he was going to make _damn_ sure he was going to be worth something in death.

 **Present Day**

The ghosts all looked stunned as Mike described what he had felt that day. This was an entirely different type of darkness than what they knew. _"You…you would have…you would have…KILLED yourself?"_ Fritz barely managed to breath out. The idea of their father ending his own life with the same weapon that the Purple Guy had used to kill all of them terrified him in a way he had never felt before. It was a complete 180 from his normal personality, and the idea that jarred the other ghosts just as much.

"For a time, I felt that temptation in the apartment," Mike admitted. "But Oskar's words put a stop to that." He sighed. "To be honest, I guess you could say I was still suicidal in a way, considering what I planned to do instead. I still wanted to die, but I wanted to do it in a way that would help as many people as possible, just like Oskar asked me to."

Mary shook her head. _"I don't think he wanted you to put your life on the line for that, even if it would technically follow what he wanted,"_ she scolded.

Gabe was about to agree, but then a horrifying thought suddenly entered his head. _"Wait…"_ he interrupted, _"how, exactly, were you going to make good on your promise?"_

Mike took out the back of an old newspaper from his box, and the sinking feeling in his stomach intensified. By now, the other ghosts were starting to form the same realization Gabe had, and all of them were desperately hoping that they were wrong. "Saying something like that and actually doing it are two different things," Mike continued. "But luckily or unluckily depending on your perspective, I found the perfect opportunity to make good on my word." He took a deep breath. "For everyone else, this was a job straight from Hell, with crappy pay and, as rumor had it, where people went in and never came out again. But for me, it was exactly what I was looking for."

He tossed the newspaper like a frisbee onto the floor in front of the ghosts, and all of them let out exclamations of horror, dread, and regret as their worst fears were confirmed.

The place where 18-year old Mike had chosen to die…was Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, 1993.

/

A/N: And I think that's a good place to stop, wouldn't you agree? As you can imagine, the next chapter will be Mike's experiences as a Night Guard, and you'll learn exactly how and why he survived when others failed. Mike was ready for Freddy. Are you?

More than 12 pages on Word, I think this is the longest thing I've EVER written for a fanfic. What an early life Mike had…a beloved mother's death at the age of 6, 6 years of abuse at the hands of a drunken father, and 4 years out on the streets. He didn't get anything good happen to him until the age of 16, and even that was short-lived.

Definitely one of the darkest and saddest things I've ever written hands-down, although I'll still say with 100% certainty that Elizabeth Afton had it worse than Mike did. At any rate, I hope you guys enjoyed this monster of a chapter and you're just as eager for the next one.


	14. Chapter 14 - Courage in the Dark

A/N: And here we finally answer the million dollar question! How did Mike Schmidt survive Five Nights at Freddy's when so many other night guards failed? It's amazing what six years of child abuse and four years of living in the streets can prep you for…

To answer one of the reviews, I think Scott did end the series on a pretty satisfactory note, even though it did kinda invoke a Happy Ending Override on the Good Ending of FNAF 3 if the children's souls did somehow end up in Molten Freddy or if the Bad Ending was the canon ending.

Also, apparently the official logbook confirmed that Mike Afton and Mike Schmidt are actually the same person. I had a feeling this was true to begin with, but as I said when I first started this fic and as I'll say again now, they're two separate characters for the sake of not having this story completely fall apart. The only way for this story to not be an AU at this point is if they both have the same first name (which is entirely plausible, given that Mike is a fairly common name) and if they both chose to adopt the same last name for different reasons as an odd coincidence (Mike Afton for a simple disguise, and Mike Schmidt in honor of his adoptive father).

DISCLAIMER: This chapter MIGHT help you beat the main five nights in FNAF1, but don't use it as a guide. I will not be held responsible for any death by jumpscares.

Chapter 14 – Courage in the Dark

"So here we finally are," Mike said calmly as the ghosts were still recovering from his revelation. "My shift as the Night Guard at Freddy's. I think we all know we were going to have this conversation eventually. Granted, I would've liked it if we'd waited a little longer than a week to talk about this, but eh, what can you do."

Gabe was the first to recover. _"How…how are you so…not bothered by this?"_ he asked, confused. _"We tried to kill you for 5 nights in a row!"_

"Gabe, it was a lot more than just 5 nights," Mike corrected with a smirk, shocking and increasing the guilty feelings in the ghosts even further. "But let's go back to the beginning. Street Smarts Lesson 101, kiddos. You don't survive out in the streets for 4 years by being a brainless schmuck. I knew that pizzeria was a death trap from the very beginning. Under any other circumstance, I would've stayed the hell away from Freddy and friends as far as possible."

" _But you didn't…"_ Susie murmured. _"You…you were going to…"_

"Put my own life on the line on purpose?" Mike finished. Susie nodded mutely. "The way I saw it back then, my life had almost no value. I didn't know exactly WHAT was in Freddy's that was so bad, but other than that my plan was simple. The longer I could survive being a Night Guard at Freddy's, the more people I could save since they wouldn't be there in my place instead. And when I finally messed it up, I could finally see everyone I cared about again. Either way, no downside."

" _No downside? NO DOWNSIDE? No downside except you getting killed!"_ Fritz shouted. _"What were you THINKING, dad?"_

" _You're too good of a person to die in that pizzeria!"_ Cassidy added fiercely. _"What if we'd killed you! What if we'd trapped your soul in the suit like the rest of us!"_ By now, she was trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to flow out of her eyes. _"I'm so tired of death. You don't deserve to die…"_ she finished weakly. _"Not you…"_

Mike reached out to give her a hug. "It's all right, Cassidy, everything's all right…" he soothingly reassured her as the Golden Freddy inhabitant buried herself in her dad's shirt. "You have to understand, Cassidy. The way I think about myself now is VERY different from the way I thought about myself back then. Right now? I have what I think is a healthy level of self esteem and plenty of reasons to live, with six more that came along the way at the beginning of this week." All the ghosts smiled at this. "But back then? I couldn't live well, so the only option I thought I had was to die well."

Gabe shuffled around uncomfortably. _"Your idea of dying well was getting skewered by crossbeams and wires and having your body torn to shreds in one of those suits?"_ he asked, clearly disturbed.

Mike shook his head. "At that point, Gabe, why I would die was far more important to me than how."

" _But that part of the plan didn't work out,"_ Liz interrupted. _"Thank God it didn't. But, dad…how did you do it? How did you survive when so many others failed? What set you apart?"_

Mike smirked. "Want to know my secret?"

" _Yes!"_ the ghosts all exclaimed.

"It's surprisingly simple," Mike began as he reminisced to his shift at the pizzeria. "I had no fear."

 **Night 1**

Mike couldn't help but chuckle dryly at how easily he settled into the office. Two years with Oskar hadn't been enough to dull his instincts and cautious nature in dangerous environments, something which had stopped him from fully settling in in Oskar's house but was now something that he was very thankful for. As the Phone Guy delivered his message on the phone, Mike quickly scanned the different rooms in the pizzeria. His eyes narrowed at the closed purple curtain in Pirate's Cove. Something wasn't right about that place…he would have to check it every so often in case something unpleasant was hiding behind it.

He already knew the animatronics were hostile and would kill him if they caught him, he had figured that out even before Phone Guy started talking about stuffing him in a suit. He was alone in a dangerous environment with few ways to defend himself, just like he'd been for 4 years before Oskar had saved him. In other words, it was time for more of the fucking same.

No. That wasn't quite true.

He now had far more tools to defend himself in the pizzeria than he'd ever had out on the streets or against his father. The camera, the doors, the lights. If he used them properly, he'd have plenty to work with to keep the animatronics out of the Office. The trade-off was that if he DID screw up, the chance of him getting killed was certain instead of merely high. The rules of this little game had changed slightly, but the fundamentals were similar. What worried him more was the power drain. If he misused his resources and the power ran out, then he was screwed. "Better use what I have wisely, then." he thought.

He'd seen some of the hallucinations during his initial scan of the rooms, but while they were admittedly creepy, they were functionally harmless and irrelevant. The animatronics were the only enemy that mattered, and he needed to focus the entirety of his attention on them. The only thing right now that he truly lacked was intelligence on the animatronics and how they would try to reach the Office. He would need to figure out their strategies as soon as possible, and he needed to do it during the early nights. It was highly unlikely that things would be TOO dangerous on Night 1 or Night 2 – if people were dying that quickly, then there would be far too high of a body count for even the brainless management to hide.

2 AM had rolled around as Phone Guy finished his call, and Mike flipped up the tablet to see that Bonnie had disappeared from the Show Stage. "Let's get to it then," he thought as he smiled humorlessly. Time for the game to begin.

 **Present Day**

" _You weren't afraid AT ALL?"_ Jeremy asked incredulously.

Mike snorted. "I spent 6 years wondering every day if my dad would attack me when he came home," he retorted almost contemptuously, "and I spent 4 years out in the city streets where every year of survival was something you fought for and earned. Do you honestly think I gave a _single flying fuck_ about a bunch of animal robots?"

Jeremy cringed. _"Well, when you put it that way…"_

"Even with a garbage power source, the pizzeria gave me plenty to work with. There were no cameras in my house or out in the streets, and no door was going to keep my dad from beating me in one of his drunken rages." Fury flickered in the eyes of the ghosts at the mention of Mike's abusive parent, but Mike progressed quickly to distract them. "You guys might have done the actual killings, but the _real_ enemy was their own fear. Fear is what really killed them. It screws with your mind, causes you to panic, make mistakes, miss important details. And in that pizzeria, just one mistake at the wrong time, and that's it. You're dead."

Gabe sighed. _"We probably didn't help with that with all of the hallucinations…"_ he muttered.

"Didn't bother me at all, cause they didn't actually _do_ anything," his dad replied. "In a way, it was darkly amusing. By beating me half to death, my birth dad ended up saving my life in that pizzeria. Kind of funny how that worked out."

" _That's not funny…"_ Fritz muttered. _"That's not even close to being funny."_

Mike shook his head. "Sorry about that, Fritz. I have a bit of a warped sense of humor after everything I've been through. Ten years in what might as well have been Hell, and the night shift at Freddy's was nothing impressive to me, let alone terrifying. And that's the thing. Because I had no fear, I could think clearly. And because I could think, I could analyze."

The former night guard's mouth stretched into a grin, and all the ghosts leaned in curiously to hear the third part. "And because I could analyze, I could _plan."_

 **Night 3**

Mike leaned back in his chair as he listened to the Phone Guy's call. He was very glad that he had spent the first two nights gathering as much information as possible on Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. His suspicions had been confirmed about Pirate's Cove – there WAS a fourth animatronic in there, and he needed to check on Foxy as much as possible to make sure that the fox didn't try to rush the Office.

He flipped the tablet and raised an eyebrow. Chica was the one who had gotten off the stage first tonight? "That's interesting…" he muttered, but he wasn't overly concerned. It didn't affect his strategy at all, a strategy that would greatly reward him for two nights of intel.

He had originally thought that using the cameras on Chica and Bonnie would help prepare him for their attacks on the Office, but by the end of the second night he had come to realize that he DIDN'T need to check on them with the camera. They could be anywhere from the Hall Corners, to the Dining Hall, all the way to the fucking Himalayas for all he cared, but if they weren't in the blind spot right outside of the doors when he checked the lights, then where they were simply didn't matter. Using the lights regularly would be enough to make sure he wasn't in any danger from them. What was more important was keeping the camera focused on Pirate's Cove and Foxy, making sure that the animatronic would be too cautious of the camera to risk an attack on the Office.

Mike leaned back and began to alternate between checking Pirate's Cove and the Show Stage with the camera to keep an eye on Foxy and Bonnie (who for some reason was slow on the uptake tonight) and checking the right door for Chica. The chicken animatronic showed up twice at the door at around the beginning and end of 1 am, but Mike had been able to block her out easily both times and she fortunately hadn't stuck around for too long.

Bonnie finally started moving about halfway between 2 and 3 AM. Mike wasn't overly worried – with the strategy he had set up, he should be able to keep Bonnie and Chica out just fine and keep Foxy stuck in Pirate's Cove. And for about an hour, he was able to.

Then, at around 3 AM, he heard deep, menacing laughter and the sound of running. Checking quickly to make sure that neither Bonnie and Chica were around, Mike immediately switched to the Show Stage Camera.

Shit. He'd forgotten about Freddy. The bear was gone.

Fighting the urge to panic, Mike flipped the Camera over to the Dining Area. To his relief, the animatronic was in the Dining Area, hidden in the shadows. But that didn't answer the question – why had Freddy moved?

He had no idea how the bear worked, and the only thing he could think of to do right now was to check on Freddy as frequently as he checked Pirate's Cove. If the bear moved again, he needed to be ready for him. He heard footsteps to his left and cursed, realizing that one of the animatronics was trying to sneak up on him while he had been absorbed in his own thoughts. He hit the lights on the left door to reveal Bonnie gazing emotionlessly at him.

"Nope," Mike slammed the door shut, blocking the animatronic out. "Not this time." He checked the right hall lights just to make sure that Chica wasn't at the door either, then opened the tablet to check Foxy and Freddy. The rest of the night thankfully passed by without any incident apart from the occasional Bonnie or Chica arrival, and Freddy never moved again before 6 AM.

"Wait a minute…" Mike thought, "Freddy only moved that one time because I hadn't bothered to check on him after Bonnie left the stage. So if I keep checking on him as much as I check on Foxy, I should be able to keep both of them trapped where they are and only have to worry about Bonnie and Chica." He smiled. He now had a complete strategy to deal with the animatronics. The only way it would fail was if the animatronics dramatically changed their behaviors, but if they did that, then he was probably fucked regardless.

"Your move, Freddy…" Mike muttered as he left the pizzeria.

 **Present Day**

"I had a knife to defend myself out in the streets," Mike explained to his enraptured audience, "but my greatest weapon has been, is, and always will be my mind. I didn't just come up with a strategy to keep you guys out of the office. I noticed weaknesses, some of them small, some of them rather large, but in a battle for survival, every little bit counts."

He turned to Susie. "Susie, every time you walked into the kitchen as Chica, you made a lot, and I mean a LOT of noise. Enough for me to hear you all the way to the Office. Every time I heard those pots and pans banging, you pretty much gave me a free pass not to check on the right door at all. And by the time Night 4 and Night 5 came around, both you and Bonnie started making static twitching noises whenever you got close to the door. Creepy as hell, yes, but hey, thanks for letting me know when I'm about to get attacked!"

Jeremy and Susie stared at Mike and then at each other wordlessly for several seconds. " _I…I don't…I don't even…urrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhh…"_ they finally groaned before facepalming, unable to come up with a coherent response.

He turned to Fritz and Gabe. "As for you two, it was so easy to manipulate you into staying exactly where I wanted you to be. I just needed to keep the cameras on you as much as possible. Foxy only ever attacked me like once, and Freddy never moved beyond the Dining Hall. But that's not even the worst of it, Fritz. That one time, I blocked you from rushing at my door, you knocked on it for a few seconds before leaving. That drained my power. Not a lot, but it did." He suddenly smirked. "So I just have to ask why – why, for the love of God, wouldn't you just keep knocking on that door over and over again until the power ran out?"

Everyone stared at the former Foxy inhabitant, who squirmed underneath their collective gaze. _"Uhm,"_ Fritz mumbled, _"in our defense, when you're hellbent on revenge with absolutely nothing else on your mind, you tend not to think things through?"_

Mike processed his answer for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Yeah, okay, fair enough," he nonchalantly replied. "It's like Oskar once told me: the stupidity of your enemies is the freest weapon they can give you. You guys used fear very effectively, I'm not gonna lie, but once I took that away from you, I found quite a few flaws that I could exploit. More than that, you never innovated your tactics – you always attacked from the same directions, in the same ways. I never had to change my core strategy even once after I finally ironed out the details."

Gabe couldn't help but smile dryly at how Mike had beaten them with seemingly minimal effort. _"Or maybe you're just way, WAY too smart for us, dad,"_ he commented, resisting the urge to chuckle despite everything.

Mike shook his head with a sardonic smile. "Thinking is something that you tend to do a lot of when your only company is yourself. Of course, that didn't make it _easy._ Especially by the time Night 5 rolled around. You might not have actually changed your attack patterns, but I'll freely admit that you guys really ramped things up. They say that knowledge is half the battle. On the one hand, I had already won half of the battle once I figured out how I could beat you guys. But on the other hand…that's still only half of the fucking battle."

 **Night 5**

It had been a rough night, that much Mike had to admit. The core strategy he had used throughout the later half of the week had thankfully held strong tonight as it had for the other nights…if the animatronics had completely changed how they acted then he'd have no idea what to do. Both Chica and Bonnie had appeared at their respective doors with more frequency than they'd ever done in the past, though thankfully they also left more quickly than before.

Without a doubt, _this_ was the battle for survival that he had expected when he had come to the pizzeria with the intent of sacrificing his own life. He could not make any mistakes when it came to checking the animatronics with the cameras and the lights, and he could make very few when it came to mismanaging his power. If he made a single screw up at the wrong moment, or if the animatronics ganged up on him like they had to the poor sod who'd come before him and he didn't have enough power to fend them off, he was doomed.

By the time 3 AM rolled around, he had exactly 50% power. He would have liked to have had more, but there had been a point where both Bonnie AND Chica had tried to gang up on him, and he'd had no choice but to keep both doors shut. Still, he could work with what he had.

He knew that he could give up the fight at any point. Simply leave the doors open, let the animatronics claim him and stuff him in the suit that would end his life. But the idea of giving up was unacceptable, just at it had been while he had been out in the streets. Every single night that he survived was a day that somebody else wouldn't be here in his place. Every single night that he stood his ground meant that somebody would live on instead of being killed here, living a life that most certainly had more worth than his. And so he would continue to fight, and hold his ground in this nightmare disguised as an innocent pizzeria, and he would fend off the animatronics for as long as possible. And when they finally killed him, and there was no doubt in his mind that they WOULD eventually kill him one way or another, he would be able to look God, his mother, and Oskar in the eye and say, without hesitation, "I did my best."

As 4 AM arrived, he decided to _innovate_ to make his work a little easier. He deliberately ignored the Show Stage for a while, and focused on the rest of the animatronics. When Freddy's deep laughter echoed to the office, he saw that Freddy had moved to the Dining Hall as he had done before.

"Gotcha," Mike muttered with a cold smile. The bear had done exactly what he'd hoped he would. Now that Freddy was in the Dining Hall, he'd not only be able to immobilize him there, but also eliminate the need to check on the left or right doors whenever Bonnie or Chica showed up with him as well. He'd learned long ago that one of the animatronics tended to disappear from the cameras whenever two of them showed up in the same place. He didn't know if the animatronics were doing that on purpose or if it was an odd coincidence – either way, he wouldn't fall for it.

The sound of footsteps approached him from the right and he hit the lights to reveal Chica staring at him through the window with her mouth wide open in a voiceless scream. He slammed the office door shut and glared back at her, channeling all his defiance and refusal to surrender to a world that had spat upon him for 12 years into his next few words.

"If you want me, then _come and get me!"_

 **Present Day**

"That night was the hardest one yet," Mike reflected. "If I hadn't come up with my plan, I would have lost for sure. By the time 5 AM rolled around, I had only 15% power left, and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. Especially since both Bonnie and Chica decided to gang up on me for a second time when I only had around 4% of my power left. Just as my power hit 0% and the pizzeria went dark, the 6 AM chimes rang and my shift was over," he breathed a sigh of relief. "One of the closest calls I had in a LONG time."

" _Sorry about that…"_ Susie murmured guiltily.

Mike smiled and gave her a "pat" on the head. "It doesn't really bother me, since part of the reason why I had come to the pizzeria in the first place _was_ to die. At that point, I was either waiting until I got killed or waiting for a miracle, an act of God, to change everything about my life. Even I didn't know how long I'd survive in that pizzeria, but all my experiences in the past had apparently made me into ideal Night Guard material, considering that I survived the night shift at Freddy's for twenty days."

The ghost kids' eyes bulged. _"You were there for TWENTY DAYS?"_ they exploded. _"What…just…HOW?"_

Mike shrugged. "I dunno. I expected things to get batshit insane after Night 5, but for some reason things never got any worse than that that last night of the first week. Oh, I had a few close calls, absolutely, and there were quite a few times I had to play dead when Freddy showed up to play his little jingle when the power went out." He looked over to Gabe. "That's another thing, actually. When your enemy is completely helpless and at your mercy, why don't you just, I don't know, ATTACK him? You probably would've killed me if you just got on with it instead of playing that jingle for God knows how long."

It was Gabe's turn to look sheepish. _"I'm going to refer to what Fritz said earlier,"_ he mumbled, which earned a few snickers from everyone.

" _Wait, hold on…"_ Jeremy interrupted. _"You said that you were going to stay at Freddy's until we killed you or if a miracle happened. But, you're still here, so…"_

Mike smiled. "I'll get to that, Jeremy. After the fourth week of fun times at Freddy's, I was doing my shopping for the next week. When I came back to my apartment…I found something that had been slipped underneath my door. Something that ended up changing absolutely everything."

 **December, 1993**

Mike readjusted the bag of groceries in his arms as he took the elevator up to his apartment. The night before had been Night 5 material, no doubt about that, and he'd only survived because 6 AM had rolled around while he'd been "playing dead" in front of Freddy's creepy glowing face. But whatever. Survival was survival. He took his key out and opened the door to the apartment.

The moment he did so, he noticed a simple letter on the doorstep in front of him. That immediately struck him as odd – people usually left their mail out in the mailboxes at the apartment entrance, didn't they? He put the groceries on the kitchen shelf and reached down to open the letter, which to his surprise was also entirely unmarked.

Growing suspicious, he turned the letter and opened it. Inside was a single sheet of paper, and a lottery ticket? What? Did somebody just give it to him as a pre-emptive Christmas gift?

He decided to focus on the letter first. A letter that, as he would soon discover, would transform the course of his life forever.

 _Mike,_

 _You don't know who I am, but I was a very close friend of your adoptive father, the late Colonel Oskar Schmidt. Oskar served alongside both of my sons in the army, and both looked up to him as a superior, as a hero, and as a friend. During one battle gone wrong, my sons ended up trapped inside a building that had burst into flames. They would have burned to death alone without anyone to help them, but Oskar refused to abandon them. He charged into that building alone, found my children, and gave them the crucial aid that they needed to escape. If he hadn't risked his own life for those under his command, all I would have left of them would have been two graves instead of two families._

 _I know you've been taking on the night shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. I don't know why the hell you'd go anywhere near that death trap, but something tells me that you're fully aware of the dangers inside and doing that job anyway on purpose. I can't watch you risk your life anymore. Not Colonel Schmidt's son in all but blood. He saved my children's lives. Now I'm going to save yours._

 _This lottery ticket isn't any ordinary lottery ticket. I found it a month ago, and I have kept it completely secret ever since. Nobody knows that I had it, not even my family. I'm an old man, and have no need for wealth anymore. But you do, and this ticket is now yours. The ticket is for the Ohio Lottery, and it is the key to your salvation. But while it may change your life, the riches you now possess come fraught with dangers. Several have won the lottery in the past, only to find themselves thrown into danger and even death by the greed of others. The Ohio Lottery is one of the few states in which you can claim your reward anonymously. Do NOT, under any circumstances, allow anyone to know about this. Keep it as close of a secret as you possibly can, until you are ready to make a new life for yourself._

 _I wish you the best of luck, Mike Schmidt. Oskar always had an eye for greatness, and he told me he could see it in you. Go and make your dreams a reality._

Mike's pulse started racing as he picked up the lottery ticket he had previously dismissed, and his eyes bulged. The ticket was a winning prize for a thousand dollars, every day, for the rest of his life.

 **Present Day**

Mike chuckled as the ghosts' jaws dropped. "I couldn't believe it, either, when I first saw it," he commented. "Even beyond the grave, Oskar had somehow found a way to look out for me. I never found out who gave me that ticket, and I didn't want to press the issue. Like the guy who wrote the letter had said, it was extremely important that I keep everything a secret."

" _Wuh…buh…jee…wah…WHAT?"_ Gabe spluttered. It was rare for him to be at a complete loss for words, but this latest revelation had thrown even his mental capacity out the window.

"Good deeds can resonate through time just as much as bad ones," he replied with a shrug. "But just because I had the literal ticket to a new life in my hands, doesn't mean that I couldn't afford to be careful anymore. If anything, I had to be even more careful than ever. What the guy said in the letter was no joke – I've seen stories where lottery winners who blurted out the secret ended up getting murdered in their own homes by so-called friends and family members.

Fritz got up on his feet, fists clenched. _"If anyone tries to hurt you, dad, they'll have to go through ME!"_ he declared.

" _And me! And me!"_ Other voices echoed as the children got to their feet.

Mike smiled warmly at their protectiveness. "Isn't it supposed to be the dad's job to protect his kids, not the other way around?" he asked jokingly. "With guys like you around, who needs a security system?"

Everyone let out a gale of laughter at that, releasing tension that they didn't even know had been building up throughout Mike's story. "Anyway, where was I…oh, right. The way the lottery works, you cash it in whatever state you bought the ticket. Even though we live in Utah here, the ticket was bought in Ohio. Fortunately, I was already 18 by that time, so I met the minimum age for gambling. Whoever left that ticket was also generous enough to provide me with detailed instructions on how to claim my ticket anonymously, and I made sure to do it as soon as possible. I didn't rest easy until the first payment of seven thousand dollars showed up in bank account, and only then did I realize that I hadn't been dreaming."

" _It sounds like you went through a lot of trouble to keep everything a secret, dad,"_ Susie commented. _"But then again, considering what we just heard right now, I can't blame you."_

"When carelessness can get you killed, you have a lot of motivation to not be careless," Mike looked at the binder of the pictures, still featuring the hallucinations at Freddy's and closed it. "And with that, my time at Freddy's was coming to an end. I had been more than willing to give up my life, but that was when my life had no meaning or no value. For the first time, my life had purpose. It had significance. And I wasn't going to stick around any longer than I had to anymore." He suddenly smirked. "But I had one last card to play, one last fuck-you up my sleeve."

Liz gave him a confused look. _"What do you mean by that?"_ she asked.

"Almost nobody knows about the tragedy behind Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, regarding both the Night Guards and you guys," Mike explained. "If they did, most of them would probably blame the Purple Guy, while some might blame you guys since you actually did the killing. But you know the third party that's to blame? Let's talk about the FUCKING management." He unexpectedly shouted the second to last word, causing all the ghosts to jump in surprise.

"You guys might have been the ones doing the actual killing as the animatronics, that might be true," Mike continued once they'd recovered. "But you were the enemy from the beginning, you were never my friends. Back then," he quickly added when he saw the hurt looks on the children's faces, which just as quickly disappeared after his addendum. "But the management? They knew what was going on. They knew that the pizzeria was a killing ground. But instead of shutting the animatronics down, warning people about the danger, or just doing the right thing in general for their employees, they let all these fucking killings happen. As far as I'm concerned, they're just as responsible for all of those deaths."

" _My father was very disappointed with the management of the franchise he created, to put it very mildly,"_ Mary added. It had been the first time she'd spoken in a while, having heard the story before and preferring to leave the questions to the other children. _"And he was even more disappointed by the stupidity associated with Fazbear's Fright."_

"And I pulled my last trick as a special thank you _just_ for them," Mike now had a sinister grin on his face. "Cause the hour before the final night of my shift started, I sent all the AIs on the animatronics straight into the fucking abyss. Quadruple 0s. A final fuck you before they fired me, because I knew full well that tampering with the animatronics would get me fired. And boy, did that feel good."

Fritz burst out laughing at that, and the other ghosts couldn't help but grin too, even if their new dad's actions had derailed their vengeance against the night guards. Who knew that he had such a mischievous streak in him? "That last night was the easiest thing I've ever done in my entire life. Of course, I didn't get complacent. I didn't spend 20 nights at Freddy's and win a 1000 dollars for life in the lottery only to fuck it all up at the finish line. And I'm glad I paid attention, cause Bonnie showed up at my door at least once towards 5 AM. But I had so much power left that I literally just shut the left door for the entire last hour because Chica decided to screw around uselessly in the kitchen or bathrooms and Freddy never moved. And that was that. The next day I got a pink slip for…" he rummaged into the box and picked out a pink slip. "Tampering with the animatronics, general unprofessionalism, and odor," he read.

" _Odor?"_ Cassidy asked incredulously. _"What kind of reason is that?"_

"That's not the one I have a problem with. The one I have issue with is general unprofessionalism," Mike replied with mock rage. "General Unprofessionalism? Are you fucking kidding me? I just turned the position of Night Guarding at Freddy's from a goddamn nightmare to something that's easily survivable if you pay attention at the cost of my job. I'm the most fucking professional night guard there is! But odor? Yeah, that one I have to give them. It's sweaty as hell in that office and that fan didn't do jack shit."

The ghosts had all collapsed into laughter at Mike's "analysis" of his pink slip. _"Hope you took a shower after every night,"_ Jeremy chortled. _"Wouldn't want you to get kicked out of your apartment for general unprofessionalism and odor!"_

" _Maybe you got fired for cursing too much,"_ Liz managed to add between laughs.

"No kidding," Mike replied dryly as the ghosts all calmed down. "I swear that useless fan is the single reason why the power kept going down even when I wasn't using anything. Anyway, with the lottery winnings pouring into my bank account, I was now making $365,000 every year for the rest of my life, which is more than most people in this country can dream of making even after taxes are factored in. I could do fuck all for the rest of my life and be fine. But you see, that wasn't good enough for me."

" _You wanted to live your life to the fullest, didn't you?"_ Gabe asked sagely.

"Got it in one, Gabe. What was the point of finally having a new life if I couldn't take advantage of it? For most people, school and studying are boring as hell and a giant chore, but I wanted to learn. I found out about the GED, and I spent a year studying vigorously for it before I took the tests. And I did pretty well overall. Not amazing, but well enough for me to easily get into a college. And honestly, the rest of my life is…pretty much what you saw in those pictures. Went to college, went into robotics engineering. I kept the shadows of my past and my lottery winnings a carefully guarded secret, and while I made lots of casual friends there, I can count on two hands the number of close friends I actually have, Ryan being one of them. After I graduated, I took on a job as a robotics engineer until about a year ago, and here we are now!"

The ghosts all applauded as he finished his tale. _"That's absolutely amazing, dad!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"To think that your life changed that much and that you survived at Freddy's for that long! But, I have a question…"_

"What is it, Liz?"

"… _do you think it was worth it?"_ Liz continued. _"Was living the rest of your life and winning the lottery worth all the pain you went through as a kid?"_

Mike chuckled, but this time there was less humor and more thoughtfulness. "You know, Liz, Ryan once asked me that exact same question. And you know what? Yes. I think overall, I'm glad with how my life turned out."

" _Considering that you're easily a millionaire by now, dad, I can easily see why!"_ Fritz exclaimed. To his surprise, however, Mike brushed that off with a wave of his hand.

"I'm not talking about the money, Fritz," he replied. "Honestly, I couldn't give two shits about the money. My bank account's hovering around 5 million right now, and the only reason why it isn't higher is because I usually donate most of the extra from my budget to different charities every year. Hell, I paid off the entirety of Ryan's college debt for him without blinking an eye as a thank you for keeping all of my secrets hidden."

" _So THAT'S why he respects you so much!"_ Jeremy realized.

"If I'd stayed at home, I don't know what I would've accomplished. But because my life took the path it did, I've done several things I can say I'm proud of. I saved an old man's life and helped make his last few years of life as comfortable as possible. I pre-emptively saved how many night guards' lives at Freddy's since I had advantages nobody else had that kept me alive. I had a respectable job as an engineer. And now, even if I have zero experience whatsoever, I have more than enough resources to be a parent for seven kids who need someone to take care of them after God knows how much shit you went through."

The ghosts all got up to give their dad a group hug, which he gladly accepted. _"You were wrong about one thing, dad…"_ Gabe said after they broke the hug. _"Your life was NEVER worthless. In your own way, you suffered almost as much as we did, but even after all that you tried to help others as much as possible."_ He sighed. _"I wish there were more people like you, and I wish we'd had you as a role model back then. Maybe then we would have tried to help kids out the RIGHT way instead of murdering innocent people we thought were our killer come back for more."_

Mike shook his head. "You can't change the past, Gabe. Look to the present and the future. Afton is gone, and he won't be coming back. Your path forward is clearer now than it ever was, and that's something to be thankful for."

He got up from his couch. "It's well into the night, guys, and I'm exhausted after telling my tale. I think I'm going to hit the bed for the night. You guys can stay up if you want, but I'm exhausted. Good night, everyone."

" _Good night, dad!"_ they all chorused as all of them started dwelling on what Mike had told them, and what lessons they could learn from his tale. All except for Mary, who followed him out the door.

As Mike approached his bedroom, he heard the telltale sound of Pop Goes the Weasel behind him. "Mary?" he asked. "What's up?"

" _You didn't tell them the full story,"_ she said quietly. _"The reasons why you forgave your original father. You left out the biggest one."_

"Because it's harder to forgive and let go of your hate towards someone who doesn't ask for it than it is to forgive someone who does," Mike replied quietly. "I wouldn't go as far as to say they should forgive people like William Afton. That guy was a monster through and through and I'm glad he's burning in Hell where he belongs. But most people aren't monsters like him, and not everybody who does something wrong asks to be forgiven for it. I'll tell them the full story one day. But not now. I want to give them a chance to learn the message without me making it easy for them."

 **Twenty Years Ago**

Mike sighed as he waited in the lounge in the hospital. He had honestly forgotten about his birth father, after years of living life on his own. He didn't know how the old man had found him, but he had and he had requested urgently for his son to come one last time. Mike hoped that things wouldn't devolve into a mess like they had all too often when he was a child.

"Mr. Schmidt?" a nurse called out to him. "He's ready for you."

Mike got up from the chair and thanked the nurse, who guided him over to the hospital room where his dad was resting.

Even Mike was shocked by what a sorry state his father was in. He looked barely alive, like a corpse still drawing breath, and he could tell that he wouldn't be alive for much longer. The old man's eyes flickered open and looked over at his son.

"Mike…" he rasped. "You…you actually came…"

"I did," Mike replied calmly. "I don't know how you found me, dad, but…"

His voice trailed off as he realized his father was crying. "Mike…I'm…I'm sorry. I'm sorry…for every time…I beat you…when you were a child. You…you didn't…deserve that. I let my inner demons…and my drinking problem…break me…twist me…and you suffered for it. I'm, so, so sorry…"

"Dad…" he barely managed to breath out. He hadn't even known just how badly he'd wanted to hear this apology from him.

"That night…when you ran away…I realized…just what a fool…what a monster…I had become…" his father continued between heavy breaths. "I didn't follow you…I didn't chase you…because I didn't want to hurt you…more than I…already had. Whatever life you lived…it had to be better…than life…with me…and I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"

Mike cradled his father's withered hand in his own. "It's all right, dad. I forgive you," he murmured. "Your suffering is almost over."

The old man tried to break into a smile, but he erupted into a nasty coughing fit. "Mike…I don't know…if you'll ever have children…but if you do…please…PLEASE…treat them with the love and respect…they deserve. Don't…don't be like me."

"I don't know if that'll ever happen, dad…" Mike replied, "but if it does, I promise I'll do my absolute best."

His father smiled, and this time there was nothing to ruin it. "Then…I can finally rest…I can see your mother again…and tell her that at the last…I did…something right…" the old man's eyes closed, and Mike knew they would never open again. And the peaceful expression on his face, something that had never been present once during his childhood, was something that Mike would remember to his dying days.

/

Somehow, this chapter ended up being LONGER than the last one. I did NOT see that coming, to be honest.

I'm going to put up a quick warning and let you know that I might not post a chapter next week or even the week after that, because I am getting a TON of med school exams tumbling onto my head between the next two weeks. It was all I could do to get this chapter and the last one out in a timely manner so that they wouldn't intrude on my study time.

I tried to adhere to how the lottery works in real life as closely as possible, though I screwed around with some of the details just to make things a BIT easier for Mike and the story. And in case you were wondering, that bit about Ohio allowing winners to claim their prizes anonymously is actually true…as is the bit about lottery winners getting screwed over massively because they revealed their knowledge to the public, unfortunately. I dunno if that applies to the Win 4 Life lottery, but for this story I'm going to say it does.

Believe it or not, I originally didn't have either the lottery ticket as a gift or Mike's reconciliation with his father planned for this chapter. My original idea for the lottery ticket was for Mike to "unexpectedly get a feeling" to buy a lottery ticket while going grocery shopping, and that lottery ticket HAPPENING to be the one that gets him a win. But I think the way I actually did it in the final draft is much more impactful and might have even invoked a feel or two.

Lemme know what you guys thought about Mike's past, and how he tackled the night shift at Freddy's. I hope you guys enjoyed!


	15. Chapter 15 - Thoughts Under the Sky

A/N: I decided I was too bored to study for my exams so I decided to write instead lol.

Man, that review glitch from earlier in the weekend really screwed things around, didn't it? Thank God it got fixed. I was able to get most of them in my email, but some of those notifications didn't show up til almost a week after. Yeesh.

Anyways, thank you guys for the kind reviews! I hope to keep delivering to your expectations! To answer a few questions from reviewers:

Mary does know who she was in the past, including her name. She's deliberately keeping it in the dark for now, though not for the reason you'd think :)

People do know that a tragedy did happen at Freddy's and that five children went missing, but that's about it. The fact that they were murdered isn't even a ubiquitously known certainty, although most people believe that they were killed anyway.

Mike does not explicitly have any magical powers. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't have innate abilities or characteristics that are greater than average for a human.

Hope that cleared up some things, and let's move on to the next chapter! We're going back to a lighthearted family atmosphere, think there's been enough dark and intense stuff for now 😊

Chapter 15 – Thoughts Under the Sky

" _Hey, Susie? Do you think a Mac or a Dell would be better?"_ Jeremy wondered.

" _How would I know, Jeremy? I barely know more than you do!"_

The six children had been crowded over Mike's laptop throughout the evening, searching through various websites looking for different laptops. A week after Mike had shared his past with them, he had told them to their shock and joy that he was going to buy each of them a laptop so that they didn't have to crowd around one.

" _But…isn't that going to cost you a fortune?"_ Fritz had incredulously after his dad had made the announcement.

Mike smirked. "Fritz, buddy, what part of 5 million + dollars chilling in my bank account did you not understand? Besides, I'm setting a price limit of 1000 dollars for each laptop anyway."

" _Just curious, is there a reason why you're setting that price limit? You didn't run into some money issues, did you?"_ Gabe asked, worried.

Mike waved him off. "It's more along the lines of "why the hell do you need a laptop that costs more than 1000 dollars when you're not using it for anything other than personal entertainment?"" he replied. "Anyways, I'm going to be out in the backyard if you need me. So get to it!"

The ghosts didn't need further encouraging and immediately started scrambling around Mike's computer as he left the room. As always, the Marionette was watching them from behind. She'd already gotten her laptop from Mike several months ago, so she was there mainly for her friends and siblings more than anything.

" _So, uh, what do you think?"_ Liz asked Mary.

Mary shrugged. _"I'm not sure. I honestly don't know all that much about computers. I know there's a couple of memes about Dell being terrible, but I honestly never had any major problems with the one I have so far. It's up to you, really."_

Gabe sighed. He knew that Mary was just being honest and trying not give bad advice, but her words right now weren't really helping all that much. _"Well, we could always just buy a couple of different kinds just to be safe,"_ he muttered as he clicked open another website. _"Or we can ask Dad for advice."_

" _What do you think he's even doing?"_ Cassidy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fritz shrugged. _"No clue, Cass. Maybe we should ask him, it's not like he isn't around or anything. We're just shifting through laptops right now without any clue about what we ACTUALLY want to get."_

" _Sounds good to me,"_ Gabe replied. He gestured to the ghosts to follow him out to where Mike had left. They phased through the back door and through a small atrium to a large backyard area surrounded by a stone wall, with a rectangular swimming pool placed in the very center. The mansion that he had bought was somewhat further away from the main part of the suburbs that he lived in, and the kids could see sprawling fields and hills beyond the boundary that marked Mike's property. The man himself was laying in a pool chair he had set up, staring up at the night sky while holding a glass with a drink in his hand.

"This is the life," he sighed contentedly as he absent-mindedly swirled the drink around. "A serene summer night where I can just sit back, relax, and think." He took a sip from the glass. "I should probably get the kids out here to enjoy this with me in a bit, but for now I'll just bask in the solitude."

The ghosts quickly backed off to make sure Mike hadn't seen them. _"Maybe we should give him a couple of minutes,"_ Liz suggested.

" _Yeah, I don't want to bother him,"_ Susie agreed, as did the rest of the ghosts. They quickly sneaked back inside, and a few minutes later Mike came in to call them out to the backyard.

"By the way, I did notice you guys over there," he commented as he guided them out. "But thanks for the privacy."

The children blushed. _"No problem, dad,"_ Gabe replied as they started manipulating other pool chairs on either side of Mike, _"but I thought for sure we didn't make a sound."_

Mike shrugged. "Call it heightened reflexes or whatever, but I can sense when other people are around me. He got back onto his pool chair. "So, did you guys find laptops that you want to get?"

" _Uh…"_ Jeremy muttered, _"to be honest we really have no clue which ones are the best. Dell, Apple, none of it makes any sense to us. Even Mary couldn't give us much help."_

Mike brushed it off. "We can talk about it later," he replied. "For now, let's just take a moment to look at the night sky."

The ghosts all leaned into their pool chairs and gazed silently at the sky for several moments, each of them reflecting on everything that had happened and how they'd gotten to the point they were at now.

" _I can't remember the last time I saw something like this…"_ Cassidy finally broke the silence. _"This is…beautiful…"_

"It certainly is," Mike agreed. "Too bad we're a bit too close to a city, though. The light pollution messes with the sky a bit and blocks out a lot of the stars. I went camping to foresty areas far away from cities a few times while I was in college, and the sky is just chock full of stars. It's something truly beautiful, I can tell you."

" _We'll definitely take your word for it!"_ Jeremy replied as Mike took a casual sip of his drink.

" _Maybe_ I might take you guys out once, once we figure out the issue of how to get you out of the house without causing a mass panic," he suggested. "Would any of you guys be down?"

" _Heck yeah, I'd be down!"_ Fritz enthusiastically agreed, with several of the other ghosts voicing their agreement. Then Susie suddenly noticed the cup Mike was holding and the drink inside it.

" _That's not…alcohol…is it?"_ she asked, worried. _"Isn't that what…"_ she trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Mike shook his head. "While I think people are better off not drinking alcohol at all, drinking alcohol isn't the problem in and of itself. The problem is when you start drinking too much of it. _That's_ when it starts screwing with you and ruining your entire life. And no, Susie, this isn't alcoholic. It's just a mix of sodas I made real quick before coming out here. I only drink alcohol in _incredibly_ rare circumstances, like champagne at someone's wedding or something."

" _So what were you doing out here?"_ Gabe asked. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it directly.

"Just thinking, is all," Mike explained. "I think everyone needs some time to themselves once in a while. Though something like this can easily be shared with other people too."

" _Hey…Dad?"_ Jeremy asked. _"Can I ask you a question?"_

"Fire away."

He hesitated, then decided to just continue. _"How…how did you know about the hallucinations? Like…when did you have the time to look at the time? Back when you were the Night Guard, it sounded like you just ignored them to focus on us."_

Mike sighed. "To be honest, I still have dreams about that pizzeria sometimes. Being in that office, blocking out the animatronics. I left that pizzeria when I was still in my teens, but it's followed me in my dreams to this day."

Every ghost instantly tensed up, the same question racing through all their minds: had their actions ended up torturing their adoptive father in his dreams for years?

Then, to everyone's surprise, Mike burst out laughing. "It sounds like something out of a recurring nightmare, isn't it? I guess normally it would be, except for the fact that I'm a lucid dreamer."

" _Lucid dreaming?"_ Liz asked, confused. _"What does that mean?"_

"It means I can control what happens in my dreams," Mike explained, and the children's eyes widened in awe. "So I can control how aggressive the dream animatronics are, and that includes making them completely harmless."

" _That is AWESOME!"_ Fritz exclaimed.

Mike laughed appreciatively. "Usually I just used my nights at Freddy's as reflex practice, and if one of them somehow caught me I could just reset the night. A couple of times, however, I stopped them from working entirely so that I could do some research into those hallucinations. For some reason, the exact hallucinations that showed up in the actual pizzeria reappeared in those dreams, which always made me wonder if there was something more going on. Either way, I was able to memorize most of what I saw and draw them out, though I had to look up the articles in the library."

" _That explains a lot,"_ Gabe said, now fully understanding why Mike had seemed so in-the-know with regards to the hidden horror within the Fazbear franchise compared to the other Night Guards.

"I never really dwelled on it all that much, to be honest. The pizzeria closed down soon after my shift ended, and by that point I was moving on to bigger and better things."

" _And here we are now…"_ Mary murmured as she looked back up at the sky. _"All of us here, our fates brought together in a way nobody could have expected."_

"How very true…" Mike agreed, and for several moments none of them spoke. Then, Susie decided to end the silence this time.

" _I wonder…do you guys think Freddy's will ever come back again?"_ she asked.

Mike shook his head. "No way in Hell, Susie," he firmly answered. "There's just been way, WAY too much bad shit that's happened around Freddy's for it to ever come back. Between what happened to you and what happened to the night guards, there's just way too much tragedy and hidden horror. There's a reason why somebody thought it would be a good idea to make a _horror_ attraction out of the restaurant, even though we all think that was pretty stupid."

" _That's…kind of a shame, really…"_ Gabe sighed. _"Before all the terrible stuff happened, Freddy's was a fun and happy place for kids to enjoy themselves. We used to go there all the time, and the day we were murdered…one of us was celebrating a birthday. I don't remember who anymore, but still…it was fun."_

" _Well, we all know who to blame for ruining everything,"_ Fritz growled.

" _I don't really remember much about Freddy's,"_ Liz spoke up, _"but Circus Baby's Pizza World or Rental were never as popular as Freddy's was. And good riddance. Considering that it was a hidden death trap for children, the Baby's franchise can rot in obscurity for all I care."_

"Circus Baby's is probably even more dead than Freddy's," Mike commented. "All of the animatronics took themselves apart to form Ennard, right? And Ennard, or Molten Freddy, or whatever the hell you want to call him, he's just a pile of incinerated scrap now. There's no performers left to revive the franchise _with_."

" _The major animatronics are all gone, yeah,"_ Liz confirmed. _"There were also a couple of smaller ones, like the Minireenas, Bidybab, and Bonbon…I don't know what happened to them. They weren't part of Ennard like the rest of us were. But yeah, I agree with you, dad."_

" _It still makes me sad to think that the franchise my father made has been tainted so horribly,"_ Mary sighed, _"but in the end, it's rather fitting that he was the one to end the nightmare forever. As he said in his final message, the memory and agony of every tragedy should fade away in time."_

" _I'm honestly shocked that you're still in the Puppet,"_ Gabe shifted in his chair to look at her. _"How did you even escape the fire, and why did you choose to stay behind?"_

" _Springtrap escaped one fire already, and I needed to make absolutely sure that he was dead for good,"_ Mary explained. _"My caution turned out to be unnecessary, since my father very carefully and specifically designed his trap to bring about Springtrap's final doom. All that's left of every animatronic are unrecognizable piles of scrap and ashes. And considering who I met afterwards, I would say everything worked out beautifully in the end."_ She suddenly smirked. _"Besides, I got to see Mike personally stomp on Springtrap's remains. That alone made staying in the living world worth it,"_ she added, earning grins from the ghosts as Mike lazily gave her a thumbs up while taking another sip of his drink. _"And as for how I escaped…I used my powers to teleport myself out before I was destroyed."_

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ Jeremy spluttered. _"You can TELEPORT?"_

Mary shrugged. _"It's something that I have very limited experience with, it takes a lot of energy, and it's something I can only do very infrequently. There's a reason why you never saw me do it."_ She looked over at Cassidy. _"Actually, when I brought Golden Freddy to life, I can't help but wonder if I transferred most of my capability with that specific power to you by accident."_

" _Well, we'll never know now."_

" _Wait, what happened to that Lefty suit?"_ Liz asked curiously. _"Did it get destroyed in the fire?"_

"Nah," Mike answered. "We took it home with us. It took me a couple of days to fix the fire damage in my workshop and make a couple of other adjustments, but right now it's sitting around in the basement somewhere. There's no endoskeleton in it or anything, it's basically a statue." He thought for a moment. "Actually, that thing makes for pretty decent armor, now that I think about it. I mean, I know Mary's powerful, but she isn't exactly meant for good ol' fisticuffs like pretty much every other animatronic I've ever seen."

" _I think that was part of the reason why my father designed it the way he did,"_ Mary added. _"To give me a way to fight back in case I ran into any of the others and they tried to attack me."_ Liz flinched at this, but everyone else was too busy looking at Mary to notice.

Mike chuckled. "I guess I'm the proud owner of the last known Freddy Fazbear animatronic. I'm not even surprised that I'm the one who ended up with it at this point."

Everyone leaned back and watched the sky in silence for several more moments, and then Gabriel spoke up. _"You know, the funny things is…I actually didn't mind being an animatronic."_

Mike shot up from his chair. "Really!" he exclaimed, clearly surprised. "That was NOT what I was expecting to hear you say!"

" _Let me rephrase and explain. Don't get me wrong, Mike. Our existence was absolutely horrible,"_ Gabe explained. _"The fact that we'd never be able to see our families again, we could never talk to other kids and could only watch them from the stage, being trapped in a pizzeria without ever seeing the outside world for years and years…terrible doesn't begin to describe that. But that's the thing. It was being trapped in so many ways that made things so horrible. Not being an animatronic in and of itself. Heck, back when I was still alive, there were times when I wished I could be Freddy, be the child's entertainer."_ His face took on a dark look. _"Though I guess what they say true is true…be careful what you wish for."_

Liz shuddered. _"Sorry, Gabe, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one,"_ she countered. _"There's just way too many bad memories for me."_

Fritz shook his head. _"You had it a LOT worse than the rest of us, Liz. Not much of a surprise that you're against it so much, especially given what the animatronic you ended up possessing did to you. But, to be honest…I can kind of see where Gabe is going with this. I did enjoy entertaining kids as Foxy before I went out-of-order,"_ he admitted. _"We did sleep most of the time in the suits during the day, but when we were awake we could actually control what the animatronics said and did, at least a little bit."_ He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. _"What can I say? I liked being a pirate."_

"So…let me get this straight," Mike clarified. "Assuming that absolutely nothing went wrong, if you could enter and leave a given suit freely without having your soul stuck in it, and you weren't limited at all with what you could do, you wouldn't mind being like Mary once in a while."

" _Yeah,"_ Gabe confirmed. _"Mary's the perfect definition of what I'm talking about, actually."_

"Huh," Mike raised an eyebrow. "That's really interesting to hear you say that. And what about the rest of you guys?"

" _If we assumed that nothing went wrong, I'd give it a shot,"_ Jeremy decided. _"We'd be able to actually interact with the physical world instead of manipulating things the way we currently do. It just isn't the same."_

Susie shrugged. _"What Jeremy said."_

Cassidy fidgeted slightly. _"I don't think you can really consider Golden Freddy a regular animatronic, to be honest,"_ she commented. _"It didn't have an endoskeleton, and I had to move around the thing's arms and legs directly instead of doing it with an endo. Heck, I don't think I'd have been able to move around very much if I couldn't teleport. I've gotta admit…I've always been a bit curious as to what it was like for the rest of you guys."_

Mike shook his head. "I don't know if I should be happy or disturbed that everything you've been through hasn't ruined your perspective on being animatronics again." He sighed. "As interesting as this conversation is, at the end of the day this won't be anything more than speculation. The Freddy's franchise is dead for good, and I don't know where there could possibly be any more Freddy's animatronics with how much bad rep the franchise has."

The ghosts all made varying noises except for Mary, who was lost in thought. _"Could my father have…no…maybe…could he?"_

"Mary?"

" _Nothing,"_ she quickly brushed off her thoughts. _"It's nothing."_

"If you say so…" Mike decided to leave it be. After a few seconds, he remembered something. "So, did you guys pick your laptops yet?"

" _I completely forgot about those!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"That's actually why we wanted to come out here, dad. We don't know which ones are the best ones to buy."_

Mike smiled. "Well, Liz, here's what I'd personally suggest…"

/

Just some bonding between Mike and the ghosts under a warm and relaxing summer night sky :) A couple of surprises have popped up for both sides, though, to be sure.

I honestly have no clue whatsoever which laptops are the best, you can just put in whatever you think is the best computer in for Mike's advice.

Mary's little talk about how she survived the events of FNAF6 is basically to fill in some plot holes for anyone who hasn't read my other fic "A Legacy Laid to Rest."

Hope you enjoyed!


	16. Chapter 16 - Networking

A/N: This one's a fairly short chapter, the logical conclusion as to what would happen now that the kids have laptops :D It's going to have a somewhat different format too – you'll see what I mean.

I've got some chapters planned that are either (a) focused on plot advancement, (b) dark, or (c) both that will be coming up soon. But since I just got done with writing about that very subject and I'm currently dealing with exams, I'll give you another light-hearted and friendly chapter that I can write up without taking time away from exam studying.

Chapter 16 – Networking

"Did you finish your homework, Meghan?" Ryan called out from the basement.

"Yeah, dad!" Meghan replied. "I'm done!"

"All right, you're good to go for the night."

"Thanks!" Meghan breathed a sigh of relief. This week it had been her turn to get swamped by tests and quizzes, and she counted herself lucky that she hadn't gotten a huge homework load to make things even more painful. "God, I hope high school isn't like this…"

"Hey Meghan!" her dad suddenly called out. "Get Alex and come down here. You're gonna want to see this!"

She raised her eyebrow. This was new. "Alex!" she called out to her brother. "Dad wants to see us!"

"Huh?" he climbed down the stairs. "What for?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, Dad just said it would be interesting."

"Okaaaaayyyyy…" the two of them rushed down into the basement. They found their father grinning in front of the computer.

"Remember those kids you met at Mike's house?" Ryan asked. "The ghosts?"

"How can I forget?" Alex replied with a grin. "Those guys are amazing!"

"Hope we get to see them again soon!" Meghan added.

"Well, I've got the next best thing," Ryan replied. "Mike just sent me a message saying that he got all the kids laptops." His children's eyes widened in shock at this news. "He spent a few hours connecting them on Facebook and Email and everything."

"Holy crap!" Alex exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

"Can we talk to them right now?" Meghan begged. "Please?"

Ryan grinned. "You should have friend requests from all seven of them by now. Have fun, you two!" he said with a smirk as he left the basement.

With excited shouts, the two of them rushed over to their laptops and logged on as quickly as possible. Just like Ryan had promised, each of them had gotten 7 friend requests, one for each of the ghosts. They quickly accepted all of them as fast as humanly possible. As soon as they had done so, they immediately received an invitation to join a group messaging system, indicating that they were all ready and had been waiting to meet up with them from the get-go.

"Ready for this?" Meghan excitedly asked her brother.

"Heck yeah!" he replied as they both accepted. To their delight, all seven of their new ghostly friends were all online, as they'd hoped.

Jeremy: Hey guys!

Alex: Holy crap! You're all here! :D I didn't expect to hear from you guys again this soon!

Meghan: How is this possible?

Susie: Dad got us all new laptops! 3

Meghan: Every single one of you?

Fritz: Yep! Some Dells, Some Macs, some Lenovos…we decided to mix it up a bit.

Cassidy: Dad's the best!

Mary: So how is everything?

Alex: I'm doing pretty well!

Meghan: Uggghhhhh….this week was my turn to get my ass kicked by a bunch of exams. So glad it's over.

Gabe: Oof, sorry to hear that.

Meghan: At least the next week's going to be a lot easier. How are things going with you guys?

Liz: Pretty well, all things considered! Dad's still trying to work on how to get us safely out of the house.

Jeremy: Until then, we're just going to stick to our daily routine of video games, Internet surfing, and books.

Alex: Speaking of books, did you guys read the Harry Potter series yet? I'd highly recommend both the books and the movies, they're great stuff! Even if things get darker later on…

Gabe: We got through the first one, and we're gonna start the second one soon.

Cassidy: I love all of the characters so far! Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Ron, they're all so amazing! Even the minor ones like Professor McGonagall are cool!

Susie: I can't believe Harry's parents died when he was a baby! It's so sad!

Fritz: Screw Voldemort, I hope that bastard gets what's coming to him!

Meghan: There's still six books left before that finally happens Fritz. Sorry.

Alex: You guys are gonna be amazed at how well everything ties together once you get to the later books, trust me. Can't say much right now cause of spoilers, but you'll see!

Gabe: If that's true then I can't wait to get to the rest of the books!

Jeremy: Do you have any other recommendations for books we could read?

Meghan: Well, one of my personal favorites is the Percy Jackson series. I don't know how much you know about Greek mythology, but the basic gist of it is that the Greek gods exist in the modern universe and have demigod children. The main character is a son of Poseidon, and he goes through a WHOLE lot of crazy shit.

Alex: Can confirm, Percy Jackson is an absolute badass.

Fritz: Well, when you describe it like that, then we HAVE to get our hands on those!

Alex: Just don't watch the movies. Unlike the Harry Potter films, the Percy Jackson films kinda suck, to be honest.

Liz: I heard Dad talking about something called…Lord of the Rings? I think? Have you ever heard about that one?

Alex: Liz, Lord of the Rings is absolutely amazing, but for that one…watch the movies first. The books are…pretty dense, to be honest. It's pretty easy to get lost since they're so long. The movies keep all of the important details in while leaving a couple of things out, and even then they end up being like 3 hours at least. Plus, you have some absolutely amazing acting and everything is just so goddamn badass! Like holy crap, I get excited just thinking about it!

Meghan: Just so you guys know, it's Fellowship of the Ring first, then Two Towers, then Return of the King. You might want to read the Hobbit first, that one is meant to be for a younger audience and that's one that you will probably be able to follow just fine, though I'd still probably wait til after you finish Harry Potter and Percy Jackson first.

Susie: Gotcha! Man, you guys have got me really excited! I don't remember ever being this excited about books when I was alive!

Alex: To be fair, we're self-admitted nerds :P

Meghan: Anyway, what else have you guys been up to? 😊

Cassidy: We tried some of those games you mentioned. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, the early Super Mario Bros. games, things like that. Got started on those a day or two ago.

Jeremy: Dad doesn't want us playing games that are above our age range.

Fritz: Technically been around for like around 40 years, lol.

Susie: I can't believe how hard those games are, though! Is that normal? Like, we can barely get through the first world in the first Super Mario Bros.!

Alex: Oh, believe me, Susie, hard games were the norm for 90s. Honestly, if you want the quintessential 2D Mario experience that isn't overly difficult or unfair, Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World are the best choices in my opinion. The fact that both have a save system definitely helps. As for 3D, there's plenty of options that are all amazing. Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, etc. etc.

Gabe: Will do! We also tried Crash Bandicoot 1, and man, that's some pretty hard platforming!

Meghan: Pfffttttt, that's nothing compared to the old versions of the game. You know how in the new version you have to break all of the boxes without dying for the colored gems?

Fritz: Yeah?

Meghan: In the old versions, that applied to EVERY SINGLE gem. And the jumping was much more screwy than in the newer versions.

Susie: You're kidding. O_O

Alex: Nope. Thank God that 2 and 3 are easier than 1 is, even though those games have their own challenges too. And good luck when you hit the High Road and Slippery Climb, you guys.

Meghan: WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE GODDAMN HIGH ROAD, ALEX!

Alex: Yeesh, calm down, sis!

Liz: Is it that bad?

Mary: I've beaten it before, and yes, it is very difficult. Your jumps on that stage have to be nearly perfect. If my friends and siblings can't beat it, I'll do it for them.

Jeremy: Now I'm kind of worried.

Susie: You know what my favorite game of the bunch has been so far? The Spyro the Dragon trilogy.

Meghan: Oh my God, all of my yes! :D Spyro the Dragon is absolutely adorable! I still play those games years after I got them!

Alex: They really upped the formula between the first game and the second and third ones, gotta say.

Fritz: Oh? We've only gotten started on the first ones to be honest. Fuck those blue thieves by the way, those guys have an even more annoying laugh than Balloon Boy!

Meghan: Who's Balloon Boy?

Mary: Don't worry about it.

Gabe: I think Spyro the Dragon is our collective favorite so far. Maybe it's the fact that when you take away the fact that he's a dragon, he's a kid just like us, but he's doing great things. Saving the adult dragons is pretty neat!

Cassidy: Finding all of those gems is a pain, though.

Meghan: Yeah, finding the first game's collectibles can be kind of…cryptic, not gonna lie. The other games do have their own little secrets and exploration but I personally think finding everything was a little easier. Plus the bosses in 2 and 3 are SO much better.

Jeremy: Yeah, we beat Toasty yesterday. He was kinda…anticlimactic, to be honest. Though finding out he was a sheep on stilts was funny :P

Mary: My friends are planning on completing every game 100% as a team. I already did that myself, and I'll be giving a little nudge here and there or doing things for them if they REALLY get stuck, but I want to avoid doing that unless I need to.

Liz: Yeah, wouldn't be much point in playing the game if Mary did all the work for us.

Alex: I like that mentality, Mary. I think you've got the right approach. :)

Susie: I honestly just can't wait to see you guys again. It's incredible that we can talk to you guys like this, but it just isn't the same…

Meghan: I know that feel, Susie.

Alex: I hope you guys don't get lonely in Mr. Schmidt's house.

Gabe: Nah. We've got each other and we've got Mike. That's all we need.

Meghan: Awwwwwwwwwww 3

Alex: We'll definitely try to come over again as soon as possible. I kinda want to show you our house too, when you guys get to it. It isn't anything fancy like Mr. Schmidt's, but I think it's still nice.

Cassidy: I'm sure it looks absolutely amazing, Alex.

Meghan: Has your dad introduced you to anyone else?

Mary: Not yet, unfortunately. He's very careful with how he handles issues. Heck, technically meeting you guys was an accident, no matter how much of a happy accident it was.

Jeremy: Did your mom come back, and does she know about us?

Alex: Yeah, she does. We try not to keep secrets in this house from each other. She was skeptical at first but we eventually convinced her. Luckily, she's on ball with keeping you guys secret from the rest of the world, though she doesn't think anyone would believe her even if we told them.

Gabe: That's good to know.

Meghan: Is your dad going to get you cell phones too?

Liz: Not sure, Meghan. I…kinda don't want to ask him about that, after he just spent God knows how much money on laptops for us.

Alex: Fair point, Liz. Wouldn't want to sound ungrateful or needy.

Mary: We've got to go, guys. Mike wants us to have a movie night tonight, and this time he'll be watching it with us.

Alex: Awww…so soon? Oh well. Now would be a good time as any to watch Lord of the Rings, right?

Fritz: You betcha, Alex! We'll bring it up to him once we log off.

Meghan: Hope to hear from you guys again soon!

All: Bye!

Meghan looked at her brother as they logged off their computers. "Seems like they've settled in pretty well," she commented. Her mouth stretched into a frown. "All things considered…"

"It's terrible, that they died so young," Alex agreed. "What could have possibly happened to them?"

Meghan shuddered. "I don't think I'm going to like the answer if I ever find out," she said with a sigh. "And something tells me they weren't happy as ghosts before they found Mr. Schmidt. Whatever happened to them before, I'm just glad that they found someone to finally take care of them."

"I couldn't agree more, sis. I couldn't agree more."

/

And there you have it, folks! In addition to reconnecting with their new friends after 6 chapters, I've decided to add a couple of hints as to what the kids are doing currently. I probably won't dedicate a full chapter for the books, but I might give one to the Video Games I mentioned (that would be Video Game Bonanza 2).

This chapter is short and sweet because I have med school finals week. I won't tackle the plot advancement stuff until after all that responsibility is over and done with.

Hope you guys enjoyed!f


	17. Chapter 17 - Darkness Approaches

A/N: For some reason, when I posted the last chapter (Chapter 16), I didn't get an email notification that a new chapter was posted for this fic. And since I haven't received a notification, there's a pretty good chance that you guys didn't either. So this is just a quick PSA letting you know that there is indeed a Chapter 16 that has been posted before this one. I swear FF's been having more glitches in the last 2 months than in the past 3 years I've been on this site…

I haven't really dived into the fact that these ghost kids have been forced into tortured existences for decades. I think it's time we addressed that particular detail a little more, shall we? Shout-out to Gadget the Critic for giving me the idea.

I kind of feel bad for what I do, and this is just the beginning.

On an unrelated note, my exams so far turned out fine. So that's good, I guess. It helps that I can drop one of them and let me tell you, that takes off a TON of pressure :D

Trigger warning: trauma, implied violence

Chapter 17 – Darkness Approaches

Mike hummed merrily to himself as he drove his car back home. He had received an invitation to a birthday party from one of his college buddies, and the party had been a hilarious riot of fun and shenanigans. Pool party, poker night, reminiscing over college days, the whole nine yards. "Damn, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun," he thought to himself as he rode up the driveway to his house.

"Even got a nice chunk of cake left over for some late-night snacking," he thought with a grin as he got out of the car. "Chris must've really wanted that cake gone before we all left. Better keep it hidden so the kids don't get jealous." He quickly checked the door the small separate garage building that he had converted into his personal workshop to make sure it was locked properly and then headed for the front door and pushed it open. "Hey kids!" he called out. "I'm back!"

There was a flurry of movement and the ghost kids popped up in front of him. _"Hey, dad!"_ Susie cheerfully called out to him. _"How was your day?"_

"Great!" Mike replied. "Had a lot of fun. Wish you guys could've been there, but this is one of those things that I can't bring you along to no matter how much I want to."

" _It's all right, dad,"_ Liz assured him. _"We got through the second Harry Potter book and movie while you were gone. They're even better than the first ones!"_

" _Also made some pretty good headway in the first Spyro game,"_ Jeremy added. _"So it's not like we were out of options for things to do."_

"Glad to hear that, Jeremy," Mike said, secretly relieved that they didn't seem to be affected by the periods when he was absent from the house. "You guys can keep doing what you're doing, I'm gonna be in the kitchen for a couple of minutes."

" _Sounds good!"_ Gabe answered as the ghosts went back to whatever activity they were doing. _"His name's Doctor Shemp, you idiot, not Doctor Sheep!"_ Mike heard him shout to someone.

With a chuckle, Mike made his way to the kitchen and sat down. It had been a decently long drive back home, and for some reason driving for longer distances always tended to make him hungry. Taking out the leftovers that had practically been forced onto him by Chris's family and the cake, he put the former in the microwave and opened up the latter. "Dessert first, cause why the hell not?" he asked himself with a smirk.

As he made his dinner, Fritz had landed the final hit on Doctor Shemp's back with Spyro's flames. _"This has gotta be one of the derpiest bosses ever,"_ he commented dryly as he collected the gems left over from the gnorc shaman's corpse.

" _Hopefully they get harder,"_ Gabe agreed. _"Then again, from what Alex told us, it seems like the second and third games are much better than the first one, and that might include the bosses."_

" _The first game's already great, though, so I can't wait to see what Spyro 2 and 3 are like!"_ Susie added enthusiastically.

" _The ones that REALLY bother me are the stupid blue egg thieves,"_ Jeremy commented, annoyed. _"Those guys can take forever to catch, and in Magic Crafters they're probably going to get even worse."_

Cassidy got up from her spot. _"I'll go ask Dad if he can give us any help on how to catch them easier,"_ she decided as she headed out of the living room. As she floated towards the kitchen, she could hear the sounds of Mike eating something. _"Hope it tastes good!"_ she thought to herself as she arrived. She peered around the corner to see what Mike was doing.

"Man, this cake is perfection!" Mike thought as he took a big bite out of a chocolate cake, oblivious to the presence of anyone around him. Cassidy stared at the cake in stunned silence.

Chocolate cake…just like back when…when…

 **June 26, 1982**

"Come on, Fritz, we're going to miss the party!" Jeremy called out to his friend.

"Oh, please, Jeremy, it's not like Cassidy's going to have her birthday party without us," Fritz retorted as they hurried into the pizzeria. Still, their two other friends, Susie and Gabriel, were already there and waiting impatiently for them.

"Could you guys be ANY slower?" Gabe joked as he got up to greet them. "We've been waiting for ages!"

Fritz shrugged. "Well, we're here now!" he replied. "So let's get this party started!"

All five of the children cheered as an attendant guided them over to the dining hall. Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were standing proudly on the stage, happily singing their songs. "Freddy's is so awesome, isn't it?" Cassidy asked Susie. She was hoping to distract her friend from the death of her beloved dog, who she heard had been run over by a car. Hopefully, the party would distract Susie from the tragedy going on in her life.

Susie managed a small smile, not wanting to ruin the party for her friends. "I wish we could stay here forever!" she replied wistfully.

"All right, kids!" Freddy announced to the crowd. "Today, we have a very special announcement! One of our guests is having her birthday today!" Everyone cheered, especially Cassidy and her 4 friends. "Will our birthday guest please stand up and say her name?"

Cassidy got to her feet. "My name is Cassidy!" she called out to Freddy proudly.

"That's a great name!" Freddy replied. He gestured to the rest of the audience. "Everyone, let's wish our buddy Cassidy a very happy birthday! Ready? One! Two! Three!"

As everyone started singing the Happy Birthday song, Jeremy gave his friend a light punch on the arm. "You ready to hit the arcade games later?"

"Yeah!" Gabe replied with a smirk. "Bet you can't beat me this time!"

"Hah, we'll see!" he laughed as one of the employees brought up a chocolate birthday cake to their table. Together with their pizza, they began to eat voraciously, all thinking and talking about how much fun they were going to have once they were done with their food.

Hours passed as the kids enjoyed Cassidy's birthday party until the pizzeria was just about to close. At one point, Susie jumped out of her chair and looked over towards the hall where she knew the arcade games were. "I'm gonna go for one last shot at the arcade games!" she declared. "See you guys later!"

Cassidy laughed. "All right, Sus, have fun!" she called back as she watched her friend and her pat dash down the hallway and out of sight. She spent the next few moments enjoying her birthday party, not noticing that her friend had been gone for an awfully long time.

Right when she was about to suggest that they call their parents to pick them up and go look for Susie, Cassidy looked up to see a figure walk towards their table. It was another animatronic, and it looked like a yellow, older version of Bonnie. "Hey kids!" he greeted them. Cassidy gave a start as she realized that it was a person talking inside the suit.

 _Wait a minute…_

"Hey, mister!" Fritz cheerfully greeted him. "How's it going?"

"I'm having a wonderful time!" Spring Bonnie replied. "Would you like to have a wonderful time too?"

 _Something is wrong…_

"Yeah we would!" Jeremy grinned.

 _Something is terribly, terribly wrong…_

Spring Bonnie gestured towards the exit of the dining hall. "I've got a very special surprise waiting for you!" The animatronic grinned. "You're going to _love_ it! I can only give it to you one at a time, though, and I already showed it to your blonde friend from earlier. Who wants to go next?"

 _Don't follow him…_

Fritz jumped off his chair. "I do!" he declared. Spring Bonnie took him by the hand and began walking with him down the hallway and out of sight. One by one, Spring Bonnie came back and began escorting the kids to wherever he had taken the rest of her friends, until only Cassidy remained.

 _Don't follow him!_

"Mr. Bonnie?" Cassidy asked with curious eyes that were slightly starting to get worried. "Where are the rest of my friends?"

 _Don't follow him!_

"They're waiting for you, birthday girl!" Spring Bonnie answered as he held out a hand. Cassidy began to feel a faint twinge of uncertainty, but she nevertheless took the hand and followed Spring Bonnie to the Parts/Service room. As she walked inside and the man inside Spring Bonnie closed and locked the door behind her, she screamed in horror.

All four of her friends had been brutally slaughtered, with gaping wounds on their bodies and blood pouring out onto the floor. Their expressions were contorted into horrifying expressions of fear, disbelief, and pain. A nightmarish welcome to the fate that was about to befall upon her.

 _He's going to kill you. He's going to kill you!_

The last part of the suit came off, revealing a man in a purple uniform. The man grinned sinisterly and picked up something from the table. Cassidy's eyes widened in growing horror and all she could do was scream fruitlessly as the man picked up a razor-sharp knife.

"Smile, birthday girl!" The man laughed as he raised the knife.

 _NO NO NO NO NO NO_ …

 **Present Day**

" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Mike gasped as he suddenly felt his head explode into agony, visions of a purple-dressed man with a blood-drenched knife flashed in front of his eyes. He forced himself to ignore both the pain and the hallucinations and looked up to see Cassidy screaming in fear and horror in front of him. "Cassidy!" he barely managed to breath out, and then he found his voice. "Somebody!" he shouted. "Anybody! Help!"

He could flurry of panicked activity as the ghosts dropped their game and rushed towards the kitchen. Mike quickly rushed over himself to Cassidy and wrapped her in a comforting hug. "It's okay…" he mumbled consolingly to her. "Dad's here. Everything's going to be okay…"

The Marionette was the first to arrive at the scene. _"Cassidy!"_ she too hurried over and started calming her down, although unlike Mike she was also using some of her powers to relax Cassidy's panicked state magically. " _Are you all right?"_ she asked once the ghost had finally calmed down.

" _No…"_ she mumbled. _"I just remembered seeing the day that we…the day that we…we…"_

"… _died?"_ Fritz finished for her. Everyone shot him with a disapproving glare. _"Just trying to help…"_ he defended himself.

"I don't know what happened," Mike helplessly tried to explain. "I didn't even notice Cassidy was here until she started screaming. I was just sitting here, eating some pizza and cake that from the party that I went to earlier today.

Wait a minute…pizza and cake…birthday party...

 **Shit.**

Without wasting a single moment, Mike picked up the cake he had been eating and hurled it into the trash. "Fucking damn it…" he growled, furious with himself for being so careless and insensitive. "This whole episode is my fault."

" _It is NOT your fault,"_ Mary corrected him fiercely. She had no intention of letting one of the few true innocents tied to the fate of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria fall into the trap of self-blame. _"You had no idea that this would happen, and we didn't give you any warning that it would throughout the weeks we have been here. If anything, this is my fault for not seeing this coming."_

" _Don't blame yourself, dad…"_ Cassidy weakly added. _"You did nothing wrong."_

Mike clearly didn't look convinced, but it was clear that the ghosts were brooking no argument. He sighed wearily. "If you say so…"

" _I don't get it, though…"_ Fritz muttered. _"Cassidy's been fine for the entire couple of weeks we've been here!"_

" _She was obviously triggered, you idiot…"_ Gabe growled. Of all the times Fritz could have chosen to be an insensitive prick…

" _No, Gabe, listen to me, I'm not trying to be a dick here,"_ Fritz countered. _"We've been here for a while now. And we've seen or heard plenty of things that could've triggered Cassidy or any of us, for that matter. Remember back when Mike was talking about taking a knife with him out to the streets to defend himself? Or how about any time we ever talked about Freddy's? Those should've triggered her a lot more, or at the very least a lot earlier. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but you're telling me that it takes a chocolate cake of all things to set Cassidy off? Something doesn't seem right here."_

Gabe's anger toward his friend faded as he listened to his friend and brother. Now that he thought about it, what he said DID make sense. He turned to Mary. _"Shoot…"_ he muttered. _"Mary? What do you think?"_

" _The mind is a complex thing,"_ she answered in a grim tone. _"But I can see the logic behind Fritz's reasoning. It may not necessarily be that simple, but I agree that something isn't right here."_ She turned back to Cassidy. _"Cassidy? Would you mind staying still and closing your eyes? I want to check your mind to make sure that there's nothing wrong."_

Cassidy nodded mutely as Mary closed her eyes and focused, her hands glowing bright blue. For several moments, nothing happened. And then, her eyes widened and she gasped in horror. _"You were cursed…"_ she breathed.

" _WHAT?"_ everyone shouted.

" _There was a curse placed on you, Cassidy,"_ Mary shakily explained. _"One that was meant to trigger the unpleasant memories of your death. It must have been placed very recently. That is why you did not suffer any traumatic flashbacks before now."_

" _Is…is this curse still there?"_ Susie asked as she started rubbing Cassidy's shoulders, as much to calm her down as to alleviate her own anxiety and fear.

Mary checked again, and she smiled in relief. _"No…"_ she reported, and the tension in the air faded visibly. _"It was meant to activate once, and only once. Now that it has run its course, it has no power anymore. In a way, we are fortunate that things did not turn out worse than they actually did."_

" _Thank God…"_ Jeremy muttered.

" _But there's still someone out there…"_ Liz worriedly realized. _"Someone who wanted to hurt Cassidy, someone who very likely wants to hurt all of us. And something tells me that whoever cursed Cassidy isn't human."_

"That's what I was thinking too, Liz," Mike agreed grimly. "And while I'm very glad that Cassidy's curse was minor and temporary, there's still some worrying implications. Mainly the fact that someone _planned_ this, and that they weren't going all-out."

" _What do we do, dad?"_ Jeremy asked worriedly. _"We don't even know what's attacking us!"_

Mike thought for a moment. "For a moment, there's nothing we can do about this," he admitted reluctantly. "Realistically, we have no idea who or what did this and why." He looked over at Cassidy. "Do you guys want to talk about the day you were murdered?" he asked quietly.

The ghosts looked at each other, and then Gabe shook his head. _"We've had over thirty years to think about that day,"_ he replied grimly. _"I just want to move on, and I think all of us do too."_

Mike nodded. "Then I think we should be more careful from here on out. If you guys notice _anything_ suspicious, you tell me or Mary immediately. But at the same time, we're going to continue living life as we have," his eyes flashed with a determined look. "There's no point in worrying over this until we are actually able to do something about it. If whoever cursed Cassidy thought they could break or weaken us with this little trick, then they're going to be very disappointed."

The ghosts mulled over Mike's words, and then they nodded. _"I think you're right, dad,"_ Liz smiled. _"We're not going to let anything ruin this!"_

"That's the spirit," Mike said approvingly, then smirked, "no pun intended." A few giggles were elicited from this. "So, what did you want to see me about before this little shitshow happened, Cass?"

" _I was going to ask you about how to beat those blue thieves in Spyro,"_ Cassidy replied. _"They're so annoying!"_

"Oh yeah, fuck those guys," Mike grumbled. "Here, lemme give you some tips…"

As Mike began to talk with his children, a figure watched them from outside the house. The sun had long since fallen, and the creature was next to invisible in the cloak of darkness that the night bestowed upon the world. Even if he wasn't, his ability to magically mask his presence in the shadows made him undetectable to anyone either inside the house or outside of it, even with heightened or supernatural awareness.

" **WELL, WELL, WELL…"** the monstrous being hissed. **"A BETTER SHOWING THAN I EXPECTED. THE BONDS BETWEEN PARENT AND CHILD ARE SURPRISINGLY STRONG FOR HOW LITTLE TIME THEY HAVE SHARED TOGETHER. HOW VERY INTERESTING INDEED."**

The creature's lips stretched into a grin that revealed a mouth filled with razor-sharp fangs. **"YOUR INTELLIGENCE DOES YOU CREDIT, MIKE SCHMIDT, BUT YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT ONE THING. I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED. ON THE CONTRARY, I HAVE SPENT FAR TOO LONG IN THE COMPANY OF IMBECILES TO TOLERATE THE PRESENCE OF FOOLS. IT'S SO MUCH MORE** _ **FUN**_ **WHEN THE VICTIMS CAN ACTUALLY THINK."** The monster started laughing menacingly, a sound that heralded the terror and despair of the damned. **"SOON, WE SHALL SEE JUST HOW STRONG THOSE BONDS TRULY ARE. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

/

Well, that was dark, wasn't it? And a hint of even darker things to come. Especially now that HE'S arrived. And if you read "A Legacy Laid to Rest," you'll know _exactly_ who this is. Heh heh heh heh heh…

I was originally going to choose either Gabe or Cassidy to be the "victim," but I felt that Cassidy would be easier to "curse" since she's the most emotional and youngest of the ghosts. But don't you worry, I have something else planned for Gabe. Depending on your perspective, it might be even worse than what I did to Cassidy just now…

This is a little foreshadowing into what is probably the darkest part of this entire fic. But I will say this, to pre-emptively eliminate some false expectations – I will not be turning the family against each other. No matter how dark this fic can get, I simply cannot be that cruel to them, especially since it would go against the entire premise of this fic. Though the question still remains, _what_ exactly is this new enemy planning?


	18. Chapter 18 - Break-In Gone Bad

A/N: You guys seem to like when I write dark stuff! :P I'm glad to see that though, cause that gets me more excited for the chapters I have planned in the future.

Quite a few of you thought that the new mysterious enemy was William Afton. He isn't. Afton was condemned to Hell after he was destroyed in FNAF6 and he won't be leaving. But that doesn't mean his influence won't be felt after his damnation…or that _other_ things can't come out from Hell instead…

It's easy to look at the ghosts as they are now and think that everything is all fluffy bunnies and rainbows, even though I kinda killed that idea just last chapter. But, lest we forget…FNAF is a horror series, and I think it's time we incorporated a bit of horror into this fic. The ghosts aren't murderous or violent anymore, but they're not going to take kindly to any threat, real or perceived, at each other or _especially_ at Mike.

This is my first attempt at writing horror. Just be aware that this will be fairly low-key, but think of this as both an experiment and a taste of what is to come. Also, to answer a question from a while back, I will not be including Five Nights at Candy's since I know pretty much nothing about it.

Also, minor spoilers for _The Lightning Thief_ by Rick Riordan. Though that book's been out since I was in high school, so you've PROBABLY heard about it at some point anyway lol

Chapter 18 – Break-In Gone Bad

There was no denying that the atmosphere had changed in the house. Even though Mike had resolved to continue with life as normal and the ghosts were all on board, the idea of a new enemy targeting them was enough to put everyone on edge regardless.

The biggest and most obvious change was that Mike had completely abandoned his plans to get the kids safely out of the house for the time being. Whoever had cursed Cassidy had been able to do it while the kids were all still in the house, and outside of its protection it would be even easier for him to strike again. Quite understandably, nobody had complained.

To make up for this, Mike had decided to start reading some of the books they'd asked Alex and Meghan about a la extended bedtime story. The kids were all sitting or lying down on his bed in his room, and he had spent the better part of the day reading the whole thing to them. He'd also turned off all the lights in the house except for his desk lamp to make the effect seem more "real." It was now 10 PM, and he had just finished up the last few words of _The Lightning Thief_. He'd had a feeling they'd enjoy the book based on their initial reactions to _Harry Potter_ , and his prediction had been right on the money.

" _So Luke was evil all along?"_ Cassidy gasped. _"He seemed like a cool guy though!"_

"That's the thing about evil, though," Mike sighed. "It can hit you when you least expect it. Case in point, a few days ago," he added mentally.

" _Zeus is kind of an asshole, isn't he?"_ Fritz commented. _"I mean, he sure as heck isn't like God, that's for sure."_

"He was like that even in original Greek mythology," Mike pointed out. "So was Poseidon, actually. In the modern era of that book he's a decent enough guy though."

" _I'm just surprised Hades wasn't the bad guy,"_ Jeremy pointed out. _"Isn't he supposed to be…like…Satan or something?"_

Mike shook his head. "Nah. Actually, Hades was probably one of the most decent Greek gods out there. He didn't fuck around with mortals unless he had a good reason to and for the most part he just did his job. He's not the Devil, that's for sure."

Gabe shrugged. _"I think I need to start looking up Greek mythology a bit. There were a lot of cool monsters that Percy and his friends fought. Maybe knowing about the characters before we read the books might make the experience more interesting."_

" _I'd be down,"_ Susie added. _"It's not like we have anything else to do."_

" _Yeah, I…"_

 **CRASH!**

Everyone felt a shock run through their system as they heard the noise from below them on the first floor. Mike's eyes narrowed immediately – that had been the sound of a window breaking.

Mary turned to her friends. She had a feeling she knew what was going on, but she needed to check anyway. _"One of you, turn invisible and see what that was,"_ she ordered. Jeremy nodded wordlessly and faded from view, before sinking into the floor. A few seconds later, he returned.

" _Somebody's broken into the house,"_ he confirmed grimly. _"Seemed like a normal human as far as I can tell, I don't think he's the one who cursed Cassidy. But still…"_ His voice trailed off, but everyone knew what he was thinking. They would be completely fine, but Mike…

Jeremy's eyes narrowed. _"I think we should show this guy exactly what happens to people who mess with our dad,"_ he said menacingly.

" _If he thinks the only thing here is a helpless old man, he's got another thing coming!"_ Fritz agreed.

Mike raised a hand. "Guys," he interrupted with a frown. "I know the only reason you guys are saying that is because you don't want me to get hurt. And believe me, I'm not any happier about the fact that somebody is breaking into my house." He gave them a stern look. "If you want to give this guy a scare, I'm okay with that. But absolutely _no_ killing whatsoever," he warned. "That would completely defeat the purpose of your redemption. And ONLY act to harm if this guy came here specifically to hurt me in some way. Chances are this guy might just be a robber, and no amount of money is worth a human life."

The ghosts nodded in acknowledgement. _"We weren't ever going to kill him,"_ Gabe answered solemnly. _"We know what that got us into, and we're past that."_

Mike sighed in relief. "Okay." His lips suddenly stretched into a mischievous smirk, which was returned by the ghosts. "Go show that guy what you're made of."

 **Meanwhile, downstairs…**

Colm stood as still as humanly possible as the echo of the glass breaking resounded throughout the house. It had been completely dark and silent from the outside, and he figured that this would be the only chance he had to successfully steal some money from inside. The only person living in this house was some rich old guy who'd recently retired from a job and lived a bit away from the main areas, and he was as good of a target as he could possibly find to snag some money from.

Once he was sure that nothing was stirring, Colm began to silently move throughout the first floor. From what he'd gathered, the old man who lived here was well-respected by the people who knew him, and he didn't want to hurt the guy. He'd delay searching the top floor (where he was sure the old guy was sleeping) for as long as possible, and search the lower floors first. Hopefully, the guy would never know that his house had been broken into until he was long gone.

As he snuck through the darkness into the living room, a chill suddenly rush down his spine. It felt as though a presence, or more than one, was _glaring_ at him. He whirled around, trying to find whoever was looking at him with such hostility, but he found nothing. Still, his unease didn't fades away, and deep within him his subconscious treacherously whispered that he had made a grave mistake coming here.

Still, he had come this far, and he couldn't turn back now. Colm inched towards a door that seemed like it would lead into the basement, and his guess was proven correct. As quietly and quickly as possible, he crept down the stairs and into the basement. It was a nicely furnished basement, with a couple of sofas scattered around, a TV, a bar, and even a few pieces of exercise equipment.

But what caught his eye immediately was something that seemed completely out of place. It was a black bear animatronic designed with a red hat and bow, with a gold star on its chest. Disturbingly, its left eye seemed black and empty while its right eye was completely normal, and the way its mouth hung open like that…

"What the fuck is a _Freddy Fazbear_ animatronic doing in this house?" he muttered. He barely remembered anything about the children's franchise, but didn't a lot of bad crap happen around it? Whatever. It wasn't relevant. The animatronic was just sitting there leaning against the wall, and it could stay there. Sooner he found some money, the sooner he could get the hell out of here.

His eyes caught a large picture on the wall towards the back. It was a picture of what he guessed was the old man, obviously several years younger, hanging around with many of his friends. A college photo was his guess, but what really grabbed his attention was just how large the thing was. "Almost as though it could hide a safe behind it?" he wondered.

He turned towards the picture, focusing his full attention towards it, but before he could do so, a voice echoed from behind him. _"What are you doing, mister?"_

He whirled around, and this time he saw someone standing a few feet away from him. It was a young girl with blonde hair and wearing a yellow shirt. Shit. What was he going to do now that a little kid had caught him stealing her father's stuff?

The girl giggled, sending a shiver down Colm's spine. There was something just…wrong…about that child. _"Are you here to see dad?"_ she asked, tilting her head quizzically. _"Are you his friend? But why wouldn't you just use the doorbell? Why wouldn't you just ask to see him?"_

Colm mouth ran dry as he struggled to come up with a response, and to make matters worse, the girl's lighthearted and friendly tone completely vanished with her next few words. _"You're not a friend, are you?"_ she challenged, her voice now containing an undercurrent of hostility. _"You're here to steal from him, aren't you? Or maybe you're here to hurt him."_ Her voice dropped to a snarl. _"Maybe even kill him!"_

The thief's eyes widened in horror, both at the sudden menace emanating from the girl and the accusation she had hurled at him. "No…" he finally found his voice. "I…I wouldn't…"

A mechanical whirring silenced his protest. The thief had already been on edge ever since the girl had started talking to him, and as he identified the source of the noise his mind edged into full-blown terror. The bear animatronic he had noticed before…it was _moving_. Its one good eye was trained directly on him, and his blood ran cold as its eye narrowed menacingly at him.

The girl giggled again, and only now did Colm realize that for some reason, he could clearly see the girl even though the entire room was plunged in shadows, and that _he could see through her_. _"This is Lefty!"_ the girl's ghost declared, her voice reverting to its friendly tone. _"He's a friend! I'm sure he'd just LOVE to meet you!"_

The animatronic had gotten up on its feet and was starting to lumber towards the stairs. Panicking, Colm rushed towards them as well, completely abandoning his original goal or any pretense of secrecy. If "Lefty" managed to cut him off before he got out of the basement, then he was doomed. He felt a small bit of relief as he realized that the girl wasn't following him, but that reprieve quickly vanished with her last few words.

" _The others…they know you are here…"_ she spoke with an unnatural calm. OTHERS? THERE ARE MORE OF THEM? _"They will find you, and they will catch you._ ** _There is nowhere to run_** _."_

Colm raced up the stairs, praying that the ghost's threat had been an empty one. But the moment he stumbled back into the living room, he knew that the girl hadn't been lying. Another ghost was waiting for him in the living room, this one a boy with black hair. The boy grinned at him when he saw him approach.

" _Well, hello there…"_ he greeted the thief cheerfully. _"You seem rather lost. Almost as though maybe you shouldn't be here?"_ An undercurrent of malice entered his tone. _"Yes…almost EXACTLY as though you shouldn't be here…"_

Colm's eyes switched frantically between the boy and the entryway he had come in as he tried to measure how quickly he could make a break for it. _"Where do you think you're gonna go?"_ he asked with a sneer. _"We don't take kindly to people who threaten our dad. And it looks to me that that's exactly what you're doing!"_

"I…I'm not a murderer!" he finally managed to shout out. "I don't want to hurt your dad, whoever he is! That's not why I came here."

The ghost glared at him. _"So why do you have a drill in your pocket?"_ he hissed.

Colm's eyes widened as he realized the boy could see what was in his pocket. He'd brought that drill only so he could break into any safe he found. But the ghost apparently thought that it was a murder weapon, and it was clear that he wouldn't believe him now no matter what he said. Colm raised his hands in surrender. "Wait…I'm not…I wasn't going to…we can talk about this!" he desperately attempted to negotiate. "I…I won't do anything! This was a mistake, I get that now! Please, just let me go! I swear I won't tell anyone or do anything, I promise!"

The boy's grin widened. _"That's right!"_ he exclaimed, before the grin vanished, and his voice took on a sinister tone. _"_ ** _You won't_** _."_

Colm slowly backed away from the ghost and towards the front door, not daring to take his eyes off the boy in case he decided to attack. But instead of moving towards him, the boy's eyes looked up above his shoulder. _"Isn't that right…Gabe?"_

The utterly terrified thief slowly turned around, and as he feared, there was yet another ghost floating behind him. It was another boy, this one with brown hair. Of all the ghosts he'd seen so far this one appeared to be the oldest, though he barely registered that fact as he was too busy focusing on Gabe's unholy grin.

Colm waited for the boy to say something, but instead his eyes and teeth started glowing erratically. A strange tune began to play from out of nowhere, something straight out of a music box. It took a second for Colm to realize that the flashes of light emanating from the boy matched exactly with the tune playing. If he hadn't been scared out of his wits, he would've been impressed by how synchronized it all was.

Colm watched the boy carefully as the tune continued to play, not daring to move in case the boy decided to attack him instead. Then, all of a sudden, the tune cut off and the entire house plunged into darkness. Colm couldn't see anything – the hallway he was in, the living room he had come from, even the two ghost boys had vanished. For a fleeting second, dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, the ghosts decided to spare him after…

" _RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Colm screamed. The brown-haired boy appeared out of nowhere and lunged at him with arms outstretched, and this time he barely resembled anything human. Both of his eyes had become empty black voids with streams of black liquid pouring out of the sockets, and there was a gigantic slash across his chest as though he had been sliced open with a knife. Only the thief's reflexes allowed him to avoid being strangled by the ghost. He didn't know if he could actually hurt him, and he wasn't going to risk finding out. He ran deeper into the hallway, the one place that he didn't know already had a ghost waiting for him. He hadn't seen a back door out yet but he knew there had to be one. Maybe he could find it through the kitchen or somewhere close to it?

He stumbled into the kitchen, and... "Yes!" he thought excitedly. "There's a back door! I can almost get outta here!"

…and that was when yet another ghost appeared, this one a red-headed boy. He felt his heart sink as the boy laughed at him. _"So close!"_ he chuckled as he shook his head. _"But no dice. You're not going anywhere, buddy."_

Colm could say nothing as the boy grinned. _"Why so eager to leave? What's your hurry? I've got all the time in the world,_ ** _just like the rest of my family._** _"_

As he spoke, the three other ghosts he had seen arrived as well, floating through either the walls or the floor into the kitchen. To make matters worse, two _more_ ghosts appeared on either side of him. Both of them were girls, one with black hair and one with orange hair and green eyes, and they were both wearing the same grin that the rest of the ghosts were. The last figure to arrive was not a ghost, but a strange, puppet-like figure that floated through the doorway he had come in. The puppet's white mask was completely emotionless except for its eyes, which were glaring at him with unmistakable hostility. It was both the least and most creepy thing he had seen in the house so far, and he had no idea what to make of it except for the fact that it was just as hostile to him as the others were.

" _It's been so long since we had a little fun…"_ the yellow-haired girl from the basement said with an unearthly giggle.

" _Dad's done the best he can, but it just isn't the same,"_ the black-haired boy added.

" _We're just kids who want to have fun and play…"_ the brown-haired boy said with a smile.

Then, looking into his eyes as one, all the ghosts said their last line together. **_"Won't you stay and play with us?"_**

Colm collapsed onto the floor as the ghosts started laughing mockingly at him. "Please!" he begged. "Let me go! I didn't come here to hurt your dad, I just came here to take some money! Please, don't kill me! PLEASE!"

"All right, kiddos," a new voice suddenly broke into the kitchen. "Think that's enough for tonight."

The lights suddenly turned on, and everyone's attention was drawn to a man who had walked into the room. The ghosts all grinned at him and made varying noises of laughter and amusement, and unlike the menace they had shown Colm, it was clear that there was nothing but love and affection for the man who had arrived. Regardless of the circumstances, Colm never felt so happy to see another living person.

" _We got him, dad!"_ the black-haired boy exclaimed. _"We got him good!"_

"You sure did," the man replied with a smirk. "I don't think you could've spooked this guy any more than you already have.

" _That's what he gets for messing with you, dad!"_ the yellow-haired girl added.

The Puppet-like figure, in the meantime, had approached the man still sprawled on the floor. The man didn't dare move as the Puppet rummaged through his pockets and took out the drill and the wallet that it found there.

" _Only things I found were this drill and this wallet,"_ she reported, and Colm noticed that it was indeed a girl's voice coming out of the Puppet. _"According to his driver's license, his name is Colm Duessel. And unless the drill was meant to be his murder weapon, I don't think this thief came here with the purpose of killing you, Mike."_

Mike nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought. But still, it couldn't hurt to be careful." He pointed at Colm. "Would you guys mind picking him up and taking him to the dining room? I've got a lot to talk about with this guy."

The ghosts began to surround him, reaching out with their arms. Colm didn't try to resist, and he was glad he didn't, because the ghosts could somehow move him as though they had actually grabbed him. They marched him into the dining hall and forced him into a seat. The old man, Mike (who honestly was a lot younger than he'd imagined) took the chair opposite.

"So…" Mike began. He seemed entirely calm and relaxed, though considering that he had seven ghosts as his protectors it was easy to see why. "Mind telling me what you were doing in my house? Oh, and please don't lie," he interrupted before Colm could say anything. It was only then that he noticed that the Puppet's hands were right next to his head, and that they were glowing with strange blue flames. "We have ways to know whether you're telling the truth or not, so do me a huge favor and don't waste any of our time."

Colm sighed. "I was going to rob your house, take some money."

Mary looked over at Mike. _"It appears that he's telling the truth,"_ she drawled sarcastically. _"I couldn't have guessed."_

Mike cut him off with a lazy wave of his hand. "Yeah, no shit," he answered with an amused smirk. "We already know that. Gimme the good stuff, buddy. I wanna know _why_ you're here."

Colm looked apprehensively at the man. His outward appearance seemed affable enough, but the thief had no idea whether that friendliness was genuine or if it was masking fury and anger underneath. Either way, he knew his best bet was to just tell the truth. "It's because of my family," he admitted. "We ran into some hard times. Both my wife and I lost our jobs recently. We think we could find new ones in a few months, but I didn't have any way to provide for her or my kids. We needed money, and we needed it fast."

"Okay…" Mike nodded, "makes sense so far. But why _my_ house in particular?"

Colm sighed. "A couple of reasons. It was far enough from the rest of the town that there wouldn't be any risk of me getting spotted. And from what I heard, there was some old guy living here who recently retired and who had bucketloads of cash." He shook his head. "Clearly, either the people in town are wrong or they like to exaggerate. I was expecting some weak old 65-70 year old guy just lying down in his bed all day doing nothing. Not somebody who looks like they could still compete in the freaking Olympics!"

Mike burst out laughing at that, and so did the ghosts. "The Olympics, huh?" he repeated, before turning to his ghostly children. "What do you guys think?"

" _Heck yeah, dad, you should go for it!"_ the red-haired boy answered.

" _Think it's worth a shot!"_ the orange-haired girl agreed.

As the other ghosts made varying noises of agreement, Mike smirked and shook his head. "Nah, unless sarcasm or dry humor suddenly become Olympic sports, I'm not competing in any Olympics anytime ever."

"That's not even getting into the ghosts!" Colm added. "Nobody mentioned any ghost stories about this place! Why are there so many ghosts here?"

Mike's smirk suddenly took on an edge. "Hey, buddy, I don't mind you asking questions or freely talking, but _don't_ ask me any questions about the ghosts ever again. Got it?"

Colm nodded rapidly, not wanting to test Mike's patience. "Good!" Mike's voice returned to its friendly tone. "You know, those rumors were right about one thing. I AM rich. But the thing is, I have more than 99% of my money in the bank. If you were planning to take everything out of my house, you would've made off with only about 10K at most."

"I was only planning on taking a few thousand at most," the thief offered weakly.

"Colm, buddy, I don't give a shit how much money you take from me," Mike interrupted again. "Even if you took all 10K out of that safe down in the basement, it would've been freaking chump change to me. No, I don't care about that. What I care about is what I'm going to do with you, now that you've seen my kids." He gestured towards the ghosts.

Colm didn't say anything. There was something telling him that the ghosts could have done a lot worse to him if Mike allowed it, and if he angered either of them then he'd be better off taking his drill and ramming it into his own throat.

Mike leaned forward on the table. "The plain and simple truth is that I can be one of two things to you, Colm, and which one I am depends entirely on you." He smiled a warm, friendly smile. "I could be the person who can help you when you need it the most." He reached into his pocket and took out an envelope. Colm's eyes widened in shock as Mike laid out 5000 dollars on the table, all in hundreds.

"Or…" his voice suddenly turned dark and threatening, "…I can be your worst enemy," he growled, and Colm felt a wave of dread rush over him as he looked into Mike's eyes. _There_ was the menace that he had suspected lurked underneath the old man's friendly nature, a darkness that he was only now exposing to the outside world. He was half-expecting the ghosts to be staring at him with the same murderous glare, but to his surprise they seemed just as stunned at Mike's sudden darkness as much as he was.

Then, as quickly as it had come, it had gone, and Mike returned to his pleasant demeanor. "My first impressions of people tend to be right more often than not," he continued. "And right now I think you're a decent guy who places a high value on his family. Enough that he was willing to steal to keep them safe and stable." He nodded approvingly. "I respect that. I really do. Which is why I'm going to make you an offer that I think you'll find very reasonable."

"What do you have in mind?" Colm asked.

"It's quite simple," Mike explained. "I won't report anything that happened here today. That broken window? Just an accident from me being stupid. And what's more, I'll let you leave with the 5000 dollars. Go home, use it to take care of your family, buy them something nice, I don't care. All I ask is just _one_ simple thing in return."

"Anything! Anything at all!" Colm exclaimed. Mike was seriously letting him _have_ that much money? This was WAY more than anything he'd planned to steal from his house.

His joy faded when Mike's expression darkened again. "Never tell a SINGLE person what you saw in this house," he demanded. "You spoke about taking care of your family and keeping them safe, so I hope you'll understand me doing the same for mine."

Colm opened his mouth to speak, but Mike cut him off with a raised hand. "Allow me to elaborate, just to emphasize how serious I am about this. "From the moment you came into my house, you gave me the tools I needed to ruin your life." Mike took out a small video camera and hit record. Colm watched himself in the basement, looking around for a place where a safe might be hidden. At one point, there was a clear image of his own face staring back at him. "I had a camera hidden on Lefty. You know, that black bear animatronic you probably saw earlier? Mary here was watching you from inside him. She recorded this just before my kids decided to have a little fun with you."

"Shit…" Colm breathed. That would be more than enough to get him arrested, especially by a guy as rich as Mike. He didn't seem like a stereotypical rich asshole by nature, but the man clearly knew the value of using large amounts of wealth to his own advantage.

"My kids might have wanted to scare you a bit, but they weren't really going to do anything to hurt you. Not unless you tried to attack me directly, which you're not. No, as far as you should be concerned, the questionable honor of most dangerous person in the entire house…that would belong to _me_." Mike's eyes narrowed. "I know your name, I know who you are. I have proof that you were in my house. And I have all the time and money in the world to come after you and make your life a living hell." The dark look faded slightly, and now it was tempered with an edge of sympathy. "You might not think it with this house and all the money I have, but I know what it's like to live with almost nothing, more than you could possibly know. Hell, if it had just been me here, with no ghost kids factored into the equation, I probably would've let you just take the money without a problem."

He looked Colm straight in the eye. "But just like you, I have a family now. Just like you, I'm going to make _damn_ sure they stay safe and happy. So please. Keep your mouth shut, don't say a word, and you'll make the easiest 5000 dollars in your entire life." He gave the thief a friendly grin. "What do you say, Colm?"

Colm shakily extended a hand, torn between joy at getting the money he needed and dread at what would happen if he broke his end of the deal. "You…You have my word, sir," he promised. "I won't breath a word of what I've seen here to a single person. I swear it on my mother's grave!"

Mary looked over at Mike, having resumed her "magical lie detector test." _"He is telling the truth,"_ she confirmed. _"I can sense it."_

Mike lazily accepted the handshake. "Good man. That's what I'd thought you say." He pushed the stack of bills towards Colm. "Money's all yours." A wry smirk suddenly crossed his face. "It's getting late and I'm starting to get tired. So do me a huge favor and get the hell out of my house," he drawled.

The thief didn't waste any time. He thanked Mike profusely, reiterated his promise, took the stack of bills and rushed out, this time taking the front door instead. Mary followed him to make sure he didn't steal anything else on the way out, and shut the door behind him once he was gone.

Mike rolled his eyes at the broken window. "Really?" he asked. "The guy had to break my window? He couldn't have just drilled into the lock on the front door?" He shrugged. "Actually, I don't know if replacing the lock or the window would've been more expensive. Oh, well!"

The ghosts were chattering excitedly and laughing amongst themselves when he returned, clearly amused at the events that had transpired in the evening. "You guys going to bed anytime soon?" he asked.

Gabe shook his head. _"Nah, all that scaring business got us too energized to go back to sleep now,"_ he replied. _"Think we might play some Crash Bandicoot or something before we hit the bed."_

Mike shrugged. "Hey, you do you. Me? I'm going to look around the web for a new window to replace the broken one.

As he turned around to head up the stairs, Fritz couldn't resist asking a question. _"Hey, dad?"_ he asked. _"Why did you give the thief the money? Why didn't you just threaten him into keeping silent about us?"_ Mike considered the question for a few seconds before giving a surprisingly simple answer.

"Cause I can respect why he did what he did, and he needs it more than I do."

/

And that about wraps it up! My first attempt at writing horror, and low intensity levels aside, I hope it didn't turn out too badly. I was originally going to have Liz be the one in the basement, but then I decided to give more focus on the original four, especially Jeremy and Susie, since I haven't really focused on them as much as I have the other characters. And as you saw with Gabe, the "Freddy Toreador March" thing is an ability associated with him specifically, not Freddy the animatronic. But don't worry. Liz will be standing in the spotlight soon enough…even though she'll wish she wasn't. Let's not forget, she was originally known as Elizabeth Afton, after all...

This was also my first detailed exploration into the darker side of Mike Schmidt. Since he didn't really have any ill will towards Colm, it, too, was relatively subdued. Mike knows about his own darkness, and he hasn't outright suppressed it, but he won't tap into it unless he believes it is absolutely necessary.

For those of you were hoping for things a bit higher on the intensity scale, heh heh heh, don't you worry. Some of the chapters I have planned will have PLENTY of darkness to go around, and trust me, they are very close indeed. **IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME.**

Oh, and before I go, does anybody have any guesses as to where Colm's name came from? :)


	19. Chapter 19 - Epic Fantasy Adventures 1

A/N: The darkest part of the fic will be coming very soon, but it won't be here _quite_ just yet. The last two chapters have been fairly dark in nature, and I want to give the kids a little bit of a break before I start bringing out the big guns.

Tabletop Gaming was one of my favorite things to do in college and it was one of the only reasons why I didn't go batshit insane during undergrad. Nothing gets me in the mood quite like a session of Dungeons and Dragons / Pathfinder / Deadlands / Warhammer 40K Deathwatch, etc. etc. And if Mike had as much fun with D&D in college as I did IRL (which he obviously did cause this is my fic), there's no way he wouldn't introduce his kids to that world.

I'll probably do around 3 chapters of this scattered around. One of them will be for low level, one for mid level, one for high level. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 19 – Epic Fantasy Adventures, Low Level Version

"And that's the first _Lord of the Rings_ for you!" Mike declared as the movie came to an end. The ghosts had wanted to see something a little different from what they'd already been watching, and Mike figured this was as good of a time as any to introduce them to one of the most iconic fantasy universes of all time. Unlike some of the other times, he had stayed to watch the entire movie with them. "What did you guys think?"

" _That! Was! Amazing!"_ Fritz glowingly praised. _"Every character was awesome, and that Balrog looked like it came straight from Hell itself!"_

" _It's so sad that Gandalf died, though…"_ Susie sighed. _"I liked him."_

Gabe shook his head. _"And the Fellowship got split up at the end? Yeesh, things went to shit real quickly didn't they?"_

" _Why did Boromir try to steal the Ring from Frodo?"_ Jeremy asked. _"Seemed like a real dick thing to do."_

"There's a lot of context that you're missing as to why Boromir ended up doing that," Mike replied. "He's not a bad person, and he did make up for it with his life by trying to save Frodo's friends."

Cassidy shuddered. _"Those orcs are scary, and those Ringwraiths were even worse,"_ she murmured. _"And that Balrog, my God…"_

"It was truly a cinematic masterpiece," Mike continued. "The graphics were some of the best ever seen in a movie, let me tell you! And this is only the first movie. The next two are even better."

" _I still don't know the difference between Sauron or Saruman,"_ Liz complained. _"Which one is which again?"_

" _Sauron's the main Dark Lord that's causing all of the problems, Saruman's the bad wizard guy,"_ Gabe clarified, and Liz nodded at him in thanks.

" _Man, I wish I could go on a fantasy adventure like that!"_ Fritz sighed. _"I mean, take out all of the scary shit going on, and it seems like a dream come true!"_

A grin slowly spread across Mike's face. "What if I told you that you _can_ , Fritz?" he asked.

Every single ghost's attention was on him in an instant. _"Wait, WHAT?"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"You can DO THAT? I thought you said you had no magic powers!"_

Mike burst out laughing. "Pfffftttt…do you really think I would have stayed 20 shitty nights at Freddy's if I had magic powers, Fritz? Nah, what I'm talking about is a new kind of game."

He beckoned for the kids to crowd around him. "I've told you a lot about what happened before college, but I never really said anything about what happened _in_ college. And back when I was in college, one of the best things I _ever_ did during my free time was tabletop gaming. Every Saturday, I met up with some of my best friends in college and we spent the entire day immersed in our own fantasy world that our game master created, and we helped define. It was _glorious._ And this was when video games were still fairly new and weren't the massive presence they are now. If you wanted to travel from fictional country to country, explore dungeons, battle against enemies who seek to ruin your journey, fight a dragon, even challenge the demons of Hell themselves, _this_ was where you did it."

The kids' eyes were starry-eyed. _"Whoa…"_ Jeremy breathed.

"And you guys are in luck," Mike continued with a grin. "Because I had such a hilariously large yearly income thanks to the lottery, I was able to buy my own pieces, rulebooks, and sets with 0 problems. And even though I don't play nearly as much with my friends as I used to as the years passed, I still have everything locked up safely. So the question is…" he looked straight at the ghosts. "Do you want to play?"

" _YES!"_

Mike grinned. "I thought you'd say that. And I think that with 7 people, including Mary, that will be a perfect number to create a balanced party."

" _Wait…"_ Gabe interrupted, _"what about you, dad? Aren't you playing?"_

"Me? I'm the Game Master. I'm the one who will be creating the world, defining its rules, making up the enemies and situations you'll be facing," Mike explained. "I'll need about a day to get everything ready, and then we can begin. In the meantime, you guys talk amongst yourselves to decide which type of characters you want to play. You guys okay with that?"

" _Take as much time as you need,"_ Mary replied. _"Better to wait for something great than to demand something mediocre."_

" _Yep, we're in no hurry,"_ Liz agreed.

Mike smiled as he got up from his chair. "All righty. Gonna go talk to one of my friends for some advice on how to GM, and then we can let the fun begin!"

 **ONE DAY LATER…**

"All right, guys!" Mike spread the map out of the table. "I gave you a description of each character type and how they work. You guys ready?"

" _Yep!"_ As each ghost described their character, Mike couldn't help but wonder at how a lot of them simply made sense with regards to their personalities. Mary had decided to be a Cleric, Gabe an Assassin, Jeremy a Fighter, Fritz a Barbarian, Cassidy a Wizard, and Susie a Druid. The only one that was a noticable mismatch was Liz, who had decided to be a Fighter. But eh, whatever worked.

"A nicely balanced team, one with a lot of variety and few if any weaknesses," Mike nodded approvingly. "Good job, kids. I was worried that you might all pick the same role, and then we would've had a problem."

" _Is it such a bad thing if we're missing a given character type?"_ Susie asked.

Mike shrugged. "It depends. You could probably get away with not having an Assassin or a Ranger. But you pretty much _need_ a Cleric and a Wizard. Not having a Cleric or Wizard in your party is like starting Night 5 at Freddy's with 50% starting power or one door already jammed open. You just can't do it."

" _Well, we've got everyone we need."_ Jeremy said. _"So how do we start making our characters?"_

"Normally, I'd let you guys roll your stats and manage your own character creations," Mike said. "But since this is your first time and this is probably more complicated than any game you've ever played in your life, I already have some level 1 character sheets prepped for you guys." He handed them out, and also gave each of them a couple of dice, including a D20. "You all have above average starting stats and HP so that I can give you guys something more challenging to fight than a single goblin."

" _Thanks, Dad!"_ the ghosts gratefully replied. _"But how are we going to start this adventure?"_ Gabe asked.

Mike grinned. "Well, only with the most cliché opening to any D&D adventure, of course!" he answered. "You all meet in an inn…"

/

"So let me get this straight," Jeremy said to the stranger. "You want us to escort you through the countryside to the city?"

"That's right, kind sir," the stranger replied. "I'm a merchant who came to this town to pick up some of my more important wares. But the part of the countryside that I need to travel through is rumored to be incredibly dangerous, and I do not think I can safely go through it alone. I will pay you handsomely for your troubles."

Jeremy looked over to his friends. "What do you guys think?"

Gabe shrugged and nonchalantly spun a knife in his hand. "Hey, good chance to explore the countryside, right? This backwater town was getting boring anyway."

Fritz grinned as he hefted his battle axe. "Hey, if anything needs killing, I'll be down!"

The other mages and warriors gave various noises or statements of agreement. "I think we're all in," Gabe summarized to the merchant.

The merchant sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. We will leave immediately, while the sun is still up. I trust that you have all the equipment you need?"

Liz nodded. "Yeah, we're good to go."

The merchant guided them over to his wagon, a decently sized object that could easily fit all of them. He hit the horse with the harness and they quickly left the town behind. For the two first days, the journey through the country was relatively uneventful, and they didn't really interact with anyone else apart from the occasional greeting to other travelers. But on the third day…

/

"Roll," Mike said, his eyes narrowed.

The ghosts looked nervously at each other. _"Why?"_ Gabe asked.

Mike didn't blink an eye. "Roll," he repeated. "You'll see."

The ghosts did as they were told. Liz groaned as she looked at her result. _"I'm guessing a 3 is not going to pass whatever it is you're making us do."_

"Nope," Mike shook his head.

Cassidy, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. _"I rolled an 18,"_ she commented. _"That has to be good, right?"_

Mike nodded. "Well done." He quickly looked at each of the kids' dice. "Okay, then. Cassidy, Mary, Gabe, Susie…you see the attack coming."

" _Attack?"_ the kids gasped.

"Fritz, Liz, Jeremy… _you don't."_

/

"Ambush!" Gabe shouted as he drew his sword. "We're under attack!"

"What?" Liz gasped. "Where are they?"

"They're in the trees!" Mary pointed at a few shadowy figures that were skulking in the cover of the forest.

"I can't see them!" Fritz looked around frantically. A knife suddenly flew from the trees and grazed into his shoulder. "Agh, dammit!"

Gabe's eyes narrowed as he took out his bow. He fired into the trees, and smirked as he heard a panicked shriek echo into the air. A goblin fell out of the trees and collapsed onto the ground, dead.

"They're coming out now!" Susie noticed. It was a small horde of goblins, with three orcs following closely behind. They snarled and rushed towards them with their weapons, crudely made swords and daggers.

"I see them now," Jeremy muttered. He took out his sword and glared at the creatures. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, keep Cassidy safe, for one thing," Mary answered immediately. "She won't last very long if they get to her."

"I'll stay in the caravan," Cassidy decided. "Let me know if you want me to fire a Magic Missile or something, but I can only do one."

"Sounds like a plan," Jeremy grunted as he readied his sword. Mary, Jeremy, Fritz, and Liz all raised their weapons as the goblins rushed closer, Fritz having exchanged his bow and arrow for his own sword. One of the goblins leapt forward and swung his blade at Mary, but the blade simply bounced harmlessly off her heavy armor.

/

" _I roll to attack,"_ Jeremy declared, having gotten the highest initiative out of everyone after Gabe, who had elected to go into stealth. He rolled his dice. _"Does a 15 hit?"_

Mike nodded. "Yep, you're good."

" _Sweet!"_ he grinned as he rolled his dice. _"That's what I like to see!"_ he commented happily as he rolled a 7, the second highest result possible. In response, Mike took the goblin piece off the pedestal and tossed it back in the box.

"He's dead," Mike declared. "Good job."

" _Yes!"_ Jeremy whooped. _"My first kill!"_

Mary shook her head. _"Don't get too excited, Jeremy. There's still plenty more where that came from."_

/

"Take that!" Fritz snarled as he smashed his axe straight into a goblin's head. He grinned viciously as his attack split the goblin's head in two, leaving nothing but a bloodied corpse. "How are you guys doing?"

"I'm fine," Liz responded curtly. She had been ganged up on by two goblins, and it was only thanks to her heavy armor that she hadn't been cut to shreds. She yelled as she swung her own sword down upon one of the goblin's heads. She swung wildly at one of the goblins, but while the sword connected with the goblin's body, it had hit the beast's shoulder instead of its head and didn't do enough damage to kill.

/

" _Only 1 damage?"_ Liz gaped, before she threw her hands up into the air. _"Oh, come on!"_

" _Hey, at least you hit,"_ Fritz replied. _"These goblins seem pretty weak. You'll probably get him with another try."_

"That was on purpose," Mike added. "If I went too hard on you guys at the early levels, especially since you're new to all this, you'd probably get TPK'd. Total Party Killed. That's not my goal here, my goal is to introduce you to how combat works. Now, I'll certainly try to create encounters that will kill as many of you as possible later on down the road, but that's later. Not now."

" _Is that why the goblins are ignoring me and Cassidy?"_ Susie asked.

"Yep," Mike agreed. "You should probably try and cast a spell or two since I won't be targeting you at all for this battle, unless you do something REALLY stupid like trying to go out into the front lines. You have some spells. Why don't you try and use one?"

/

"Let's see…" Susie murmured as she went through her list of spells. "I cast Produce Flame!"

Her hand instantly burst into flames, and she turned her attention to one of the goblins. She hurled the flame straight at the goblin, and it shrieked pitifully as its entire body was consumed with flames, leaving only a charred corpse behind. Susie grinned at the sight, but her joy faded as the flames on her hand died down.

/

" _Wait, what?"_ Susie asked. _"That's it?"_

"That's the thing with spells," Mike explained. "At early levels, they're fairly weak. Melee classes like fighters are better in the early-game. But when you hit level 20, you can literally destroy entire armies with one spell without even blinking. So that's why classes like Druids and Wizards start off weak, but end up just short of godly."

" _Now I'm starting to regret picking a fighter,"_ Jeremy admitted.

Mike shrugged. "You're still an important role regardless of what level," he assured him. "If tanky guys like you didn't exist, then it doesn't matter how powerful a wizard is if a barbarian can just run at him and slice him to death with an axe. Do you have as much fun as wizards to in the late-game? Admittedly, no, but after we finish one campaign you guys can and should always change roles."

" _If our characters die, can we make entirely new ones?"_ Gabe asked. _"And is death even permanent?"_

"Eh…the answer to that is…yes and no," Mike explained after a few seconds' thought. "There ARE spells that can resurrect the dead, but those are mid-high level spells. Plus, resurrection tends to screw around with your combat capabilities, at least temporarily. But you'll have to wait to get access to those, and if _Mary's_ the one who ends up getting killed…"

"… _then we might have a problem,"_ Mary finished. _"Well, that's plenty of incentive not to die right there."_

"Honestly, Clerics are the most overpowered class in my opinion," Mike commented. "They get heavy armor, they can fight in melee with things like maces, AND they get some of the most important spells in the game. But anyway, where were we? Ah, yes…if you die and decide you want to make a new character, I'll let you make that call. Sound good?"

" _Yep!"_ everyone replied.

"Great!" Mike grinned. "Now back to the game."

/

"Gotcha!" Jeremy snarled as he sliced a goblin's head off with his sword. "And stay down!"

Mary raised her mace and swung it down onto another one's head. This was her second attack on the same goblin – the first one had missed. This time, her mace hit its mark, and the goblin died with a pitiful yelp.

"How many are there left?" Gabe asked as he took his blade out of a goblin's sliced-up corpse.

"Think we got almost all of them!" Fritz replied as he finished one off. To his great consternation, he had missed one of his attacks and had taken a hit as punishment for his screw-up, and had to wait til next turn to finish the job.

"Uh…guys?" Cassidy asked nervously. "I think you're forgetting something…"

The three orc warriors had been watching their forces battle their target. They growled angrily as they realized that their warriors were being effortlessly slaughtered, and now advanced to finish what their pathetic subordinates had failed.

"Think these guys are gonna be a bit tougher than their friends," Fritz muttered. "What's the game plan?"

"Have Liz, Fritz, and Jeremy take on each orc," Mary decided. "I'll back up Fritz since his armor isn't as high as Liz's or Jeremy's. We keep Susie and Cassidy safe like before, and have Gabe sneak attack and maybe try to kill one of them while they're busy."

Gabe smirked and went into stealth. "They won't know what hit'em," he promised.

The three orcs charged, and the front liners rushed to match them with steel. The Orc swung an axe at Liz's head, which she was able to block with her shield in time. She retaliated with a sword of her own, and this time she was able to get in a nice, clean hit on the orc. But to her surprise, the creature merely growled instead of collapsing in pain or death, and responded with another axe swing that would've killed her had it not been for her armor.

/

" _Crap!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"I rolled a 6 for damage and that didn't kill him?"_

"Welcome to boss fights," Mike nonchalantly replied. "Would be a pretty shitty boss fight if it went down in one hit, wouldn't you agree?"

" _Yeah, but what if we're not ready for this?"_ Cassidy asked worriedly.

Mike shook his head. "Keep in mind, this is level 1 D&D gameplay. This shouldn't be too hard. Just use Mary's strategy, and trust that things will work out for you. She _is_ approaching this correctly from a tactical perspective."

" _All right,"_ Gabe agreed. _"I trust her and I trust you. Let's get to it."_

/

"Gah!" Fritz growled as an Orc warrior's axe embedded itself into his shoulder. The orc ripped the axe head out, and Fritz gritted his teeth. Another attack like that and he could kiss life good-bye."

"I've got this," Mary assured him. She placed a hand on Fritz's shoulder, and the Barbarian felt his wounds heal up and fade. Fritz nodded in thanks and swung his axe at the Orc's stomach, and grinned in satisfaction as he felt his axe connect with bone. The orc snarled in fury as it stumbled backward. It narrowed its eyes at Mary and moved to attack her instead, but her heavy armor deflected the blow.

In all of the confusion, nobody noticed that Gabe had disappeared. The assassin had entered stealth and crept around the three orcs, none of whom noticed him. He grinned as he snuck up behind the one attacking Jeremy, and readied his sword.

"You should watch your back, buddy," he muttered with a grin as he lunged forward, and…

/

"Oh, crap!" Mike exclaimed at Gabe's roll. "That's a 20! You just crit him!"

" _Crit?"_ Gabe repeated. _"What does that mean?"_

"Oh, right, you haven't played any video games yet that incorporate the concept of a critical hit," Mike realized. "A critical hit is basically an attack that does a LOT more damage than a normal attack. There's a small chance of one of your attacks being particularly deadly, represented by a 20. And, oh God…"

" _What is it?"_ Liz asked.

"Gabe entered Stealth to do a Backstab, which he succeeded in. Backstabs already do a lot more damage than a normal attack since the enemy can't see it coming," Mike explained, "and when that Backstab happens to be a _crit..._ "

Fritz grinned. _"I'm liking what I'm hearing already…"_

"Roll your dice, Gabe," Mike ordered him. The ghost child did as he was told, and…

/

Jeremy stared as a sword suddenly erupted from the orc's heart, the creature clearly just as surprised as he was. It barely had a chance to cry out as a second blade sliced the creature's head cleanly off, revealing the face of a smug Gabe.

"Geez, man," Jeremy commented as the decapitated corpse collapsed onto the ground. "Overkill much?"

"So?" Gabe shrugged. "As far as I care, dead is dead. He pointed at the other two orc warriors. Now let's go help our friends!"

The two of them rushed at the orc warrior battling Liz, while Mary and Fritz continued to deal with the third. Cassidy decided to try out her Magic Missile, and while the damage from the spell wasn't high enough to kill the Orc Warrior, it weakened the creature just enough for Mary to finish him off with a blow to the head from her mace. Liz had been keeping up with the third warrior for the most part, but with reinforcements from Jeremy and Gabe, the orc had no chance of surviving and it was only a matter of time before the final orc warrior was killed.

"All right!" Fritz whooped. "We killed the raiding party! Man, are we good or what?"

The merchant peeked out from the wagon, where he'd been keeping refuge along with Cassidy and Susie. "Are they gone?" he asked. "Is the road safe again?"

"It is!" Mary confirmed. "None of us have been seriously injured, and we may now continue."

/

"You continue to travel along the road, and no other noteworthy incidents occur until you arrive at the city," Mike narrated. "The merchant thanks you for the security you provided, and gives to you the gold pieces that he has promised. The city is much larger than what you expected, and you instinctively understand that here is where you can truly get started on your adventures. And that," he finished, "is a good place to stop for today. What did you guys think?"

" _That was so much fun!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"And you described everything so well! I felt as though I were actually in there, fighting those goblins and orcs!"_

" _It felt like I was actually in something that could come out of Lord of the Rings!"_ Gabe fervently agreed. _"And I can really understand why you enjoyed it so much in college, dad!"_

" _I can't wait to get more spells!"_ Cassidy gushed. _"I want to be as cool as Gandalf!"_

Mike chuckled. "Gandalf? What Gandalf did in those movies is party tricks compared to what you'll be able to do at level 20, Cass." Both Cassidy and Susie looked at each other excitedly, and even the normally subdued Mary was noticeably enthusiastic about the idea.

" _Was that enough for us to level up?"_ Liz asked.

Mike thought for a moment. "Level ups can be incredibly complicated," he answered. "To keep things simple and to make it so that nobody feels like they're getting the short end of the stick, I'm going to have all of you level up at the same time. I probably will have you guys level up after this, but I'll probably take care of that next session. Do you guys like how your characters played out?"

Various noises of agreement emanated from the ghosts, though both Cassidy and Susie admitted that they would probably have to wait until a higher level to properly answer that question.

"I personally can't wait til we get you to higher level combat," Mike said with a smile. "I can really up the stakes then, and you'll need a good strategy to beat them. Enemy characters with their own class types, more powerful monsters, dragons, stronger undead, it's going to be great!"

" _Nothing's fun without a little challenge behind it,"_ Gabe commented.

"But everyone starts small, and Dungeons and Dragons is no exception to that rule." He started picking up everyone's character sheets, while the ghosts started putting away the other pieces. "Now, then, let's head over to my bedroom. I'll tell you all about this really out-of-control campaign that I played with my friends in college. A real clownfiesta, let me tell you…"

/

A/N: Unfortunately, that tale is for Mike and the ghosts to know, and them alone. Sorry :P

I tried to match the ghosts to each character type based on their behavior as animatronics or their actions in the past.

Mary - Cleric - This one should be obvious. I mean, come on, the Puppet who gives life? Hello? And wizards can't normally heal or raise the dead, so yeah. Besides, I firmly believe that the Cleric is the most important party member in a D&D campaign, and Mary is arguably the one of the most important animatronics in FNAF. 'Nuff said.

Gabe - Assassin - Despite being the leader of the Freddy Fazbear crew, Freddy is actually very sneaky and uses stealth very effectively in FNAF 1. And unlike the other animatronics, you CAN'T see him coming with the East Door light before he gets in and kills you. Just ask anybody who's ever done or attempted to do 4/20 mode.

Jeremy - Fighter - Bonnie is an animatronic that's a constant danger, but he's still relatively controlled and reserved in comparison to Foxy, who tries to bumrush you out of Pirate's Cove in FNAF1 and is incredibly dangerous and aggressive in FNAF2.

Foxy - Barbarian - Less restrained and more aggressive than the other animatronics, at least when he actually goes in for the kill. Plus, Barbarian is the basic class I think is the closest to being an actual pirate.

Susie - Druid - Chica likes to make or eat food, and druids can make food :P Okay, in all seriousness though, I'm not sure how to justify this one. I just had her as a druid since somebody needed to be one for the party.

Cassidy - Wizard - Golden Freddy is all about hallucinations and weird arcane behavior in FNAF1. And have you SEEN Golden Freddy with AI 20 in FNAF2? Dear God, that shit is insane.

Liz - Fighter - ...yeah...to be honest, there isn't really much justification for this one. The reason why I had her as a second Fighter is because I talked to my friend who's an expert in D&D, and he said that a party works best with two fighters or a fighter and a paladin for straight up front-line fighting. That's all there is to it... **or maybe that's what I want you to think.**

Dungeons and Dragons and other such tabletop games were some of my favorite weekend activities to play in the weekends at college. Forget studying, forget the looming science tests. On Saturday, I could just kick back and relax with barely a care in the world. I was channeling my enthusiasm for them through Mike this chapter, and I hope it showed.

I apologize if I didn't truly capture the essence of D&D to your satisfaction this chapter. Keep in mind that this was _low level_ tabletop gaming, and things really aren't all that crazy at low levels. Especially for a party of level 1 characters, controlled by kids who have never heard of the game before and are completely new to the mechanics and how it works.

There will be other chapters like this in the future, one at high level for sure and at least one for medium level, if not more. Those battles will be far more intense than this one, with much more powerful enemies and with the epicness cranked way up.

A welcome reprieve for the ghosts, I think. But the darkness looms ever closer, and it shall not be kept waiting…


	20. Chapter 20 - Terror in the Night

A/N: One snowstorm + no power + only thing to do is write = an early chapter lol

And here it is. The darkest part of the fic has come, heralded with the arrival of one of the evilest animatronics that Scott Cawthon ever designed. Yep, Nightmare has arrived. And just in case you didn't "A Legacy Laid to Rest", this incarnation of Nightmare isn't just a terrifying hallucination. This Nightmare is a demon lord straight from the depths of Hell itself. And you can bet that nothing good can come out of his arrival.

This will be the family's greatest trial, but it won't begin with Nightmare simply barging into the house. No, Nightmare is far more insidious than that. He didn't show up in FNAF4 until late into the nights, and he has other ways of making his presence known…and the kids won't enjoy what he's bringing to the table.

Some very minor Christian themes (as in, a sentence or two at most). Just to give you a heads-up.

Chapter 20 – Terror in the Night

The moment Liz opened her eyes, she knew something was terribly wrong. She couldn't see Fritz sleeping comfortably next to her, nor could she see the room where she slept during the night. All that could see was darkness, except for…a stage?

Her eyes shot open. She knew that stage, how could she not? She had stood on it for decades, memorized it in detail with nothing better to pass the time. _"No!"_ she thought frantically. _"This can't be happening! I can't be back here! I can't be back at Baby's!"_

She raised her arm, and to her growing horror, it was not the arm she had as a human, but a robotic construct holding a familiar microphone. She lumbered over to the closest thing there was to a mirror and, with her fear growing by the instant, she peered into it.

Circus Baby's face stared back at her.

" _Impossible!"_ Liz screamed in her mind. _"There's no way this can be real! There's no way my life with dad and my friends was just a dream!"_

She desperately looked around, trying to find anything that she could find to dissolve the horrific situation she had been thrown into. The other animatronics – Funtime Foxy, Ballora, Funtime Freddy – none of them were in sight. She was alone again, trapped like she had been all those years ago.

Liz was about to give into despair when a voice suddenly called out to her. _"Lizzie…"_

She instantly stopped and searched around her, desperate to find another face. _"Lizzie…"_ the voice called again, and this time she could see someone in the room with her. A teenaged boy standing just in front of an open vent passage that lead only into shadows. Liz froze as she got a better look at the boy.

She knew that face. Even after 30 years, she somehow _knew_ who that boy was.

" _M…Mikey?"_ she asked hesitantly, then with more conviction. _"Mikey?"_

The boy almost imperceptibly nodded, and Liz felt joy erupt in her heart. Maybe, if she got to spend time with her long-lost brother, then maybe this wouldn't be so bad. _"It's me, Mikey!"_ she cried out to him. _"It's me! Lizzie! Your sister!"_

Instead of rushing forward to embrace her, however, the boy disappeared into the shadows of the doorway. _"Where are you going, Mikey?"_ Liz asked confused, her happiness beginning to fade. As fast as her animatronic body would allow her, she chased after her brother. Every time she entered another room, her brother was standing just in front of another vent or door, and would disappear into it before she could catch up to her. As Liz pursued him, she felt fear and doubt creep into her heart again. Why was Mikey not embracing her like long-lost family would? And why was he moving towards _the Scooping Room?_

With no other choice, Liz followed her brother into the Scooping Room. The pathway he had been taking had led to the control room, but there was nobody waiting for her inside. Instead, inside the Scooping mechanism itself, she could see the figure of a man standing there. Liz wondered if she had taken a wrong turn by accident, but before she could leave, she heard the man speak with the _exact same voice_ she'd heard before.

" _Do you remember what we said to each other, back when we were just normal kids?"_ the man, who Liz somehow knew was her brother, asked in a calm voice. _"Do you remember? We said we would always love and care for each other. We made that promise, remember?"_

A vague memory clicked into her mind, of a time when she was still alive, but before she could answer she suddenly realized exactly _where_ her brother was standing in. _"You have to get out of there, Mikey!"_ she pleaded. _"That thing is dangerous! It could kill you!"_

Her brother either didn't hear her or ignored her. _"Do you remember, Lizzie?"_ he insisted.

" _Y…yes!"_ Liz spluttered, _"but there's no time for that! You have to get out of there!"_

" _Then why did you do this to me, Lizzie?"_

That sent her thought processes into a crashing halt. _"Wha…what?"_ she asked, not understanding what was going on.

" _Why did you lie to me?"_ Michael Afton asked quietly. _"Why did you bring me here to kill me?"_

A mechanical whirring suddenly popped into existence, and Liz saw to her horror that the Scooper had begun to activate and move towards him. Michael didn't move at all, as if he knew what was coming and was accepting it. _"No! MIKEY!"_ she screamed, as she slammed her robotic fist onto the glass window. When she realized that there was no way she could break into the Scooping Room to rescue him in time, she covered her face with her hands and turned away, unable to see her brother being brutally killed as his scream of pain echoed throughout the room. After several long, agonizing seconds, both the sounds of the room and the sounds of her brother's screams subsided, and Liz finally mustered enough courage to look at what was left.

Only to see that the environment had transformed completely. She was no longer in the Scooping Room, or even at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental at all. Now, she was inside what looked like a tiny metal corridor, leading into a larger but still relatively small room. She hesitated before crawling forward, and stopped cold when she realized that her right hand was not a hand at all, but instead a giant, wicked metal claw.

Oh, God. She had become Scrap Baby, hadn't she? And this…this had to be the trap pizzeria where it had all ended, wasn't it?

" _This has to be a dream..."_ she thought, and that gave her the tiniest bit of comfort. After all, it was physically impossible for her to be in Circus Baby's one second and the labyrinth the next. Still, that thought did little to soothe her after what she had just seen. She looked back towards the room that the corridor led to, and she was shocked to see that the room was no longer empty. A man was sitting in a seat there, looking at something on a computer.

" _Who's…who's there?"_ Liz called out to him.

The man looked up from the computer, and Liz screamed in horror. The person sitting at the computer was barely even human: a broken, ruined corpse whose skin had turned purple from years of decay. Somehow, the corpse was still moving, still functioning, as though it hadn't realized that it was dead yet. And even after death and decay had taken its toll, Liz somehow recognized Mikey through it all, even though that shouldn't have been possible.

But what terrified Liz most of all wasn't the fact that her brother had been reduced to a walking corpse. It was the ferocious glare in his eyes, a look filled with pure hatred and rage directed _straight at her_.

Liz fought the urge to flee and asked, her voice barely above a whisper. _"What happened to you, Mikey?"_ she asked.

Her brother sneered at her. _"What happened?"_ he hissed, and she recoiled at the loathing in his voice. _"What happened? You should know, shouldn't you, Lizzie?"_ he spat the nickname as though it were poison.

Before Liz could say anything, his voice rose into a furious, hate-filled shout. _"IT WAS YOU!"_ he roared, silencing her completely. _"YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS!"_

" _But I didn't!"_ Liz finally found her voice. _"I'd never do this to you, Mikey! You've got it all wrong!"_

Michael sneered. _"You don't know a goddamn thing, do you, Elizabeth?"_ he growled. _"Of course you don't. Why else would you have joined our worthless excuse of a father to continue his little murdering spree?"_

Liz felt a new wave of shame hit her as she recalled what she had tried to do. _"Not anymore, Mikey!"_ she desperately tried to correct him. _"I've changed, I know better now! I'm not anything like him anymore! I promise!"_

" _Save your breath,"_ he cut her off. A hissing noise suddenly burst into life from all around her, and to her horror she saw a wall of flame erupt into life from behind her. Michael's room also burst into flame, and a mocking smile appeared on his ruined face. _"Your little plans have come to an end. There's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. We're all going to burn here, once and for all."_

Instinctively, Liz tried to reach out towards him, but a blast of flame erupted in front of her and stopped her from advancing any farther. The flames had boxed her in, approaching ever closer. A look of vicious satisfaction entered Michael's face, and he snarled five words. Five words that caused Liz more agony than any controlled shock or flame ever could.

" _You are not my sister!"_

The flames roared all around her, and Liz could only scream in despair as they consumed the pizzeria, reducing her and everything around her to ash…

/

" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Liz shot up from the floor, panting and breathing rapidly. She scanned her surroundings frantically, and to her immense relief she could see her bedroom in Mike's house. To her surprise, Fritz was already awake, and was watching her with increasing concern.

" _It was a bad dream,"_ Liz murmured, almost crying with relief. _"A nightmare. It wasn't real."_

" _You had one, too?"_ Fritz asked quietly, his face unnaturally serious. It was only then that Liz fully noticed him. _"A nightmare?"_

" _Yeah…"_ Liz replied quietly, then what Fritz said clicked fully. _"Wait…you had one too?"_

Fritz nodded grimly. _"I don't think we're the only ones, either. I heard at least one of the girls scream from down the hall a few seconds before you woke up."_ He sighed. _"I've had bad dreams before, but this one really took the cake. I'm going to go talk to dad about it. Do you want to come with me?"_

Liz nodded gratefully. _"Yeah…yeah, I think that's a good idea,"_ she agreed as she got up onto her feet. _"Let's go."_

 **A Few Seconds Later…**

" _You're kidding me!"_ Fritz spluttered. _"You're telling me that EVERYONE here had a nightmare?"_

" _It looks that way,"_ Jeremy confirmed grimly. Fritz and Liz had arrived at Mike's bedroom to discover that everyone else was already there. If Mike had been exhausted when he'd been woken up by the first of them to arrive, then his fatigue was either completely gone by now or he was hiding it excellently.

"Does anybody want to share what they saw?" Mike asked quietly. Hopefully, at least one of the ghosts would be willing to share, and that would encourage the other ghosts to open up and they could ease their fears and tensions together.

The ghost children looked at each other uncomfortably for several seconds. Finally, Gabe sighed. _"I guess I'll start,"_ he volunteered, earning a grateful nod from Mike. _"It was back at Freddy's. The 1993 location. Where you worked, dad…"_

/

Gabe recognize the place where he was in the moment he saw it. He was back at the pizzeria that had haunted his memories, wearing the accursed body of Freddy Fazbear once more. Bonnie and Chica were both gone, but he could hear them lurking in the shadows, planning their next attack on the office. Foxy had already stepped out of Pirate's Cove, head tilted, considering when to rush for the Office.

" _Stop, guys!"_ he wanted to shout at them. _"The Night Guard in the Office is just an innocent person! He's not the one who murdered us! You've got it all wrong!"_ But even if they could hear him, why would they listen? Mary had tried to stop them once, when they had first come here, but they had all been too consumed by revenge to listen. And Gabe knew all too well what that had led to.

The power suddenly ran out, and the entire pizzeria plunged into darkness. Gabe got off the stage and rushed towards the Office as quickly as possible. Maybe he could warn whoever was inside the Office to flee before the others caught him, or even protect him for a short time. Gabe stopped just in front of the Office and peered in, wanting to see who it was.

He felt his entire essence go cold as he saw the man sitting in the Office. A teenager, around 18. Someone who was far too young to die a brutal death in a metal suit. But what really scared Gabe was the fact that the teenager seemed _familiar_ somehow. Almost as though he was…he was…

The young man looked up and spoke, and Gabe's worst fears were confirmed. It was _Mike_ sitting in the Office, back when he had made his resolution to die. He remembered how from his dad's tale how he had survived all 20 nights he had endured at Freddy's, but _this_ Mike…apparently he wasn't so lucky.

"Hello, Gabe…" the young Mike said quietly, and the Freddy inhabitant would have jumped in shock if he had been able to. Mike sounded far more mature and weary of life than any teenager had any right to be, and more than that...he had _recognized_ Gabe for who he was, even though that shouldn't have been possible.

Mike looked around the darkened Office and sighed. "I guess we all saw this coming, didn't we?" he asked rhetorically. "I tried to last as long as I could, but nobody's luck lasts forever." He chuckled sadly. "You guys must have really wanted me dead."

" _Not you, dad!"_ Gabe wanted to protest, but once again, he was unable to say anything. _"It's not too late! You can still run! Hurry, get out while you still can! Don't just sit there!"_

Mike's voice cracked a bit. "I thought I could help you," he continued, his stoic expression wavering for just a second before he regained his composure. "I thought if I took you in, if I showed you love and compassion, that I could make things better for you and the others, I could help you move on." Mike bowed his head in defeat. "But now I see that I was wrong. You'll never see me as anyone other than the person who killed you."

" _That's not true, dad!"_ Gabe mentally screamed. _"You're NOTHING like the Purple Man! You're the best person we've ever met! We were wrong, we were all wrong!"_

Mike sighed again and shook his head. "I get it. I really do. Trust doesn't come easily to people like us, not after everything that we've suffered. I guess in the end, I'm not the one who can save you from your pain, no matter how much I want to."

" _You ARE the one who can save us!"_ Gabe tried to argue. _"You already have! We don't want anyone else to be our dad!"_

His panicked thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. The other animatronics stepped into the dim light of the Office, Foxy and Chica from the right, and Bonnie behind from the left. And all of them were glaring at Mike with undisguised hatred in their eyes.

" _Get away from him!"_ Gabe futilely shouted at them with his mind. _"What the hell are you doing? This is our Dad you're trying to kill! Stop! STOOOOOOOOP!"_

"It's time, isn't it?" Mike asked with all the calm of the grave. "I made one mistake too many, the power's out, the game's over. I tried to save as many people as I could, and I hope what I did accomplish made a difference in the end. And I hope one day you'll find someone who can free you from your suffering," he lowered his head, no longer looking at any of them. "Mom…Oskar…I'll see you soon."

As one, the animatronics began to shriek and swarm the teenager, drowning out Gabe's screams and pleas. To his growing horror, Gabe found that he had produced another Freddy Fazbear head in his hands, one that would almost certainly kill Mike if it was forced upon his head. He could only watch and struggle uselessly as Freddy lifted the spare head high above his head, and slammed it down upon Mike's…

/

"… _and that was when I woke up,"_ Gabe finished with a heavy sigh. _"I'm just glad I didn't see the head actually kill you first, dad…"_

Mike leaned forward and gently ruffled Gabe's ethereal hair as best he could. "None of it was real, Gabe," he reassured the ghost kid comfortingly. "You're not the murderous lunatics you once were, none of you are. You showed that when you held yourselves back from hurting Colm, when you would've done so much worse to him in the past. And we both know that I'm a survivor. I wouldn't give up that easily. Not on myself, and not on you."

The ghosts began to smile at that, but their happiness wouldn't last long. _"Dad…I…I had the same dream Gabe did,"_ Susie confessed. _"It was almost exactly like Gabe described, too."_

Mike's eyes widened. "What?"

" _The only difference was that I was Chica instead of Freddy,"_ she clarified, _"But apart from that, it was almost identical to what Gabe went through."_

" _Now that you mention it, Susie, that sounds like what I saw too!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"I mean, I was Bonnie, but yeah! I was in that pizzeria, and I saw…I saw dad…give up…"_ he finished quietly.

"Hold up!" Mike suddenly interrupted. "Did EVERYONE here have the exact same dream _?_ "

Fritz and Cassidy added their voices to Gabe's, Susie's, and Jeremy's confirmation. The only one who didn't say anything was Liz, who was brooding over the nightmare that she had suffered.

"Liz?" Mike prompted, concern in his voice.

The girl shook her head. _"Mine wasn't the same, dad, but…I really, REALLY don't want to talk about mine,"_ she quietly responded. _"Please…"_

Her dad nodded. "All right, Liz. If it'll make you feel better keeping it a secret, then that's all right."

" _We all had the same dream,"_ Gabe muttered, _"and the only one who didn't was the only one who wasn't stuck in Freddy's with the rest of us…"_

Mike's eyes narrowed. "Something's not right here."

All eyes turned to their father. _"What do you mean, dad?"_ Jeremy asked.

"I can understand you guys having nightmares once in a while, after everything you've been through," Mike explained, suspicion clear in his voice. "But all of you having nightmares in the exact same night, with five of you having the _exact same dream?_ There's no way this could simply be a stroke of spectacularly bad luck. Not with this many people."

Cassidy looked at her dad nervously. _"What…what are you saying?"_

Mike let out a low hiss. "There's too many things matching up to be a coincidence. Our enemy…whoever cursed you a few days ago…he's returned." He suddenly raised his voice to a shout. "HAVEN'T YOU?"

For a few seconds, there was silence. And then…

" **HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH, HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"** an unearthly voice, deep and demonic, echoed from around them. **"YOU DEDUCED THE TRUTH FASTER THAN I EXPECTED, MORTAL. QUITE THE ASTUTE ONE, AREN'T YOU?"**

Fritz looked around frantically. _"What the hell is going on?"_ he asked.

 **"HAVEN'T CAUGHT ON YET, HAVE YOU, LITTLE BRAT?"** the voice hissed, dripping with malice and contempt. **"YOUR TIME OF PEACE HAS COME TO AN END."**

" _Where is he?"_ Susie asked frantically. Mike, however, was already moving. The day after Colm had left, he had installed a security system in his house very similar to the one that had existed in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, both to keep an eye on future intruders without the need to rely on the ghosts and to make sure that the ghosts didn't go too far in dealing with them. He grabbed the tablet on his desk and began to rapidly scan through the different rooms and hallways, the ghosts crowding nervously around him to look. There was nothing located on the second floor, but the moment he checked the camera in the living room…

Cassidy and Susie screamed, and none of the other ghosts could hide their fear. Standing in the living room, staring directly into the camera, was a terrifying monstrosity beyond anything they had ever seen before. He was larger than even the Freddy Fazbear animatronics, with a black body that seemed to be made entirely of shadows except for a yellow hat and bow that seemed almost out-of-place on its body. Razor-sharp claws extended from he hands and feet, and the creature's mouth was filled with lethal fangs that looked as though they could effortlessly tear a man to pieces. The ghosts shuddered as they saw another row of fangs extend across its stomach, almost as though there were a _second mouth_ crossing the beast's abdomen. But that was nothing compared to the monster's eyes. Scarlet, blazing eyes that burned with the cruelty, hatred, and malice of over a thousand years. Instinctively, every ghost felt a primal fear churn within them, a fear even greater than what the Purple Guy had forced them to experience the day they had been slain. They understood that _this_ was the monster who would have tortured them for eternity, if God had chosen to punish them for their crimes instead of offering them the chance for redemption through a life with their new father.

The only one who didn't outwardly show any fear was Mike. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And what the hell do you want?"

The creature grinned, fully showing his cruel maw. **"I AM KNOWN BY MANY NAMES, MORTAL, ALL OF THEM DREADED THROUGHOUT THE DEPTHS OF THE ABYSS.** ** _NIGHTMARE_** **HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES. YES…NIGHTMARE WILL DO,"** he sneered. **"AND AS FOR WHAT I WANT, YOU WILL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH, MICHAEL SCHMIDT. OR PERHAPS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SATIATE YOUR CURIOSITY JUST A LITTLE SOONER? ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS COME DOWN."**

Mike snorted. "And just why the hell would we do that?" he retorted. "We're fine where we are, thank you very much."

" **IT AMUSES ME THAT YOU SPEAK AS THOUGH I CANNOT HUNT YOU DOWN YOU IN YOUR OWN HOME,"** Nightmare laughed, **"BUT I DO NOT NEED TO GO ANYWHERE, DO I? NOT WHEN I HAVE SOMEONE QUITE PRECIOUS TO YOU, TO ALL OF YOU, WITHIN MY GRASP."**

Mike's blood ran cold as he quickly looked over at the ghosts. He had been so busy counseling them with their dreams that he had completely forgotten to notice that _one of them was missing_. "Where's Mary?" he yelled frantically.

Nightmare's grin grew, and everyone let out exclamations and gasps of horror as he lifted something…no, _someone_ trapped within his tightly clenched fist.

"MARY!" Mike shouted, feeling true fear for the first time. The demon had grabbed the Marionette by the neck, and she could only hang limply from his unrelenting grasp. Mike quickly scanned her as best as he could through the camera. To his relief, she didn't seem to be grievously injured or even noticeably damaged, but even with the limited emotion she could display through her animatronic face, everyone could see that she was exhausted. Exhausted…and beaten.

" _I…I'm sorry…"_ she managed to choke out. _"I…I tried to stop him…tried to drive him away…"_

" **YOU TRIED…"** Nightmare agreed as he looked down at her with malicious glee. **"…AND YOU FAILED. YOUR MAGIC WAS STRONGER THAN I EXPECTED, BUT YOU WERE DOOMED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING."** He looked up at the camera again. **"COME, MORTALS. COME AND SAVE HER. SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS DAUGHTER AND SISTER, IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE."** The grin vanished. **"DO NOT KEEP ME WAITING."**

Before anyone could say anything, Nightmare raised his free claw high into the air. With a snarl, he slashed at the camera, and the tablet screen dissolved into static. Mike threw the tablet down and ran out of the room. "I'm coming, Mary!" he shouted as he rushed towards the stairs.

The ghosts looked around at each other. _"What are we waiting for?"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"We can't just leave Dad and Mary to that…that thing!"_ He got to his feet. _"Let's go!"_ The ghosts all followed their father down the stairs and into the living room, their love for their family overshadowing whatever fear they had of the monstrosity that had entered in their midst.

With speed that only the threat of a loved one in danger could produce, Mike and the ghosts rushed into the living room. Nightmare was waiting for them, and his already terrifying appearance was even more horrific up close and personal.

"Let her go!" Mike shouted.

" **AH, MY LITTLE CAPTIVE…"** Nightmare stared down at the Marionette trapped in his hands, then, unexpectedly, suddenly seemed to lose interest in her. **"YOU CAN HAVE HER BACK."** He shoved the Puppet in front of him, and Mike reached out to catch her before she stumbled onto the floor.

"Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

" _I'm… I'm fine…"_ she responded with a sigh. _"As good as I can be, all things considered…"_

" **I NEVER CARED FOR YOUR LITTLE PUPPET GIRL,"** Nightmare continued with a sneer. **"WHAT I REALLY WANTED…WAS THIS!** His eyes started glowing intensely. " **IN NOMINE INFERNIS, ET ORIRI FLAMMAE!"** he roared.

Instantly, unholy flames erupted in the passageways leading to and from the living room. Susie, the closest one to the doorway, shrieked in fear as she flew away from the fiery barriers. Though the flames didn't seem to be moving beyond the doorways, they completely blocked any way in and out of the living room. The ghosts had a feeling that they would have no better luck escaping through the walls, and even if they could, none of them would even consider leaving Mary or Mike behind at the mercy of this monster.

" **NO WAY IN…"** Nightmare hissed, **"…AND NO WAY OUT. ONE OLD MAN AND ALL THESE LITTLE SOULS IN ONE PLACE."** For some reason, Liz felt a chill run down her spine at these words, even though she had no clue why. **"EXACTLY AS I PLANNED."**

" _I'm sorry…"_ Mary whispered. _"I shouldn't have tried to fight Nightmare. I just wanted to keep him away from the rest of you."_

" _Nobody's blaming you for anything."_ Gabe assured her. _"Whether you were here or not, Nightmare would have come after us one way or another. It's not like any of us could stop him, if you couldn't."_

" **HOW RIGHT YOU ARE,"** Nightmare sneered. **"ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, I WOULD HAVE YOU RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU. AND NOW…"** he started to laugh menacingly, **"…NOW, THE FUN CAN TRULY BEGIN."**

/

A/N: You guys wanted dark chapters, and you're about to get them in spades. Nightmare defeated the strongest of the ghost children offscreen and without even trying. That should already tell you how good things aren't.

When I think of Nightmare's voice, there are two possible options that I can come up with. The first one is David Near's voice for Nightmare Fredbear (ironically enough), a voice that fits perfectly for a monster such as Nightmare. The other voice I hear in my head is the voice that Steve Blum provides for Lucifer in Dante's Inferno, the Animated Epic. Unfortunately it's really hard to find that video on Youtube nowadays without it being filtered/screwed up in some way, but I think it fits perfectly if you're looking for something less growly but more subtly menacing.


	21. Chapter 21 - Herald of Black Truths

A/N: Don't really have much to say here. Only that Nightmare is by far the biggest challenge that Mike's family will ever face, though not for the reasons that you may think.

A couple of you asked if Nightmare's arrival to Mike's house was tied to Elizabeth. These questions make me smile as a writer, since it confirms to me that none of you so far have guessed what I have planned towards the end of Nightmare's arc. And as you'll soon find out, Nightmare isn't here _specifically_ for Elizabeth…but that doesn't mean she's safe either.

Again, some minor Christian themes in this chapter. There's a bit more here compared to last chapter, but again, this chapter is not even closely meant to be a work in theology or anything like that.

Chapter 21 – Herald of Black Truths

Nightmare eyed the family predatorily as they huddled together, as if their physical proximity could somehow repulse him. **"DID YOU ENJOY THE LITTLE PRELUDE I ARRANGED PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL?"** he asked. **"I COULD HAVE SIMPLY STORMED MY WAY THROUGH YOUR HOME AND CAPTURED YOU DIRECTLY. BUT I'VE ALWAYS FOUND A SUBTLE APPROACH TO BE FAR MORE…ENTERTAINING."**

Mike's eyes narrowed. "So it _was_ you," he growled. "You were the one torturing my kids with those nightmares."

Nightmare grinned. **"OF COURSE IT WAS ME. THE HUMAN MIND IS TRULY FASCINATING, ISN'T IT? ALL THE DARKNESS THAT LURKS WITHIN, THE FEARS, THE SUFFERING BORNE FROM THE PAST. A SHADOW LURKS IN EVERY HEART, EVEN IN THE MOST ORDINARY OF MEN. AND YOUR LITTLE CHILDREN ARE ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY,** ** _AREN'T THEY?"_**

"These kids have been through enough without scum like you making things worse," Mike retorted. "All I see is a coward preying on their fear."

Gabe tapped his dad's arm. _"Dad…"_ he muttered worryingly. _"Maybe you shouldn't do anything to piss this guy off…"_

Nightmare only laughed in response. **"DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT THE PETTY INSULTS OF AN OLD MAN MEAN ANYTHING TO ME?"** he sneered. If he was angered by Mike's insult, he was hiding it incredibly well. **"AND AS FOR PREYING ON THEIR FEAR, THAT ALONE WOULD BE A COMPLETE WASTE OF MY TIME AND EFFORT. IT WOULD BE ALL TOO EASY FOR ME TO DO, AND IF WHAT I HAVE HEARD ABOUT YOU IS TRUE, EASY FOR** ** _YOU_** **TO COUNTER. NO, I HAVE SOMETHING ELSE IN MIND. SOMETHING THAT NONE OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CHALLENGE SO EASILY."**

He turned his eyes on the ghostly children, and all of them shrank beneath his menacing gaze. **"SO, MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS AFTER THE TRAGEDY OF FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZERIA BEGAN, YOU HAVE FINALLY FOUND A PLACE TO CALL A HOME, AND ONE TO CALL FATHER. ALLOW ME TO OFFER YOU MY CONGRATULATIONS,"** his voice was dripping with a complete lack of sincerity that he didn't bother to hide. **"AND NOW YOU GET TO ALL LIVE TOGETHER, AS THOUGH YOU WERE A NORMAL FAMILY, LIVING TOGETHER IN HAPPINESS. FINALLY ABLE TO PUT THE PAST BEHIND YOU."**

Nightmare's mouth curled into a grin. **"IF ONLY IT WERE THAT SIMPLE."** His eyes blazed scarlet, like they had before when he'd summoned the walls of hellfire, and immediately black smoke began to appear from around him. Everyone yelped in surprise and fear as the smoke began to consume the entire room, surrounding them until all that they could see were themselves and the monster who had summoned it.

" _What's going on?"_ Fritz asked frantically. _"What the hell is this?"_

" _I'm scared…"_ Cassidy whimpered fearfully.

" _Stay away from the smoke,"_ Mary ordered. _"We don't know if breathing it in will hurt or corrupt us or anything!"_

Nightmare sneered. **"CORRUPTION? BAH. YOU DISPLAY A PITIFUL IGNORANCE OF THE AFTERLIFE, PUPPET GIRL. THOUGH I SUPPOSE THAT IS OF NO SURPRISE, CONSIDERING THAT UNLIKE THE REST OF YOUR FRIENDS, YOU NEVER EVEN TEMPORARILY PASSED ON. NO HIGHER POWER, WHETHER DEMONIC OR DIVINE, CAN INTERFERE WITH THE FREE WILL OF THE LIVING. THE SMOKE ITSELF WILL DO NOTHING TO YOU."**

" _Why does that not make me feel better in the slightest?"_ Gabe muttered.

" **BECAUSE IT IS WHAT I PLAN TO** ** _DO_** **WITH THIS SMOKE THAT YOU SHOULD FEAR,"** Nightmare replied coolly. A faint glow began to appear in the smoke, an image starting to form. As the ghosts watched it solidify and brighten, they gasped when they realized they were seeing the inside of the '85 pizzeria, with them inside it when they were still alive. The image then shifted to a different group of kids in the pizzeria, around the same age. Both groups of children were laughing and playing, an image of innocence from an era when the Fazbear franchise was untainted.

" _To think that things could have gone so terribly wrong…"_ Mary murmured.

The image shifted back to their past selves, and the ghosts could only watch fearfully as the Purple Man lured them into the back room of the pizzeria one at a time and brutally slaughtered them. Cassidy shuddered – it was the exact same memory that she had been forced to witness in her traumatic flashback.

" _Why are you showing us this?"_ Jeremy demanded.

" **TO PROVE A POINT, YOU LITTLE BRAT,"** Nightmare sneered. The image shifted back to one of the other children that they had never seen before, only now that child was in his late-teens or early adulthood. The young adult was merrily humming one of the many tunes the Freddy Fazbear band played as he walked into the '93 Freddy Fazbear's location… _in the middle of the night._

" _Oh my God…"_ Gabe was the first to realize what they were seeing, and his eyes widened in horror. _"This is…no…"_

" _He's a Night Guard…"_ Susie could barely choke the words out. _"A Night Guard when we…when we…"_

The image changed to the Office, where the man was scrambling to slam the doors on Bonnie. But he was too slow, and the animatronic barged into the Office with a bloodcurdling scream.

"Why?" the man yelled desperately at Bonnie as the animatronic grabbed him and dragged him out of the Office. "You were my friends! You were my best friends! Did my entire childhood mean nothing to you? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?"

" _I'm sorry!"_ Jeremy shouted futilely at the vision, tears flowing down his cheeks. _"It wasn't you, it was never you! You didn't deserve this!"_

Nightmare only laughed cruelly, a sound that echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once. **"DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU COULD ESCAPE THE CRIMES OF YOUR PAST SO EASILY? THAT YOU COULD SIMPLY APPEAR ON THE DOORSTEP OF ONE OF YOUR VICTIMS LUCKY ENOUGH TO SURVIVE AND PRETEND THAT EVERYTHING IS FINALLY ALL RIGHT? HE WAS MERELY THE FIRST OF YOUR VICTIMS. LET US BEAR WITNESS TO YOUR SINS, SINS THAT YOU HAVE TRIED SO HARD TO CAST ASIDE!"**

Images of different Night Guards appeared in the smoke, every person that the Freddy Fazbear animatronics had terrorized. Some of them desperately questioned why the animatronics were attacking them, as the first victim had done. Others hurled curses and insults at whichever animatronic caught them, "monsters" and "liars" being the foremost among them. With every victim and each death Nightmare showed, the hearts of the ghosts sank lower and lower. Mary could only watch sadly as they started crying tears of regret and guilt – she might technically have less blood on her hands from only one or two Night Guards she had killed in the '87 location, but this…this had happened because she had failed to pacify their rage. She was just as responsible for those deaths as they were.

" **YOU DESPISE WILLIAM AFTON FOR THE ATROCITIES HE INFLICTED UPON YOU,"** Nightmare hissed, **"AND YET YOU HAVE SACRIFICED MORE INNOCENTS UPON YOUR ALTAR OF VENGEANCE THAN HE HAS EVER KILLED. YOU SEE THE TRUTH NOW, DON'T YOU? YOU ARE MURDERERS, ONE AND ALL, NO BETTER THAN THE ONE WHO KILLED YOU."**

"That's a load of bullshit!" Mike shot back, but before he could say anything Gabe raised a hand to stop him.

" _No, Dad…he's right,"_ he admitted, his voice shaky but with a glimmer of resolve in his voice. _"We ARE murderers. God more or less told us the same thing when we stood before Him, and when both Heaven and Hell agree on something you know it's the truth. We were so consumed by our own rage that we couldn't tell the difference between the person who was truly guilty and people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Purple Guy might have caused us to become this in the first place…but we were the ones who made the decision to kill the Night Guards. We can't blame the Purple Guy for everything."_

Gabe forced himself to look Nightmare straight in the eye. _"None of us are going to deny what you said, Nightmare, or that what we did was wrong. Whether we're forgiven or not, we'll have to live with the fact that innocent blood is on our hands for the rest of eternity. We can't change that. But we can change what we can do now and in the future. That's why we're here. To change even one life for the better to make up for the many that we destroyed."_

The ghosts cheered Gabe on, feeling inspiration return with every word he spoke. _"You bet we are!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"And we're going to give this everything we have!"_

" _You said it!"_ Susie fervently agreed. _"Dad deserves it more than anyone!"_

Mike smiled as he saw hope return to the ghosts, but before he could voice his support, Nightmare cut them off with an unsettling chuckle.

" _What's so funny?"_ Fritz asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

" **YOU SPEAK AS THOUGH IMPROVING THE LIFE OF ONE OLD MAN WILL MAKE UP FOR THE LIVES THAT YOU SLAUGHTERED,"** Nightmare growled.

Gabe glared at Nightmare. _"That's what God told us to do to fully earn forgiveness,"_ he retorted, relieved that he finally had a proper answer to one of Nightmare's taunts. _"I'll take His word over yours any day."_

" **OH, I'M WELL AWARE OF THAT,"** the demon sneered. **"NO MATTER HOW MUCH I CAN DISAGREE WITH THE** ** _HEAVENLY FATHER_** **,"** he spoke the title as mockingly as possible, **"I CANNOT INFLUENCE WHAT HE DECIDES. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT I FIND SO FUNNY.**

" _Then what?"_

" **WHAT I FIND** ** _TRULY_** **AMUSING IS HOW UTTERLY WORTHLESS YOUR SO-CALLED REDEMPTION ACTUALLY IS!"** Nightmare declared as he roared with laughter.

The ghosts looked at each other in shock. _"But we've…we did what God told us to…"_ _Cassidy_ murmured confusedly.

" **THE MAN WHO ADOPTED YOU, A MAN YOU ATTEMPTED TO MURDER FOR 20 DAYS IN A ROW AND WHO OWED YOU ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, WELCOMED YOU INTO HIS HOME AND SHOWERED YOU WITH KINDNESS AFTER KINDNESS,"** Nightmare hissed. **"SO TELL ME THIS. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO REPAY THAT KINDNESS? WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO ACTUALLY ATONE FOR THE SINS OF YOUR PAST?"**

The ghosts opened their mouths, but no words came out. They looked at each other, desperately trying to come up with some way they had helped Mike in a meaningful way. But deep inside, they all knew the truth.

" **CAN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION?"** Nightmare sneered. **"THEN LET ME ANSWER IT FOR YOU. YOU. HAVE. DONE. NOTHING!"** he roared the last word. **"NOTHING TO SHOW THAT YOU HAVE ATONED FOR YOUR CRIMES, NOTHING TO SHOW THAT YOU DESERVE ETERNAL PEACE AFTER ALL THE BLOOD YOU HAVE SHED!"**

" _We…"_ Gabe looked helplessly over at his friends. _"We…"_

"Give them a fucking break!" Mike finally got in a chance to speak, and there was an anger that the ghosts hadn't seen from him before. "They've only been here for like, what, a couple of weeks? These kids are going to be hanging around here for the rest of my life! They've got all the time in the world to redeem themselves, if _that's_ what you're so hung up about!"

" **IF THEY WERE HONEST AND TRUE IN THEIR REDEMPTION, THOSE LITTLE BRATS YOU ARE DEFENDING WOULD HAVE GONE OUT OF THEIR WAY AND DONE EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO HELP YOU THROUGH YOUR LIFE. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD YOU THE FULL TRUTH ABOUT WHY THEY WERE SENT HERE!"** Nightmare retorted.

"I…wait…what?" Mike turned to Gabe. "What is he talking about?"

He was shocked to see a guilty look appear on Gabe's face and the face of all the other ghosts, except for Liz, who looked just as confused as he did. "Gabe…what is he talking about?"

Gabe waited several long seconds before answering. _"We were told to improve your life, dad,"_ he reluctantly explained. _"We never lied to you about anything. But God…He wanted us to be more…active…in how we went about that."_

"Almost like a servant," Mike filled in the detail Gabe left out.

Gabe nodded guiltily. _"Back then…we were afraid. We were afraid that if you knew about that from the beginning, you'd abuse us and make our afterlives a Hell again, like William Afton. After everything he put us through, we just couldn't bring ourselves to trust another adult again, at least not at first."_

Mike shook his head. He knew what that felt like more than anyone, in the streets where survival dictated suspicion and distrust. Heck, the only reason he'd trusted Oskar because the old man was too frail to hurt him in a physical way. "I hope I managed to convince you that I'm not like him," he said sadly.

" _You did!"_ Susie insisted. _"You definitely, definitely did, dad! It's just that, before we trusted you, we were afraid. And after, we were so settled into your home and our family that we…forgot that we were meant to serve you too."_ She sighed. _"After thirty years of misery, the first time we could feel happiness consistently was so overwhelming, it blocked out everything else from our minds."_ She lowered her head. _"I'm sorry, dad…we should have told you this earlier."_

" **YOU SHOULD HAVE,"** Nightmare mockingly agreed, **"BUT YOU DIDN'T. AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH HE HAS SACRIFICED ON YOUR BEHALF."**

"And what, exactly, have I sacrificed?" Mike snapped. "A couple of hours every day, hours that I would have spent doing random crap in my workshop, playing video games, or otherwise screwing around? Spending a couple of hours with these kids is called basic parenting, and if _that's_ the best you can come up with then I've already given you more credit than you actually deserve."

Nightmare's amused look vanished, and the ghosts were torn between fear for Mike's safety and hope that the demon had been successfully challenged. Then, the grin returned.

" **YOU ARE A** ** _VERY_** **CONVINCING LIAR, MIKE SCHMIDT,"** Nightmare commented. **"I** ** _ALMOST_** **BELIEVE YOU. A PITY FOR YOU THAT I HAVE THE EVIDENCE TO PROVE OTHERWISE, EVIDENCE THAT YOU CANNOT DENY."**

Images began to form in the smoke again, and to her surprise Liz recognized herself standing outside of Mike's study. It was the day that she had first arrived at Mike's house, and she saw herself leave and go back downstairs, leaving Mike to enter his study alone. The man had turned on his computer and was filing through something, when his cell phone suddenly rang.

"Hey, Mike!" even though Mike had been holding up the phone to his ear normally, everyone could hear what the man was saying. "How's it going?"

"I'm doing fine, Chris, thanks for asking," the man replied.

"I wish you could come over to my birthday party, Mike, but I know you're going to be all the way in the Caribbean by then."

"Well, you better make room for one more person, Chris, cause I'm coming over to your party after all," Mike said as he clicked on something.

"Wait…WHAT?" Chris exclaimed. "But what about your vacation?"

"I'm cancelling the whole thing as we speak, Chris," Mike explained calmly. "Every plane ticket, every hotel booking, all kaput. I'm staying right here this summer."

"Mike, what the hell is wrong with you?" his friend asked, half-furious and half-worried. "Ever since we graduated from college, you've been working your ass off from Day 1 at that engineering job. You never took any actual time off for yourself in the days I've known you, and only NOW do you _finally_ have the chance to truly relax and enjoy yourself like you deserve. And you're throwing that all away! That's thousands of dollars and one of the biggest opportunities to really explore the world going down the drain for no reason, Mike! What the hell are you thinking!"

"There's more important things than what I want, Chris," Mike answered calmly. "Besides, I thought you'd be happy hearing that I'd be showing up at your birthday party after all," he joked, though neither of them found it funny.

"Not when I think one of my closest friends is screwing himself over like this!" Chris retorted, before sighing heavily. "I still have no idea why the hell you're ruining your entire summer, but whatever it is, I hope it's worth giving it up."

The image faded, and the ghosts looked at Mike in renewed horror. He'd given up THAT much for them, from the very beginning?

" **THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SQUANDERED,"** Nightmare repeated. **"AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THE WORLD FOREVER LOST. DO YOU SEE NOW JUST HOW LITTLE YOU HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IN YOUR QUEST, JUST HOW MEANINGLESS YOUR REDEMPTION ACTUALLY IS?"**

" _Dad…I…I…"_ Fritz couldn't even make a full sentence.

" _I'm sorry…"_ Gabe managed to finish his words. _"We never wanted you to go through this much trouble for a bunch of ungrateful brats who tried to murder you over and over again."_

"It's all right, guys," Mike interrupted him gently. "I'd be a terrible parent if I just up and left for months after you just arrived. What I need to do is more important to me than what I want to do. And you're not ungrateful brats. I kept this a secret for a reason, and I don't even remotely regret what I did."

" **SUCH A GOOD PARENT,"** Nightmare mockingly complimented. **"LOYAL AND TRUE. BUT YOU WERE NOT ALWAYS KIND TO THESE CHILDREN, CONSIDERING THAT YOU CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR SUFFERING AS WELL."**

Mike glared at him. "All right, NOW I'm calling bullshit!" he shouted. "Everything you said up until now might have been the truth, perverted and twisted, but still the truth. But this? This is the first lie you've thrown at us, and I'm not going to stand here and take it! I didn't know these kids existed until the day they showed up in my bedroom, begging me to create a new family with them. How DARE you accuse me of making their lives worse, when I've done everything in my power to make them better from Day 1!"

The ghosts nervously looked over at Nightmare, half-expecting him to explode into a vengeful rage at Mike's attack. But to their surprise and growing fear, Nightmare only laughed again. **"I CAN ACCUSE YOU AS MUCH AS I WANT, MORTAL, BECAUSE IT IS THE TRUTH. OBSERVE."**

An image began to appear in the smoke again, this time back in the '93 pizzeria. The animatronics were standing motionlessly on the stage, and to his surprise, Mike recognized himself standing there, eyes narrowed in cold determination. He and the children watched as Mike tampered with the AI of every animatronic, plunging them all straight down to zero.

" **ALLOW ME TO OFFER YOU MY CONGRATULATIONS, MICHAEL SCHMIDT,"** Nightmare offered. **"BY SETTING THE ANIMATRONICS' AI TO ZERO, YOU ENSURED THAT THE FEW NIGHT GUARDS THAT WOULD COME AFTER YOU COULD SURVIVE UNTIL THE PIZZERIA CLOSED DOWN AND THE ANIMATRONICS WERE LEFT TO ROT."**

The demon grinned. **"BUT BY DOING SO, YOU ALSO PROVIDED AID TO ANOTHER PERSON. ONE THAT I AM SURE YOU ARE** ** _ALL_** **FAMILIAR WITH. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…."**

The image shifted again to the pizzeria, only now it was completely abandoned except for the animatronics. Mike and the children watched as a figure that all of them immediately recognized as William Afton stepped into the pizzeria, holding an axe in his hand. The animatronics' eyes instantly blinked open and narrowed hatefully at the murderer, but when they tried to pursue him, the animatronics' movements were all sluggish and clumsy, as though they were struggling to move.

Mike's eyes widened as he realized what Nightmare was showing. "No…" he breathed, for the first time showing weakness in his stalwart persona. "That can't be…"

Smiling cruelly at them, William Afton beckoned mockingly at them to follow him into the safe room adjacent to the bathroom hallway. The animatronics were too slow to move at him any faster than one at a time, and with their weakened AIs, they could barely protect themselves as Afton hacked them all to pieces with his axe.

The image vanished, and Nightmare laughed. **"IF YOU HAD NOT INFLUENCED THE AI OF THE ANIMATRONICS, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE SWIFTLY AND DESTROY WILLIAM AFTON WITH THEIR BARE HANDS,"** Nightmare explained, reveling in Mike's growing horror. **"BUT BECAUSE YOU TAMPERED WITH THEM, AFTON WAS ABLE TO DESTROY THEM INSTEAD WITH EASE. AND WHILE THEY COULD STILL TAKE REVENGE ON THE ONE WHO MURDERED THEM BY FORCING HIM TO BECOME SPRINGTRAP, THEY REMAINED BOUND TO THEIR SUITS. ONLY NOW, THEY WERE EVEN MORE TRAPPED THAN BEFORE, UNABLE TO SO MUCH AS MOVE FOR YEARS."** He grinned. **"THEY WERE LEFT AT THE MERCY OF FATE AND CHANCE, MORE HELPLESS THAN THEY HAD EVER BEEN BEFORE. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU."**

Mike flinched and he looked at the ghost children in horror. "Oh my God…" he barely choked out. "I…I…"

Gabe knew he had to act fast. He rushed forward and grabbed his dad by the shoulders. _"Get a hold of yourself, dad!"_ he shouted. _"That is NOT your fault. You heard what Nightmare said about us earlier! How we were murderers who killed innocents for the sake of revenge! We NEEDED to be stopped! And you were the one to stop us! You didn't do anything wrong!"_

Mary nodded gratefully at Gabe and took over. _"You did not know these children existed,"_ she added fervently. _"Any responsibility you have for these children existed only when you accepted them into your home, and not one second before. You are the hero who saved countless Night Guards during and after your shift, and that is ALL you are."_

Mike took several deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he was done, Gabe wrapped his dad in a hug. _"Even if what you did was wrong, which it wasn't, we don't have any right to call you out on that, dad. Nightmare's just trying to screw with your head. You did what you did to save the innocents we tried to kill, and we deserved every terrible thing that happened to us after the 90s. We still love you, dad. This doesn't change anything."_

Mike ruffled his adoptive son's hair. "We've all made mistakes, Gabe. Some worse than others. All these visions, all these truths, all in a past that we can't change no matter how much we want to. But that's the thing. The only way the past can hurt us is if we let it hurt us. And I won't let that happen."

Gabe smiled, and so did the other ghosts. _"Neither will we, dad,"_ they proclaimed as one.

Mike got up from the floor and turned to his face Nightmare. The kind fatherly look was gone, replaced with the cold determination of a warrior ready to defend everything he cared about. "You think I don't know what you're trying to do, Nightmare?" he growled. "You think I can't see you trying to tear our family apart, trying to break these kids with the crimes of the past, trying to set us at each other's throats with every mistake or hurt that we made against each other, intentional or otherwise? What did you think I was going to do to these kids? Kick them out of my house? Enslave them and force them to do whatever I want?" His eyes narrowed and he glared at the demon with as much contempt as he could muster. "The way you try to bastardize the truth not only makes me physically sick, it's a personal insult to me and every principle and value that Oskar taught me and that I believe in. So let me make this clear, here and now. You. Have. Changed. NOTHING. Whatever goal you had in mind, you've failed. Now GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" he roared with a fury the ghosts had never seen before.

The ghosts all cheered at this, but the happy smiles vanished as Nightmare's eyes blazed with rage and a blast of infernal fire spewed out of his mouth. **"YOU THINK THIS IS OVER…"** he hissed, before his voice erupted into a furious roar. **"YOU DARE TO SPEAK TO ME WITH SUCH INSOLENCE! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR YOUR ARROGANCE!"**

He extended a hand, and Mike suddenly gasped as the shadows began to wrap around his body and neck, binding and trapping him. Nightmare's eyes flashed, and they began to drag Mike's struggling body towards him. The ghosts all let out various exclamations of horror as they tried to chase after him, only to be blasted backward by a wave of dark power. The ghosts stumbled as they got to their feet, but Nightmare's counter-attack had left them all exhausted and weakened, and now they were helpless to stop him from dragging their father to what would surely be a brutal death.

All except for one. The one person who Nightmare had ignored throughout the entirety of his condemnation. Liz had quietly snuck away from the rest of the ghosts and circled around Nightmare from behind, waiting for the chance to attack the demon that had threatened the safety and integrity of her new family.

Liz knew that if she wanted to save her family, then she would have to reveal a secret that she'd kept from the very beginning. A secret that could end up destroying the relationship and the trust that she had worked so hard to build ever since Mike and Mary had welcomed her with open arms. But that didn't matter, not now. Mike and the other children had made it clear that they would defend and protect each other to the end. Did she even deserve to be a part of this family if she couldn't do the same?

Ever since she'd been killed and trapped inside Baby, her entire afterlife had been defined by wrong choices and terrible mistakes. Mistakes that had gotten three people killed, mistakes that had ruined the fragile friendships she had formed with the other Sister Location animatronics. Mistakes that had nearly turned her into a monster as bad as her former father. But now, finally, her mind was completely her own. Finally, she could make the right choice. _Finally_ , she could make a difference in a good way.

And she was going to take it, no matter the risks to herself.

Liz didn't remember the details of what had happened in the final trap pizzeria. But she could still remember the last sentence she had spoken before the world had turned to ashes. Back then, she hadn't fully understood what she was saying. But this time, as she watched Mike struggle against Nightmare's shadows, she knew exactly what those words meant, and she knew exactly what she was going to do.

" _I will make you proud, daddy."_

/

A/N: Gotta love a good cliffhanger, eh? :D And hey, remember those minor details earlier about "adult paperwork crap" and Mike setting those AIs to 0 at the end of his night shift. Suddenly those details aren't so minor anymore, are they?

Ah, Nightmare. People look at him and look at FNAF4, and immediately see him as a physical threat. Not surprising, when you look at those fangs and claws. But I never intended _my_ version of Nightmare to be a physical danger. That would require me to either reduce his credibility as a threat as the family ultimately defeats him, or turn this into a Tragedy/Horror fic. Needless to say, neither option was acceptable.

No, I think that Nightmare would be much more uniquely threatening as a psychological danger. Don't get me wrong, the physical danger is still very much there, He still has all those sharp thingies, and he kicked Mary's ass already without even trying. But I wanted my version of Nightmare to be as cunning as he is cruel. He knows the fears and past sins of the ghost children more than they knew themselves, and he tried to break them with that knowledge. Hell, he was able to take _Mike's_ past actions, actions that by themselves were harmless or even heroic, and use them as weapons against his victims.

And do you know what I think is the scariest thing about him? It isn't the fact that he's a powerful demon. It isn't the fact that he's a terrifying monstrosity with way too many sharp things on his body. It isn't even the fact that he can get into your head like he did.

It's the fact that _none of what he says is fundamentally wrong._

Go ahead, read through his dialogue again. I challenge you to find one statement he made that is a straight-up falsehood. If I did my job properly as a writer, you won't. If the ghosts or even Mike had stood alone against Nightmare's condemnations, they might have cracked. Their unity and love gave them the strength to endure.

But if you thought that Mike's final speech in this chapter against Nightmare was the end, you are very, VERY wrong. Nightmare isn't even close to being done yet. As you probably noticed, one ghost managed to escape his attention.

That state of affairs…will not last for long. Heh heh heh heh heh…


	22. Chapter 22 - Baby's Lament

A/N: And here it is, folks. Elizabeth Afton will finally be in the spotlight. But as several of you have already guessed, that's not necessarily a good thing. Especially not when Nightmare is involved…and when he's already shown what he's capable of.

I do have inspiration from a different fic that helped me greatly in how I wrote this chapter, but I have a feeling you've probably never heard of it. I'll reveal it in the end.

Unlike many other chapters in this fic, this chapter is one that I had in my mind and imagination from the very beginning. I hope that I do not disappoint with what I've written.

Chapter 22 – Baby's Lament

A mechanical roar suddenly bellowed from behind Nightmare. Mike and the other ghosts looked towards the source of the noise to see a ghostly animatronic lunge at the demon from behind. Nightmare barely had time to react as the animatronic raised her arm and smashed something onto the demon's head. With a roar of fury, Nightmare whirled around to see who had dared to attack him, and as he did so everyone else could fully see the figure that had come to their rescue.

Most of the ghosts couldn't fully comprehend what was going on…but Mary did. She remembered every detail about the murderous animatronics from the final trap pizzeria, details that the other ghosts would have missed while they were only half-conscious in Molten Freddy.

She remembered it all. The orange wiring for hair, the grotesque clown-like face with the razor-sharp fangs, the glowing green eyes, the decrepit body.

The spiked metal claw on her right hand.

" _Get away from my dad!"_ the animatronic shouted, her fury and determination clear even through her mechanical face, and the other ghosts all gasped as they recognized her voice.

" _L-L-Liz?"_ Fritz spluttered, mouth agape. What had his kind, sweet sister turned into?

Liz, Elizabeth, Scrap Baby…right now it was impossible for Mary to separate the different identities…raised her claw and, with another mechanical screech, clamped it over Nightmare's neck and crushed it within her pincer. Nightmare howled with rage and agony as Scrap Baby's claw tore open a massive wound in the demon's neck. It wasn't enough to completely rip Nightmare's head off, but it _was_ enough to force him to release Mike, who scrambled to his feet as the shadows binding him suddenly evaporated.

Nightmare's eyes narrowed as he glared balefully at the spectral form of Scrap Baby. **"WELL, WELL, WELL…"** he hissed. **"WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? WILLIAM AFTON'S LITTLE** ** _MURDERER_** **, HIS PRECIOUS LITTLE** ** _MONSTER_** **, FINALLY TRYING TO PLAY THE HERO FOR A CHANGE?"**

Liz's green eyes glowed with fury. _"He is not my father,"_ she spat. _"My father is the one that I'm going to save from YOU!"_

Nightmare laughed condescendingly at her. **"OH? THEN TELL ME, LITTLE AFTON, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SAVE HIM, WHEN YOU CANNOT EVEN SAVE YOURSELF?"** To everyone's horror, the wound that Liz had dealt to Nightmare was healing even as he spoke, the shadows coalescing to heal the flesh that she had damaged. **"DID YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT YOU HAD EVEN THE SLIGHTEST CHANCE OF VICTORY? YOU WOULD NEED TO INFLICT A THOUSAND SUCH WOUNDS UPON MY FLESH TO EVEN COME CLOSE,"** the demon lord's eyes narrowed, **"AND I ASSURE YOU, YOU WILL NEVER GET THE CHANCE TO DEAL MORE THAN** ** _ONE_** **."**

Liz's eyes widened and she tried to swing her claw at Nightmare again. But even though she might have been the most physically powerful ghost as Scrap Baby, she had been outmatched from the very beginning. Nightmare was stronger, tougher, crueler, and had more than a thousand years of experience in the art of battle. The closest thing Liz ever had to an advantage was the element of surprise…something that she had expended with her first attack.

Nightmare deflected the claw with almost contemptuous ease. He would not be defeated by a mere mortal ghost. Moving far faster than anyone had expected him to, he clenched his hand into a fist and, with a snarl, brutally smashed it into Liz's face.

" _Liz!"_ Everyone gasped in horror as Liz stumbled backward from the force of Nightmare's strike. The segments of Scrap Baby's face-plate twitched in and outward as she tried to steady herself from the demon's attack. It didn't seem like he had done any permanent damage, but Nightmare was apparently done playing around. He reached out and grabbed Liz by the neck before she could fully recover, and when she tried to smash her claw on his head again he simply grabbed her arm with his other hand. Nightmare had ended the battle as quickly as Liz had started it.

" **WHAT A SHAME…"** Nightmare sneered. **"IS THIS REALLY ALL THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF? A FAILURE AS A HERO AND AS A VILLAIN,"** a calculating look suddenly entered Nightmare's eyes, **"THOUGH PERHAPS I HAVE NOT GIVEN YOU ENOUGH CREDIT IN THE LATTER."**

Liz was clearly terrified, but she tried to hide it with a defiant glare. _"I know that I was evil in the past,"_ she retorted. _"I know that I would've done terrible things to innocent children if I hadn't been stopped. You're not telling me anything that I don't already know."_

" **KNOW?"** Nightmare repeated mockingly. **"YOU KNOW NOTHING! YOU LAY THE BLAME FOR YOUR SINS ON YOUR FATHER, AND I WILL CONCEDE THAT THERE IS SOME TRUTH IN THE MATTER THERE. BUT THE GUILT IS NOT HIS IN ITS ENTIRETY, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARDS TO YOUR GRAVEST AND DARKEST CRIME. THE FAULT FOR THAT LIES ON YOU AND YOU** ** _ALONE_** **."**

" _What are you talking about?"_ Liz asked, confused. But unnoticed by her or the other ghosts, Mary and Mike were looking at each other in growing horror. Both had a feeling that they knew what Nightmare was talking about, and that they had made a grave mistake by not telling Liz about it sooner.

"Liz…" Mike tried to speak, but tendrils of shadow instantly wrapped around both his and Mary's mouths.

" **I THINK NOT,"** Nightmare growled. **"I AM SPEAKING TO YOUR DAUGHTER. NOT YOU."** A menacing grin stretched across his face as he turned his attention back to Liz. **"TELL ME THIS, ELIZABETH AFTON…"** he hissed. **"DID YOU ALREADY LOOK LIKE THE MONSTER YOU WOULD BECOME WHEN YOU WERE REUNITED WITH YOUR BELOVED BROTHER? OR DID YOU STILL BEAR THE FALSE VISAGE OF HUMANITY WHEN YOU LIED TO HIM AND LURED HIM TO HIS DEATH?"**

" _What are you talking about?"_ Liz protested. _"I haven't seen my brother in decades!"_ But inside her, a terrible fear was beginning to grow. She still remembered the horrific dream, the terrifying corpse of her brother hatefully condemning her even as they all burned to ashes together. There was no way that nightmarish vision could've been true…could it?

" **HEH HEH HEH** …" Nightmare chuckled darkly. **"YOU REALLY HAVE NO IDEA, DO YOU? THEN ALLOW ME TO ENLIGHTEN YOU."** Visions began to form in the smoke, and Liz could see the inside of Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, and more specifically the Scooping Room. A man was standing inside of the mechanism, about to have his organs removed, with Ennard staring at him from outside.

" _That man…his name was Eggs Benedict,"_ Liz protested. _"I've never met him before. That was the name he gave us."_

" **YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE ANY PARENT WOULD GIVE THEIR CHILD THAT IDIOTIC OF A NAME?"** Nightmare asked in a derisive tone. **"THAT WAS THE NAME GIVEN TO HIM BY THAT MORONIC HANDTRAP DEVICE. A PITY THAT HE COULD NOT TELL YOU THE TRUTH BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE."**

The Scooping mechanism proceeded to carry out its gruesome work, and Liz recoiled as she watched the man's organs be removed for the sake of her plan. It wasn't the Scooping itself that caused her such fear – the entire process was terrifying, to be sure, and she regretted what she had done to the stranger whose body Ennard had claimed. But what really disturbed her was the man's screams. _Why were those screams so familiar?_

The images shifted, and now she was watching the man walk in the streets. At first, everything seemed normal, and the man was greeted warmly by his neighbors. But as time passed, the man's skin began to rot, and the once-friendly neighbors were becoming increasingly alarmed and disturbed by what they were seeing. Until finally, his decaying body had turned a deep purple, and he could no longer hold Ennard in his body. The man spat Ennard out of his body, and the amalgamation crawled away into the sewers, watching as the man struggled to get to his feet in a body that should've collapsed into death. The vision vanished and was quickly replaced by the same purple corpse grimly surveying the inside the ruins of a building that Liz didn't recognize.

And then, she heard it.

" _Father…"_ a soft voice echoed from the man's mouth, a whisper filled with great pain, anger, and determination. _"It's me, Michael. I did it. I found it. It was right where you said it would be. They were all there. They didn't recognize at first but then they thought I was you. And I found her. I put her back together, just like you asked me to. She's free now. But something is wrong with me. I should be dead. But I'm not. I've been living in shadows. There is only one thing left for me to do now. I'm going to come find you._ _ **I'm going to come find you."**_

Liz gasped in horror as she realized that she knew that voice. It was the _exact same voice_ that she had heard inside her nightmare. _"No…"_ she whispered desperately, _"…that can't be! That can't be Mikey! It can't be…"_ she trailed off, desperately trying to deny what she was already dreading to be the truth.

Nightmare grinned. **"TRYING TO DENY THE TRUTH EVEN NOW?"** he questioned. **"PERHAPS YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR BROTHER'S VOICE FROM BEHIND THE VEIL OF THIRTY YEARS? NOT TO WORRY…IT IS A SIMPLE MATTER FOR ME TO RIP APART THAT VEIL."**

Another voice echoed out from the surrounding shadows, this one much younger. But it was undoubtedly the same person who had been speaking only a few seconds earlier…and it was a voice that Liz recognized this time without any ambiguity whatsoever.

" _Brother…"_ the younger voice was crying, even though there was no face or tears to see. _"Can you hear me? I'm…I'm sorry…"_

" **DO YOU SEE NOW, LITTLE AFTON?"** Nightmare hissed as the voice faded. **"THE MAN YOU KILLED, THE MAN WHOSE BODY YOU TRIED TO STEAL AND WHOSE LIFE YOU DESTROYED…THAT WAS YOUR BROTHER MICHAEL, THE ENTIRE TIME! A BROTHER THAT YOU CLAIMED TO LOVE AND CHERISH, REDUCED TO** ** _THIS_** **BECAUSE OF YOU!"**

For a second, Liz hung limply in Nightmare's hands as her mind processed the terrible knowledge that the demon forced upon her. Then, she began to scream. A scream filled with despair, hopelessness, horror, guilt, regret, every emotion that she had felt when she'd first been freed from Baby magnified by a thousand-fold. Mike, Mary, and the other ghosts could only look on sorrowfully at her grief. Liz had been the only ghost child to not understand the full measure of her sins, and now she was learning in the absolute worst way possible.

Nightmare only laughed at her misery. **"EVEN NOW I CAN HEAR IT IN YOUR MIND,"** he pushed forward ruthlessly. **"A LAST GASP OF DENIAL, A DESPERATE PLEA THAT THIS IS ALL A LIE. WHY WOULD I LIE TO YOU, WHEN I CAN HURT YOU SO MUCH MORE WITH THE TRUTH? AND THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CRIMES AGAINST YOUR BROTHER. LET ME SHOW YOU HOW THINGS** ** _COULD_** **HAVE BEEN, AN ALTERNATE PATH OF FATE THAT SHALL NOW NEVER COME TO PASS."**

An image flickered to life in the surrounding smoke, and now they were back in Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. The man…Michael…looked between two passageways, one leading to the Scooping Room and the other to what Liz knew to be the Primary Control Module. Michael took one last look at the Scooping room pathway, then suddenly ran in the other direction, towards the module where he knew he would be relatively safe from Ennard's attacks. With tears flowing out of her eyes, Liz watched as this alternate version of her brother effortlessly deflected Ennard's attempts to break in and claim his body anyway for six hours that seemed to pass by in a blur. All the while, Ennard called out to her brother in _her_ voice, begging her to let them in and set them free. Michael didn't relent in his defense until 6 AM finally came to pass, and he could finally escape to freedom.

" _Wh…why are you showing me this?"_ Liz choked out. Then, the realization hit her, and she felt her soul sink to new depths of despair that she hadn't even believed to be possible. _"He_ ** _chose_** _to go to the Scooping Room? But that means he…he…"_

" **YES…"** Nightmare hissed. **"HE COULD HAVE LIVED. HE COULD HAVE FLED TO THE SANCTUARY OF THAT ROOM, HE COULD HAVE WITHSTOOD YOUR ATTACKS, AND HE COULD HAVE ESCAPED WITH HIS LIFE INTACT. BUT HE DIDN'T. HE CHOSE TO GIVE UP HIS BODY, HIS ENTIRE LIFE FOR YOU, ALL SO THAT HE COULD GIVE YOU THE FREEDOM THAT YOU SO DESPERATELY SOUGHT FOR YEARS,"** his voice, which had started quietly, was growing with louder every word. **"TO SET YOU FREE MATTERED MORE TO HIM THAN HIS VERY EXISTENCE. AND** ** _HOW_** **DID YOU REPAY HIM? YOU PLEDGED YOUR LOYALTY TO THE VERY EVIL THAT HE SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE OPPOSING, AN EVIL HE HAD BEEN TRYING TO ERADICATE FOR YEARS!"**

Nightmare forced Liz to look him straight in the eyes, and now there was no mockery, no malicious joy. Only pure and utter hatred. **"YOU STUPID GIRL!"** he roared. **"YOU SPAT ALL OVER HIS NAME! YOU TURNED HIS GIFT INTO AN ABOMINATION, SQUANDERED THE FREEDOM HE GAVE YOU! HE TRIED TO BRING YOU BACK INTO THE LIGHT, AND ALL YOU DID IS RUN DEEPER INTO THE DARKNESS! THE ONLY THING HIS DEATH ACCOMPLISHED WAS TO CREATE YET ANOTHER MONSTER, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"**

" _But I didn't know!"_ Liz sobbed out desperately, black streams now freely flowing down from her glowing green eyes. It wasn't even close to a justification, she knew that, but it was the only way she could think of to defend herself. _"I didn't know it was him! I didn't know that he'd come to save me!"_

" **AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT ALL THE MORE PATHETIC,"** Nightmare snarled. **"FOR SOMEONE WHO CLAIMED TO LOVE AND CHERISH YOUR BROTHER AS MUCH AS YOU DID, YOU DIDN'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT HIM OR WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO. YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE SLIGHTEST UNDERSTANDING THAT YOUR FATHER WAS A MONSTER AND THAT YOUR BROTHER WAS THE HERO WHO TRIED TO SAVE LOST SOULS LIKE YOU."** He bared his fangs menacingly. **"IT'S TIME SOMEBODY SHOWED YOU THE FRUITS OF HIS LABOR AND THE BATTLES HE WAGED TO ACCOMPLISH THEM!"**

Liz whimpered in dread. She knew what Nightmare was about to show her. Her brother's final struggle in the trap pizzeria against the malicious animatronics that had sought to continue the slaughter of innocent children. Including her. _"No more…"_ she begged desperately. _"I can't take any more…please…"_

But Nightmare had no mercy to give. **"DON'T LOOK AWAY,"** he spat with disgust. **"TO WITNESS HIS STRUGGLES IS THE** ** _LEAST_** **HE DESERVES FROM YOU. FOR ONCE IN YOUR PATHETIC, WORTHLESS LIFE, DON'T BE SUCH A COWARD. OR WILL YOU FAIL TO GIVE EVEN THE BAREST SHELL OF GRATITUDE TOWARDS YOUR BROTHER** ** _YET AGAIN?_** **"**

The images began to form again, and Liz forced herself to look. Forced herself to see the living corpse of her brother sitting in the office. She felt another wave of sadness as she took in just how utterly exhausted and broken he appeared, all because of her. The malicious and monstrous animatronics came in, one at a time – first Molten Freddy, then her father, then her. Liz shuddered as, for the first time, she clearly saw the monster that her father had become, his cruel and vicious expression as he regarded his son like a predator hunting its prey. Then, the image shifted again, and even without a physical or human body for it to be possible, Liz nearly vomited in horror when she saw the exact same cruelty on _her own face_. Scrap Baby's green eyes glowed with the same malice and bloodthirst that emanated from her father, and Liz could only watch helplessly as her past self tried to repeatedly attack and murder her brother again and again, only to be repelled in one way or another.

" **HOW BRAVE YOUR BROTHER WAS…"** Nightmare's voice dripped with acid and mockery. **"HOW BRAVE INDEED, KNOWING THAT THE SISTER HE HAD TRIED TO SAVE HAD BECOME JUST ANOTHER MONSTER STALKING THE CORRIDORS, TRYING TO FINISH WHAT SHE'D STARTED WITH THE SCOOPER. KNOWING THAT THE CHILDHOOD PROMISE HE HAD ONCE MADE WITH HER WAS SHATTERED FOREVER, AND WOULD NEVER BE REMADE. ONE FINAL GAME BETWEEN SIBLINGS SEPARATED FOR YEARS. BUT ALL THE PLAYERS WOULD REACH THE END SOON ENOUGH. IT WOULD ALL END IN RUIN…AND IN FLAME."**

And just like Liz had envisioned in her dream, flames erupted into life within every room and tunnel of the false pizzeria. She could hear Michael's mysterious benefactor reveal the true nature of the trap they were in, she could see her brother smile in relief as his duty was finally completed. And she could see herself, her expression one of pure fear and pain, as the parts of her robotic body began to melt and be consumed by the flames.

" **AT LAST, YOU SEE THE TRUTH NOW, DON'T YOU?"** Nightmare hissed. **"YOU DESERVED THAT PAIN. YOU DESERVED TO BURN. YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THE FREEDOM THAT YOUR BROTHER GAVE YOU. AND YOU DIDN'T. DESERVE.** ** _HIM."_** he spat the last words directly at her face.

Liz had nothing to say. She knew that every word that came out of the demon's mouth was the truth. He had revealed these truths with the intent to wound, but it did not make his words any less valid. She had committed the ultimate betrayal and compounded her unspeakable crime over and over again, and now she could only weep tears of remorse over sins that she would never be able to undo, no matter how much she wanted to.

Nightmare lifted Liz's head up again, and for a terrible moment, Mike and the ghosts thought that he was about to carry out the Bite of '25. But though the demon lord would not do anything to physically harm the girl, his words were crueler than the sharpest talon or blade. **"NO WONDER YOU NEVER FOUND YOUR BROTHER AGAIN,"** he snarled. **"THOSE WHO PASS ON TO THE AFTERLIFE DO NOT RETURN. AND EVEN IF HE COULD, WHY WOULD HE COME ANYWHERE** ** _NEAR_** **YOU** ** _AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE?"_**

And with that last condemnation, he finally shoved Liz away from him. Fritz and Mary rushed forward to catch her as she stumbled backward, both managing to grab an arm each to keep her steady. But they could do nothing but watch helplessly as Liz collapsed onto her knees, buried her face with her robotic hand, and started wailing uncontrollably. Most of her words were barely intelligible, but they could catch glimpses of what she was saying in between sobs.

" _Mikey…I'm sorry, Mikey!…I'm sorry!...Please, forgive me…please…"_

Mike's eyes blazed with fury as he saw his adopted daughter reduced to such a broken mess. He thrashed against the bindings sealing him to the floor. But all that accomplished was to attract Nightmare's attention to him.

" **YOU KNEW THE TRUTH. YOU AND THE PUPPET GIRL BOTH. AND YOU CHOSE NOT TO TELL HER?"** Nightmare scoffed. **"SOME FATHER YOU ARE."**

A look of pain and regret flashed across Mike's face, and he stopped struggling. Nightmare grinned at the emotional blow that he had dealt to the old man. It was not the greatest victory that the demon could have achieved against him, but it was a victory nonetheless. Not seeing the need to keep Mike silent any longer, he dissolved the band of shadows across his mouth and the old man gasped for breath. "I'm sorry…" he murmured to the still-mourning ghost. "I failed you."

Then, he turned his attention right back to Nightmare with a furious glare. "All right…" he spat at the demon lord. "You've had your fun. You've forced these kids to relive every sin they've ever committed, enslaved them with the weight of crimes that they already repented for a long time ago. But I'm not going to sit here and watch them suffer any longer."

He looked straight into Nightmare's eyes, and didn't even flinch when the demon turned his malevolent gaze onto him. "Now, it's my turn," Mike growled. "On behalf of each and every one of these kids, it's time for me to fight back!"

/

A/N: One cliffhanger after another. Yep, I'm just as evil as Nightmare, aren't I?

I think I've officially set my own personal record for "Hardest I've Ever Kicked the Dog in My Entire Writing Career." I mean, good God, Nightmare was even more brutal to her than he was to the other ghost kids, and he was already cruel to them to begin with.

Liz being able to transform into Scrap Baby was something that I had planned from the very beginning. As much as I would have to loved to write Liz kicking Nightmare's ass as Scrap Baby, that just was not gonna happen with how powerful l already established Nightmare to be. And this transformation was indeed the old shame I mentioned earlier on when she was first introduced. The transformation itself isn't malevolent in nature – heck, I just demonstrated how Liz used it to battle evil in the beginning of this chapter. But even before Nightmare hurled the truth about Liz's past at her face, Scrap Baby represented her darkest and worst moments, everything she hates about herself…and it's not hard to see why.

The inspiration that I had for this chapter came from Chapter 59 of Gunlord's fic "Wayward Son", a Fire-Emblem fanfiction that revolves around the past of Renault, a mysterious bishop in Fire Emblem 7. If you're into that kind of thing, go ahead and give that a look. Though I have to warn you that fic is really, REALLY long.

This was incredibly exhausting to write, and part of me really hates myself for all the brutal torture that I just put Liz through. The only comfort I can give is that there will be light that comes after this darkest hour, but what a darkest hour it is.

Hope you guys enj…I honestly don't know if enjoyed is the right word to use here, considering what just happened. Hope you guys…liked the chapter? I don't even know…


	23. Chapter 23 - A Father's Challenge

A/N: The darkness has descended upon the story, hasn't it? Liz is going to take quite a while to recover from the dark truths that Nightmare hurled at her face.

But the dark is always deepest before the dawn. Mike is the only one who can defend these kids, and so he shall. And all this shall lead to an endgame…an endgame that nobody so far seems to have predicted.

Again, some Christian themes and all that. You know the drill by now.

Chapter 23 – A Father's Challenge

Nightmare laughed. The idea that this mortal sought to fight him, after knowing what he was already capable of, was just too entertaining. **"YOU SEEK A BATTLE?"** he asked mockingly. **"AND, HOW, EXACTLY, DO YOU PLAN TO CHALLENGE ME? THE PUPPET GIRL WAS YOUR STRONGEST IN MAGICAL POWER, AND THE LITTLE SCRAP ABOMINATION WAS YOUR STRONGEST IN PHYSICAL STRENGTH. BOTH OF THEM FAILED UTTERLY BEFORE MY MIGHT. WHAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE YOUR FATE WILL BE ANY DIFFERENT?"**

Mike bristled at the insult to Liz. "Because I'm not _going_ to fight this with strength," he answered. He had known that physically fighting Nightmare was completely impossible from the very beginning. Mike's greatest advantages as a fighter had always leaned towards stealth, awareness and agility rather than brute force. And even if he had more raw strength, it was all completely useless to him against an enemy as powerful as Nightmare anyway.

No, he was going to fight the demon with a different tool altogether. One that had served him well ever since he had escaped from his abusive father, from wandering the streets and surviving Freddy's to the intellectual challenges he had faced in college and beyond. A weapon that had only sharpened as the years passed, the only one that he had ever considered truly worth using.

His mind.

"Your arguments and attacks aren't as strong as you think they are, Nightmare," Mike growled. "I've seen this before. You use fear and terror to try and break these kids, and it's easy to see why they believed you. But I can see through it. And I can see the weaknesses in your attacks."

Nightmare sneered. **"YOU SPEAK WITH SUCH CONFIDENCE, MORTAL,"** he retorted. **"BUT UNLESS YOU CAN ACTUALLY PROVE THAT SUCH WEAKNESSES EXIST, THEN YOUR WORDS ARE WORTHLESS TO THEM AND TO ME. ARE YOU GOING TO DENY THAT THE FAZBEAR CHILDREN ARE MURDERERS OF INNOCENTS? ARE YOU GOING TO DENY THE BLOOD THEY HAVE SHED? YOU HAVE SEEN THEM ATTEMPT TO DO THE SAME TO YOU, DID YOU NOT? ARE YOU GOING TO IGNORE THEIR CRIMES IN A FUTILE ATTEMPT TO GIVE YOUR LITTLE BRATS A TEMPORARY REPRIEVE?"**

"No," Mike replied through gritted teeth. "I won't. As much as I want to, I can't deny what you've said just now. Not without dishonoring the Night Guards who came before me. Out of all the accusations you hurled at my kids, this one is the only thing you've said that's a pure truth."

" **A PURE TRUTH?"** Nightmare mocked. **"THEN DO TELL ME, OLD MAN. WHAT HAVE I SPOKEN THAT IS NOT A** _ **PURE TRUTH**_ **, AS YOU SO PUT IT?"**

Mike's eyes narrowed. "How about almost everything else you've said to them?" he snapped back. "Let's start with this one. You said earlier that I owed these kids nothing. Is that correct?"

" **CORRECT,"** the demon growled.

"And you also said earlier that because I shut down all the animatronics' AIs down to zero, I ended up making them completely helpless to fight against William Afton. And that because he was able to destroy the animatronics my kids were possessing before they scared him into Springtrap, they ended up even more trapped and helpless without being able to so much as move. Is that right?"

" **YES."**

A faint smile appeared on Mike's lips. "Then I _do_ owe these kids, don't I?" he asked quietly. "Yes, I know they tried to kill me, and that they might have succeeded. But a swift death that they _might_ have inflicted on me, no matter how brutal it might be, is nothing compared to the 30 years of enslavement and torment that I _did_ force them into. And even if they had killed me, they would have only committed a crime against my body. But I ended up committing a crime against their very souls even if I didn't know it, and I owe them for all the pain and suffering I caused them."

" **GET TO THE POINT,"** Nightmare snarled impatiently.

"My point, jackass, is that by trying to attack both of us _you ended up contradicting yourself!"_ Mike shouted.

Except for Liz, who was still lamenting over her brother's fate, the ghosts' eyes all widened in shock. They were the ones who had tried to kill the man who would become their father, and he was speaking as though _he_ were the one who had sinned against them? As they felt their admiration for Mike renew itself yet again, they suddenly realized with a spark of hope that _Nightmare hadn't answered yet._

The demonic animatronic's fangs were bared and his eyes were glaring viciously at Mike, but the man had seen it. It had lasted for the briefest of moments before the familiar visage of malice and cruelty had returned, but he had seen it.

Surprise. Doubt. Uncertainty.

And that was all Mike needed. He would never have the millennia of experience that Nightmare had in the art of war, but he didn't need it. Five years fighting battles within and battles without had been more than enough to teach him the fundamentals, including one of the most important ones.

When your enemy presents you with the slightest weakness, you tear that weakness open for all that it was worth and with everything you had.

Nightmare would not admit defeat so easily though. **"WHATEVER SINS YOU HAVE COMMITTED AGAINST THESE CHILDREN, REAL OR IMAGINED, IS IRRELEVANT,"** he growled. **"THAT DECISION IS ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, AND I WILL NOT WASTE MY TIME ARGUING THIS WHEN YOU WILL CLEARLY ARGUE IN THEIR FAVOR. IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT THOSE BRATS ARE GUILTY OF SLAUGHTERING INNOCENTS, NOR DOES IT CHANGE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING TO REDEEM THEMSELVES OF THEIR PAST."**

"We already established your first point was true," Mike growled, "so you can stop rubbing it in their faces. And as for the second part…"

He closed his eyes. "…you're wrong. I _have_ seen proof they've changed for the better. Not a few days ago…a thief broke into my house. A thief who wanted to rob me, a person who could have potentially hurt or killed me. The children had that thief entirely at their mercy, just like they had with the Night Guards at their mercy in 1993. If they were the same as they were back then, they would have killed him for sure. Stuffed in Lefty, or something just as bad." He suddenly smiled and opened his eyes. "But they didn't. They only did what they needed to make sure he wouldn't do anything, and nothing more. They learned that violence, whether it was to get revenge or to keep the people they care about safe, wasn't the right answer. They learned, and they changed for the better. If that's not a good start, then I don't know what is."

" _Dad…"_ was all Jeremy could say before he and the other ghosts were overwhelmed by their own emotions. They had placed their trust in a man whom they had never known, and they knew at that moment that every bit of faith and hope had been rewarded exponentially. There was no one who deserved their loyalty and love more than Mike.

"Besides," Mike's expression turned cold and he glared at Nightmare. "Even if they haven't acted out on their redemption properly," he suddenly sneered, "who the hell are _you_ to judge?"

Nightmare's eyes flashed menacingly. **"EXCUSE ME?"**

"You heard me," Mike replied scathingly. "You sure like to talk a lot about redemption for someone who doesn't have a goddamn clue what the hell they're talking about!"

" **YOU DARE…"** the demon snarled.

"Yes, I do," the man interrupted with a growl. "I don't know who the proper judge for these kids' redemption is. God, me, who knows. But it sure as fuck isn't you, a demon straight from the depths of Hell. I don't know exactly what you are, but I've read the Bible and played enough fantasy games to take a guess. Maybe you're a fallen angel who spat on his vows of loyalty to God and all that is good thousands of years ago. Or maybe you're a literal incarnation of evil itself born straight from the depths of Hell. I don't know, and I don't care. Either way, why the fuck would your opinion would even matter? It would be like asking a chronic drug addict for advice on how to get over a drinking problem, or asking an abusive parent for advice on how to raise kids!"

" **I HAVE DWELLED IN HELL FOR THOUSAND OF YEARS, MORTAL!"** Nightmare bellowed furiously. **"I UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF SIN BETTER THAN YOU OR THOSE BRATS EVER COULD!"**

"Yes, you do," Mike calmly replied. "Of _sin_. But sin and redemption aren't the same thing, are they? In fact, I'd go so far as to they say they're the exact opposite, or close to it. And the only people in Hell are the ones who don't have any regret for their crimes whatsoever, are they? Have you even so much as _talked_ to anyone who actually redeemed themselves in your entire life? My father understood redemption better in five minutes on a hospital bed than you ever could in a thousand years."

" _Wait, dad…"_ Susie interrupted in shock. _"You can't be talking about…"_

"That's right, Susie," Mike confirmed with a smile. "I didn't tell you this at the time, but I did see my old man one last time. And he apologized for everything he ever did to me. He wasn't a great man, not by any stretch of the imagination. But at some point, he turned into a good one." He turned his gaze at Nightmare. "And that alone makes him a better judge of redemption than you could ever be," he finished contemptuously.

" **GRRRRRRRRRR….."** Nightmare growled. He couldn't believe what was happening. Despite all the knowledge and tools that he had harnessed to try and break this family, a mere mortal was trying to seize control of the encounter. And somehow, he was _succeeding_.

"Besides, that's not the only thing you're wrong about," Mike had no intention of stopping now that he had the momentum. "Let's talk about my little vacation that you brought up. The one that you brought up and try to make these kids feel even worse about themselves. The one that cost me thousands of dollars?"

" **YOU CANNOT DENY THAT THIS VACATION WAS CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THEM,"** Nightmare snarled.

"Oh, I don't have any intention of denying it all," Mike responded. "But you made it sound like it was the biggest deal ever, another way they wronged me even after they got to know me."

" _But we did wrong you, dad…"_ Cassidy murmured guiltily. _"You lost that chance because of us."_

Mike shrugged. "There's plenty of ways for me to enjoy life now that I'm retired," he said nonchalantly. "But do you realize just how little I actually give a shit about that vacation? Do you know how little that money actually matters to me? I did the calculations. All the money I spent and would have spent? Less than 0.1% of the money I have in the bank. Remember, kids. I handed out 5000 dollars to Colm. What is 5000 dollars or even 10000 dollars, compared to the 5 million I currently have stocked up in the bank?"

The ghosts' eyes widened in realization, and Gabe and Fritz even facepalmed. Nightmare had been so brutal and ruthless in his accusation that they had completely forgotten just how rich Mike actually was. "And besides," the man continued with a smirk, "it's not like this was a one-time only thing and I'll never be able to try this ever again. There's always next summer, or the summer after that, or the summer after that. At my age, one year passes by like a blur. And besides all that, who said I only had to plan my vacations for the summer? There's four seasons, not just one. So at the end of the day, your big revelation really doesn't mean anything, does it?"

Nightmare's eyes blazed with fury as he realized that Mike had managed to somehow upstage him _yet again_. Already, he could see the fear and despair in most of the ghosts' eyes begin to fade, the darkness breaking under their adopted father's potent combination of logic, compassion, and surprising aggression. All of them…except for one.

" **AND WHAT ABOUT THE LITTLE AFTON BRAT?"** Nightmare sneered. **"HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY HER SINS? HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY HER TREACHERY?"**

"I don't have to justify anything," Mike retorted. "God already took care of that for me."

" **YOU CLAIM TO KNOW THE MIND OF GOD?"** the demon mocked. **"SUCH HUBRIS HAS LED TO THE DOWNFALL OF GREATER MEN THAN YOU."**

"I never said any such thing," Mike replied calmly. "But I know what I say is true. Because if God really _did_ think that her crimes were her own fault, Liz wouldn't be here. She'd be burning in Hell along with her father. But all those sins you mentioned…did she ever have a choice to begin with? She was driven insane by decades of isolation without being able to so much as talk to another person, and she was being corrupted by Afton's evil programming throughout every single one of those years. Who _wouldn't_ turn evil after that? He knew she didn't deserve to be sent down there, and no matter how many black truths and insults you hurl at my daughter, you can't do a goddamn thing to change that, _can you?_ "

" **YOUR WORDS ONLY RING TRUE FOR HER ACTIONS IN THE PIZZERIA WHERE THE FAZBEAR FRANCHISE MET ITS END,"** Nightmare countered. **"AND YOU HAVE SAID NOTHING TO ANSWER FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF HER BROTHER."**

Mike took another sad look at Liz, who still had her head buried between her knees in shame. He didn't know if what he was about to do with help. He didn't know if she could even hear what he was saying. But anything was better than doing nothing and watching her suffer. "I do have this to say," he said after several moments of thought. He turned to the other ghost kids. "You guys…I'm going to ask you a hard question. One that might even cause you some pain. But I'm doing it for a reason."

" _Do what you need to do, dad,"_ Gabe replied firmly.

"All right," Mike took a deep breath. "How long did it take for you to forget your families? How long before you started to forget their faces, what they looked like?"

"…" the ghosts were silent for several moments. They knew why Mike was asking them this. And if it would help to save a sister whose suffering was even worse than theirs, then every second of pain would be worth it.

" _It took me about 3 years,"_ Gabe finally answered. _"3 years before I forgot their faces, the sound of their voices, everything about my family disappearing as time passed."_

" _It only took me 2,"_ Jeremy added quietly. _"Then everything just faded into a blur."_

" _2 for me as well,"_ Susie agreed. _"I don't even remember their names anymore."_

" _I think I was only able to remember for 2 as well,"_ Fritz supplied, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

Cassidy was the last to speak. _"It only took me one,"_ she finished quietly.

"One to three years," Mike repeated. "One to three years before they forgot almost everything about their loved ones apart from the fact that they existed at all. And in only 1-3 years, their families' appearance wouldn't have changed much. Oh, kids grow up and adults might get a few more wrinkles, but their fundamental appearance would stay around the same in that short a time. But after _five_ years? Maybe even more? I've compared pictures of how I look as a teenager and as a young adult, and _I_ can barely recognize myself. How could anybody _possibly_ expect Liz to ever recognize her brother when he's a fully grown adult AND she hasn't had any type of legitimate human contact for at least half a decade?" his voice raised to a shout. "It's fucking impossible! You're judging her based on a standard that no human being could possibly hope to match!"

" **YET THE FACT REMAINS,"** Nightmare coldly growled. **"WHETHER IT IS BY ACCIDENT OR BY INTENT, HER BROTHER IS DEAD BECAUSE OF HER. A BROTHER WHO HAD AN ENTIRE LIFE AHEAD OF HIM, CUT SHORT BECAUSE OF HER ACTIONS."**

"Maybe so. But this wasn't a cold-hearted murder and betrayal, like you keep saying it was. This was a tragic accident and a series of mistakes that anyone could have made in her shoes. You twisted her actions into something completely out of proportion to what she actually did. Though maybe I shouldn't be surprised," Mike's eyes narrowed. "I bet demons like you just _love_ to corrupt the truth, don't you? Everything you said about them," he gestured towards the Fazbear ghost kids, "about her," he gestured towards Liz, whose head was still buried in her hands but was no longer sobbing as hard as she was before, "the fact that it might all be technically correct doesn't make it any less bullshit, and you know it!"

" **ENOUGH OF THIS!"** Nightmare suddenly roared. He ensnared Mike with the shadows and pulled him forward until the man was standing right in front of him. **"DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF TO BE MY SUPERIOR WITH YOUR WORDS AND YOUR LOGIC? YOU ARE STILL JUST A MERE MORTAL, FRAIL AND WEAK. YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO MY POWER, AND I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE! WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU, HELL ITSELF WILL WEEP AT YOUR SUFFERING AND YOUR DESTRUCTION!"**

But Mike didn't seem fazed by the demon's threat at all. Instead, he took everyone completely by surprise and started _laughing_.

"Is THAT it?" he mocked, throwing every bit of Nightmare's contempt right back at him. "You can't answer my arguments so you resort to threatening me? And with something so cliché and predictable as pain and death?" He let out another bark of derisive laughter. "I didn't give you the right amount of respect. I gave you _too much_. For all that you know about my kids, you don't know a _goddamn thing_ about me, do you? I've lived with pain and the threat of death for nearly a decade and a half. I didn't fear them as a kid, what the hell makes you think I'll fear them now? The important stages of my life have passed. I'm content with what I've accomplished. And if I die to keep them safe, then it's a death I'll gladly accept no matter how painful it is."

" **YOU THINK YOUR SACRIFICE WILL MEAN ANYTHING?"** Nightmare sneered. **"AFTER I HAVE DEALT WITH YOU AND CRUMBLED YOUR BONES TO ASH, WHAT WILL STOP ME FROM TURNING MY ATTENTION TO THEM ONCE YOU ARE OUT OF THE WAY?"**

"The same thing that's been stopping you since the very beginning," Mike shot back. "You don't have nearly as much power over these kids as you pretend to, do you? I could think of a thousand insults to throw at you, Nightmare, but I'll be the first to admit that stupid isn't one of them. You're cunning and crafty for someone who looks like a savage beast. You're good with words, but that's all you really have to hit them with. And the problem with words is that they'll only hurt my kids as much as they let them. If you really wanted to do some long-term damage, you wouldn't have wasted this much time with cheap talk. You would have just dealt with us and moved on with your day."

" **AND IF I WAS SIMPLY IN THE MOOD TO PLAY WITH MY FOOD BEFORE GOING IN FOR THE KILL?"** Nightmare countered. **"WHAT IF I WAS SIMPLY TOYING WITH ALL OF YOU THIS TIME, AND MY PATIENCE HAS FINALLY REACHED ITS END?"**

Mike gestured towards Liz and Mary. "You already _played_ with them," he pointed out. "And you didn't do anything to permanently hurt either of them. Why? You clearly don't have any moral issues with it. And for that matter, why are you bothering with all these shadows in the first place? Why not just grab me directly? Is it because your hands are filled with sharp claws that can accidentally kill me by tearing open my blood vessels or organs?"

 **"..."**

"It's because you can't, can you? At the end of the day, what do you really have to threaten us with? You can't touch them, and _maybe_ you can only kill me. But you're not going to do that, are you?" the man asked with a smirk. "Because if you kill me, their quest for redemption is technically complete. If you kill me, you _set them free_. So go ahead. I'm waiting."

Nightmare bared his fangs and dragged Mike even closer to him with the shadows. Then, to the ghosts' horror, his free hand began to burst into unholy flames. **"ARE YOU SO SURE ABOUT THAT?"** the demon hissed. **"ARE YOU SO CERTAIN THAT I CANNOT LAY A HAND ON YOU AND YOUR LITTLE CHILDREN? IS THAT YOUR FINAL SAY ON THE MATTER?"**

Mike matched Nightmare's gaze with all the contempt he could muster. "Rot in Hell," the man snarled.

The ghosts all cried out as Nightmare raised his flaming hand to annihilate the former Night Guard. Liz broke out of her despair and even tried to get to her feet to launch another attack, but more shadows wrapped around all of them, keeping them trapped and forcing them to watch. All the while, Mike glared straight into Nightmare's eyes, refusing to expose even the slightest hint of fear.

He had denied the demon his morals and his soul. He had denied the demon his fear. He wouldn't even give the creature the satisfaction of closing his eyes.

And until the very last bit of his endurance was spent, he wouldn't give Nightmare the satisfaction of hearing his screams.

And then, Nightmare began to do something completely unexpected.

/

A/N: This Nightmare arc is full of Cliffhangers, isn't it? :P And this chapter was surprisingly hard to write too.

Nightmare's psychological attacks were brutal and devastating, but they have weaknesses. Both in terms of the specifics, which Mike tore open one at a time, and in terms of the macro level too. There was no way anyone could ever beat Nightmare in physical or magical power. But a battle of words? That's a playing field which a normal human could win in. And Mike did exactly that.

Next chapter will be the big one. The one where all the secrets and answers to your questions will be revealed. Why did Nightmare even come to attack Mike's family in the first place, when in "A Legacy Laid to Rest" he was content to torture William Afton's soul for eternity? Why does his character seem so different compared to before? What exactly is the demon lord planning?

And why, as Mike pointed out, did he go for a psychological attack on the children in the first place when clearly he blows them all out of the water in terms of raw physical or magical power?

Everything will come to light next chapter. And all I'll say is that Nightmare's endgame...is not what you are expecting.


	24. Chapter 24 - Revelations and Revenge

A/N: This is one of the few chapters that I had planned for this fic from the very beginning. That's probably why I'm uploading it so soon. I should be studying for Friday's Neuro Exam instead, but eh, details. And procrastination. Lots of procrastination.

I hope it clears up a lot of things and questions that you might have. And I also hope that it takes you by surprise…maybe in more ways than one.

This time, I'll be implementing some _creative license_ on how Hell operates, with some very minor references to Dante's Inferno. So technically Christian themes, but mixed with some of my imagination.

I don't normally ask for reviews directly nowadays, but for this specific chapter I'd like to hear your thoughts. Will this chapter explain Nightmare's motivations in a satisfactory way? Is it a satisfying conclusion to his arc? This is the first time I've ever written a twist/revelation this big, and I would absolutely love to hear your opinions.

A quick answer to a Guest review – if I bring in other Nightmare animatronics, they will have only minor roles at most.

Chapter 24 – Revelations and Revenge

He began to laugh.

" **HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…."** The demon's laughter came slowly at first, then escalated into a deafening gale. **"HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! A HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

Nightmare snapped his fingers and the shadows entrapping Mike vanished, dropping him unceremoniously onto the floor. At the same time, all of the shadows ensnaring the ghostly children vanished as well and they stumbled forward, trying to catch their balance. The shadows surrounding them all lifted, revealing the living room with the hellfire barriers still burning. The terror in the children and the defiance in Mike quickly evaporated into total confusion.

What the hell was going on?

" **I HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS OF YEARS TORMENTING THE DAMNED OF THE PIT,"** Nightmare finally spoke after his laughter had subsided. **"THOUSANDS OF YEARS SURROUNDED BY MEWLING, PATHETIC WORMS WHO WERE ALL COWARDS AND FOOLS IN LIFE AND IN DEATH. TO FINALLY COME ACROSS A MORTAL WHO** ** _ISN'T_** **A SPINELESS MAGGOT, EVEN IN THE FACE OF HELL ITSELF…YOU HAVE NO IDEA JUST HOW TRULY** ** _REFRESHING_** **THIS IS."**

The demon grinned, and to everyone's surprise, the malice and cruelty seemed to have faded somewhat from the creature's expression, even though it didn't disappear entirely. **"THEY TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE A DIFFERENT KIND OF MORTAL ALTOGETHER, MIKE SCHMIDT,"** he continued. **"A CREDIT TO A WORTHLESS RACE. I DISMISSED IT AS MEANINGLESS RAMBLINGS AT THE TIME, BUT NOW I SEE THAT I HAVE THOROUGHLY UNDERESTIMATED YOU. AND I BELIEVE SOME CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER, AS YOU HAVE PUT UP A BETTER FIGHT AGAINST ME THAN MOST DEMONS COULD HOPE TO CLAIM. I WAS EXPECTING TO BE DEFIED. I WAS** ** _NOT_** **EXPECTING TO BE OUTSMARTED."**

"Wait, wait, wait, time the fuck out!" Mike suddenly interrupted. "I stood my ground. I defended these kids against everything you had to throw at them. You completely failed to break us apart, and now you're _laughing_ and _congratulating_ me?"

Nightmare only laughed harder at Mike's confusion. **"WHAT'S THE MATTER?"** he asked mockingly. **"DOES MY BEHAVIOR NOT MATCH YOUR EXPECTATIONS?"**

"No, it doesn't!" Mike yelled impatiently. "What the FUCK is going on? Why are you so happy when you clearly lost?!"

" **LOST, YOU SAY?"** Nightmare sneered. **"THE FACT THAT YOU ARE SO CONVINCED I HAVE LOST IS WHAT I FIND SO AMUSING. FOR ALL OF YOUR INTELLECT AND ANALYTICAL SKILL, THERE IS SO MUCH THAT YOU AND YOUR LITTLE BRATS DO NOT UNDERSTAND!"**

"Well then, I think we deserve a fucking explanation!" Mike shouted.

Nightmare's grin vanished and he pulled Mike forward to him with the shadows until they were staring at each other eye-to-eye. **"UNDERSTAND THIS, MORTAL,"** he snarled. **"UP UNTIL THIS POINT, I HAVE TOLERATED YOUR INSULTS AND YOUR DISRESPECT BECAUSE I WAS AMUSED BY YOUR DEFIANCE AND IMPRESSED BY YOUR LACK OF FEAR. BUT FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU SPEAK TO ME WITH SOME PROPER RESPECT. PERHAPS YOU RECALL THE LITTLE GIFT I LEFT YOUR YOUNGEST DAUGHTER?"** Cassidy shuddered and tried to shrink herself as Nightmare's gaze flickered to her briefly. **"THAT IS ONLY A FRACTION OF WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF. REMOVE YOUR INSOLENCE, OR I ASSURE YOU, I CAN DO PLENTY TO MAKE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY'S LIVES MISERABLE WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO TOUCH ANY OF YOU."**

Mike gritted his teeth but forced himself to remain silent. A cheap shot at Nightmare's pride was not worth causing any of his family any suffering, no matter how tempting it might be. "All right then," Mike forced himself to remain calm. "Would you _please_ tell us what the hell is going on?" His voice was dripping with a complete lack of sincerity that he didn't bother to hide, though fortunately Nightmare either didn't notice or didn't care.

" **THAT'S BETTER,"** Nightmare smirked. **"YOU SAY THAT I HAVE LOST, MORTAL. QUITE AN EASY ASSUMPTION FOR THE UNENLIGHTENED TO MAKE. AND YET, YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG.** ** _I_** **DID NOT LOSE.** ** _YOU_** **WON."**

The ghosts and Mike looked at each other, utterly baffled. _"There's a difference?"_ Fritz asked blankly.

" **INDEED,"** Nightmare continued. **"YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FAMILY OF GHOSTS STAYED LOYAL AND TRUE TO EACH OTHER, IN SPITE OF ALL THE DARK TRUTHS I HURLED AT YOU. YOU SECURED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT VICTORIES YOU WLL EVER ACHIEVE, AND BECAUSE YOU HAVE ACHIEVED THAT VICTORY…** ** _I_** **HAVE ACHIEVED VICTORY AS WELL."**

" _That…still doesn't make any sense…"_ Gabe muttered.

The demon sneered. **"OF COURSE IT DOESN'T. YOU ALL MADE THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT WAS ME AGAINST ALL OF YOU. AND IN A SENSE, THAT IS TRUE. BUT WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WAS EVER PLAYING THE SAME GAME?"**

The ghosts still looked completely confused, but realization flickered in Mike's and Mary's eyes. _"You had something else in mind from the very beginning,"_ Mary declared. _"Something that we couldn't possibly have known about."_

Nightmare grinned. **"YOU ARE STARTING TO REALIZE IT NOW, PUPPET GIRL. BUT YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND MY MOTIVATIONS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF HELL. SO ALLOW ME TO ENLIGHTEN YOU, AND YOU WILL FINALLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING."**

The ghosts and Mike looked at each other, not sure if this was a trap of some kind. **"COME, COME,"** Nightmare coaxed with a poisoned affability. **"THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL NOT HARM YOU, NOT IN AND OF ITSELF. I HAVE INDULGED IN DECEPTION WITHOUT DISHONESTY, AS YOU SO ELOQUENTLY DESCRIBED IT, MIKE SCHMIDT, BUT HAVE I OUTRIGHT LIED TO YOU OR YOUR GHOSTS ONCE THIS ENTIRE NIGHT? AND ALL THAT ASIDE, TO REVEAL THE FULL AND UNBLEMISHED TRUTH TO YOU ALL WOULD BE MY** ** _PERSONAL PLEASURE."_**

Mike carefully considered Nightmare's words. While he highly doubted that Nightmare was sharing this out of any goodness of heart, he couldn't find any trace of a lie in the demon's words. For whatever reason, Nightmare seemed genuinely interested in telling them the full truth. "All right," Mike answered. "Let's hear what you have to say."

" **EXCELLENT,"** Nightmare hissed. **"HELL IS THE AFTERLIFE OF ETERNAL TORMENT AND DESPAIR. THOSE DAMNED INTO THE ABYSS WILL SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY FOR THEIR CRIMES AND THEIR WICKEDNESS AT THE HANDS OF DEMONS SUCH AS MYSELF. THIS, YOU ALREADY KNOW. HOWEVER, CARRYING OUT THE SAME TORMENTS, HEARING THE SAME SCREAMS OF DESPAIR OVER AND OVER AGAIN, IT CAN BE SO INCREDIBLY** ** _TEDIOUS_** **!"** the demon snarled out the last word in frustration.

Despite everything that had happened tonight, Mike had to resist the urge to let out a small chuckle. The idea that even incredibly powerful and evil demon lords could still succumb to the universal enemy of boredom was just too absurd for him to ignore entirely.

" **IN ORDER TO KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE A LITTLE MORE..."** Nightmare searched for the right word, _"_ ** _INTERESTING,_** **SHALL WE SAY…WE ALLOW EACH AND EVERY DAMNED SOUL TO MAKE** ** _ONE_** **WAGER WITH THEIR DEMONIC TORMENTORS. A SINGLE WAGER THAT THEY ARE ALLOWED TO MAKE ONCE AT ANY POINT THROUGHOUT THEIR ETERNAL REST IN HELL, AND** ** _ONLY_** **ONCE."**

"And I'm guessing you screw over the poor schmucks who make these wagers, toss them straight back into the tortures even if they win them?" Mike asked in a deadpan tone.

" **ONE WOULD THINK THAT WE WOULD RENEGE ON OUR BARGAINS, BUT NO,"** Nightmare answered, taking all of them by surprise. **"WE HONOR THOSE DEALS TO THE LETTER. OTHERWISE, NO DAMNED SOUL WOULD EVER MAKE SUCH A WAGER, KNOWING THAT IT WOULD ONLY BE A LIE. A TRUE MASTER OF DECEPTION UNDERSTANDS THAT LIES ARE MEANINGLESS WITHOUT TRUTH, AFTER ALL. OF COURSE, SUCH VICTORIES ARE MEANINGLESS IN THE TIMELESS SPAN OF ETERNITY, BUT THAT DOESN'T PARTICULARLY MATTER TO THOSE WE TORMENT."**

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Okaaaaaaay…I'm following you so far. Are these all specific to each and every damned soul, or is it just some general format that everyone follows?"

" **THE FORMER AND THE LATTER BOTH,"** Nightmare replied. **"THE SPECIFIC WAGER IS UP TO THE DAMNED SOUL TO MAKE, BUT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE ONE AND THE SAME. THOSE WHO MAKE THEIR WAGERS AND WIN ARE ALLOWED ONE THOUSAND YEARS FREE OF TORTURE. IT IS SUCH AN EXCELLENT TOOL FOR SPREADING FALSE HOPE, AS SO MANY OTHERS ATTEMPT TO MAKE WAGERS OF THEIR OWN…AND PAY THE PRICE FOR THEIR FAILURE."**

" _What…What happens to those who fail?"_ Mary was almost afraid to know the answer. What could already be worse than eternal damnation?

 **"THERE ARE CERTAIN PROTECTIONS THAT HEAVEN GRANTS THE DAMNED, TO PREVENT US FROM TORTURING THEM BEYOND THE PUNISHMENT THEY ARE ALLOTTED,"** Nightmare explained. **"A GLUTTON'S PUNISHMENT IS LESS SEVERE THAN A MURDERER'S, A TRAITOR SUFFERS A MORE SEVERE PUNISHMENT THAN ONE CONSUMED BY RAGE, AND SO FORTH. THOSE WHO FAIL THEIR WAGERS FORFEIT THEIR PROTECTIONS FOR A THOUSAND YEARS INSTEAD. CAN YOU IMAGINE IT? A THOUSAND YEARS IN WHICH THE DEMONS OF HELL CAN INFLICT TORMENT UPON YOU HOWEVER THEY PLEASE, WITH NOT EVEN THE MOST BASIC OF PROTECTIONS LEFT TO DEFEND YOU? HEAVEN CAN DO NOTHING TO INTERFERE, AS THE DAMNED MADE THESE BARGAINS OUT OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL, AND FREE WILL CANNOT BE INTERFERED WITH IN ANY WAY."**

" _Why are you even telling us this?"_ Jeremy asked. But Mike's, Mary's, even Gabe's eyes…they all began to narrow. The pieces were beginning to fall into place, edging them ever closer to the revelation.

Nightmare noticed the change in their expressions. **"YOU ARE BEGINNING TO REALIZE IT, AREN'T YOU?"** he asked with a menacing chuckle. **"I WOULD NOT HAVE COME TO THIS HOUSE, TO THIS LITTLE FAMILY OF GHOSTS, UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES. I DO NOT DEAL WITH SOULS THAT ARE NOT MARKED OR AT LEAST NOT ON THE PATH TO DAMNATION, FOR TO DO SO WOULD BE A COMPLETE WASTE OF MY TIME AND EFFORT. BUT I WAS APPROACHED BY ONE OF THE DAMNED, ONE WHO HAD COME INTO MY CLUTCHES QUITE RECENTLY, AS A MATTER OF FACT. HE APPROACHED ME SOON AFTER HIS TORMENTS BEGAN, AND WANTED TO MAKE HIS WAGER. AN OFFER THAT, AS YOU WILL SOON SEE, WAS ONE THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN A FOOL TO REFUSE."**

Now the other ghosts were starting to come to the realization, and the tension in the room escalated even higher. Mike's expression was completely stone-faced as he asked his next question. "And what were the terms of the wager?"

" **IT'S QUITE SIMPLE,"** the demon explained. **"HE BELIEVED THAT IF YOU AND YOUR GHOST CHILDREN LEARNED THE TRUTHS AND SECRETS THAT HAD BEEN KEPT HIDDEN, INTENTIONALLY OR OTHERWISE, YOU WOULD TURN ON EACH OTHER AND TEAR YOUR LITTLE FAMILY APART FROM WITHIN. I, ON THE OTHER HAND, BELIEVED THAT SUCH A TACTIC WOULD FAIL TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE DESIRED, AND THUS OUR BARGAIN WAS STRUCK."**

The suspicion was growing ever stronger in the family's minds, but they had to hear it outright. They had to hear the truth. _"Who…who was the one who made that wager?"_ Mary asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nightmare did the equivalent of raising an eyebrow. **"WHO DO YOU THINK, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL? IT WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE ONE WHO HAD INITIATED YOUR TRAGEDY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!"**

And there it was. They had suspected it to be true with every detail, but hearing it out loud was still enough to overwhelm the ghost children regardless. _"Of course…"_ Gabe growled. _"Of course HE'D be the one behind this. OF FUCKING COURSE!"_

 _"Why can't he just leave us alone…"_ Susie murmured, then she shouted the same question with tears in her eyes. _"WHY CAN'T HE JUST LEAVE US ALONE?"_

" _Even in Hell, he still tries to find a way to ruin our afterlives!"_ Jeremy spat. _"A monster in life, in death, and in damnation!"_

" _There's no way Liz is related to him,"_ Fritz snarled, trying not to notice the way Liz flinched, _"there is no way our sister is related to that hateful piece of shit! How could that bastard do this to HIS OWN DAUGHTER?"_

" **YES…."** Nightmare hissed, drawing everyone's attention back to him. **"WILLIAM AFTON, SPRINGTRAP, YOUR MURDERER, CALL HIM WHAT YOU WILL. HE HAD HEARD OF THE FAMILY YOU HAD CREATED, AND JUST COULDN'T RESIST JUST ONE MORE ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE YET MORE SUFFERING AND TRAGEDY INTO YOUR EXISTENCES."**

 _"I truly am the daughter of a monster,"_ Liz thought as she tried to bury herself even deeper into her knees and covered her head with her hand and claw.

" _Wait a minute…"_ Mary interrupted. _"If you were his opponent in this wager, then why did you come here to…"_ her eyes flashed white in shock. _"…my God. It all makes sense now."_

" _What are you talking about, Mary?"_ Gabe asked.

" _I had noticed a fundamental flaw in Nightmare's plan of attack during Mike's counterattack,"_ Mary explained. _"His strategy of attacking us by revealing secrets and truths. It could have broken us apart, it is true, but it had a very significant weakness. If Nightmare's revelations failed to separate us, they would only strengthen our bonds and our family instead as we moved to defend each other, which is what actually happened. But now I see that this was never a flaw at all! Nightmare chose to do this entirely on purpose!"_

Nightmare grinned. **"QUITE THE INSIGHTFUL ONE, AREN'T YOU, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL? YOU ARE CORRECT. WE MAY HAVE BEEN ON THE SAME PLAYING FIELD, BUT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING I WAS PLAYING AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GAME, ONE WHICH WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO LOSE. IF I SUCCEEDED IN TEARING YOU APART, THEN I WOULD ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF EVIL ON EARTH. BUT IF I FAILED…MY "FAILURE" WOULD MEAN THAT I** ** _WIN_** **THE WAGER AGAINST WILLIAM AFTON, AND CAN TORTURE HIM TO MY CORRUPT, BLACK HEART'S CONTENT FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. MY VICTORY WAS SECURED FROM THE MOMENT OUR DEAL WAS STRUCK, AND THE ONLY VARIABLE LEFT WOULD BE WHETHER YOUR FAMILY WOULD BREAK OR ENDURE. AND NOW THAT EVENTS HAVE PLAYED OUT AS THEY HAVE…I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THE LOOK ON WILLIAM AFTON'S FACE ONCE HE LEARNS OF THE EVENTS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED HERE TODAY. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

As Nightmare let out another hurricane of demonic laughter, the ghosts suddenly noticed that throughout this entire revelation, Mike had been completely silent and unmoving as he took it all in. As the ghosts watched, Mike suddenly got up from his chair and walked a few steps to a corner of the room, where a small wooden side table was perched. He stood there, looking down at the small table, for several seconds, completely still.

" _Mike?"_

" _Dad?"_

 **"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"**

With a roar of rage, Mike raised his fist and swung it down on the table. The ghosts all recoiled in shock as his fist slammed into the table, and their shock and fear only increased when the force of Mike's blow ended up _smashing_ it to pieces. By now, Nightmare had stopped laughing, and had his attention turned to Mike along with the rest of the ghosts. Mike whirled around to face all of them, and as he did so, the ghosts realized they had made a critical misconception about their father.

From the moment they had met him up until this moment, most of the ghosts had believed Mike to be a person fundamentally incapable of genuine hatred. And it was easy to see why. The man had offered 5000 dollars to a man who had tried to break into his house, welcomed several ghost children into his home who had tried to murder him for 20 days straight, and even forgiven a father who had brutally abused him for 6 years and turned his childhood into a personal hell. Only the Marionette had seen a glimpse of his inner darkness at times, and even then it had been the barest traces that Mike had kept chained deep within him.

But now they understood. Now, they realized that Mike's capacity for patience and forgiveness was simply higher than the average person's. Formidable…but not infinite.

And that benevolence had finally reached its end.

There was no kind light in Mike's eyes. The compassion, the good humor, the loving father…the characteristics that the ghosts had come to equate with Mike were nowhere to be seen. If the Purple's Guy's face as he had killed them all had been one of malicious cruelty and sadism, then Mike's face now…was the face of pure hatred. Hatred, a rage as black as death, and the promise of unholy vengeance. Mary seriously started to wonder if Mike did have some supernatural essence after all. The levels of hatred and rage coming from the man right now couldn't possibly be human.

" **I've had enough of this!"** Mike snarled, and the ghosts flinched at how utterly _demonic_ his voice sounded. Even Nightmare couldn't hide his surprise at the sudden transformation that Mike had undergone in the span of a few seconds. He had dealt with the fiery, more primal parts of his rage through the destruction of his table, exactly as he had planned, and now the cold, controlled part of his wrath were left. Somehow, a Mike in complete control of his fury managed to terrify the ghosts even more than a Mike who had lost control of his fury. **"I've had enough of that worthless bastard creating more tragedy and despair with everything he touches! I've had enough of that** ** _mongrel_** **trying to ruin these kids,** ** _including his own daughter_** **, in life and in death! And I'm going to make him** ** _pay_** **for this,"** he growled. "William Afton wanted to see the monster inside me. I think it's time I give him what he asked for."

Mike turned straight to Nightmare. "Remind me again," he requested in a voice that made it perfectly clear to everyone that he already knew the answer, "what was the penalty for losing the wager to you?"

Nightmare looked at him approvingly. He had already held a higher opinion of Mike Schmidt than he did for most mortals, and seeing the man's darkness in full view was raising that respect even more. **"HE CAN NO LONGER ENJOY THE MINIMAL PROTECTIONS THAT HEAVEN GRANTS TO THE DAMNED,"** he repeated. **"HE WILL SUFFER THE FULL EXTENT OF MY CRUELTY FOR THE NEXT THOUSAND YEARS. SOMETHING THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO A GREAT DEAL INDEED."**

"As I thought," Mike replied, with all the calm of a grave right before the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. "And I was wondering…since you're going to be torturing Afton however the fuck you want for the next thousand years, would you mind if I throw in some… _personal suggestions_...to your to-do list?"

Every ghost gasped in horror, but Mike and Nightmare completely ignored them. **"I HAVE NEVER ONCE DEIGNED TO HEED THE WORDS OF A MERE MORTAL,"** Nightmare sneered. Then, a grin began to spread across his face, revealing his razor-sharp fangs. **"BUT FOR YOU, MIKE SCHMIDT, FOR YOU, I BELIEVE I WILL MAKE AN EXCEPTION. YOU HAVE PROVED TO ME THAT YOU DESERVE IT."**

" **Good…"** Mike hissed menacingly. It had to be a trick of the light, a glare from the fiery barriers blocking their escape, but to the ghosts, it seemed that Mike's eyes were glowing with the full force of his hatred. "Henry Emily was the one who finally put William Afton down into the grave. Now, I'm going to be one to finish what he started. And this time," he spat with as much venom as possible, " _this time_ , I'm going to make sure that what's left of that worthless fucker's soul _stays down_. Now… **and forever."**

Nightmare grinned at his words, and for the first time, the grin wasn't the familiar one of malice and contempt, but of genuine respect and understanding. Somehow, that one expression terrified the ghosts more than the predatory baring of fangs that he had displayed throughout the entirety of their encounter. Mike's own lips stretched into a smile, a twisted mockery with a level of cruelty that the ghosts hadn't even thought possible. A glimpse into the monster that Mike could have become, if he had lived to succumb to his inner darkness instead of defying it with every breath. He looked straight at Nightmare and spoke three words. Three words that the ghosts had never thought they would hear him speak, and prayed that they would never hear him speak again.

" **Make him suffer."**

/

Whoo boy, this chapter was a doozy, wasn't it? I hope I took all of you completely by surprise, and I think I did judging by how none of the reviews figured out the truth. And boy, do I have a lot to talk about in this post-chapter A/N.

I took two major tropes, one of which is a general trope and one of which is specific to FNAF, and twisted them for all that they were worth in this fic. When was the last time you read a fic in which the Devil winning a Deal with the Devil scenario turned out to be a GOOD thing for the good side? And when was the last time you read a FNAF fic where _Mike Schmidt_ was the source of the horror?

One reader noted a few chapters back how Nightmare was helping Mike and the ghosts bond by removing all of the secrets, whether he knew it or not. Oh, he knew all right. He knew, and now you see why he didn't care. He was pulling a Xanatos Gambit (a plan that yields a victory regardless out of the outcome) the entire time.

There have been hints at Dark!Mike that I have dropped in the past, and now Mike has fully unleashed his inner darkness to get his vengeance on William Afton. Did you think he was joking when he made his threat of revenge to Colm? He was completely serious, and that was to a man who had good intentions at his core, who he had no personal issue with, and who could only potentially cause indirect problems for his ghost children. This was a direct, deliberate, and spiteful attack by William Afton to cause his children harm. Mike already despised William Afton even _before_ he learned that the child murderer had more or less sent Nightmare on them. His revenge is going to be brutal as it is terrifying. I honestly don't know if the ghosts are more terrified of Nightmare or if they are more terrified of Dark!Mike. It's definitely a hard comparison to make, especially when they describe his fury and tone of voice as demonic when they're _literally standing right next to a demon._

One potential issue I foresee that people might have is how I might have invoked Karma Houdini or Easily Forgiven for Nightmare, considering how polite Mike was to Nightmare towards the end. And here's what I have to say:

There is literally _nothing_ Mike or his family can do to punish Nightmare. Both the Marionette and Liz/Scrap Baby got curb-stomped by him, and if they couldn't do crap then nobody else will. But Mike CAN get revenge on William Afton for sending Nightmare to them in the first place. He can, and you can bet _he will._

Mike doesn't like Nightmare, not at all. The demon spent the night mentally tormenting his kids (particularly Liz). But no matter how much he might disdain Nightmare, his negative feelings towards the demon are nothing, absolutely NOTHING compared to the hatred he has for William Afton in light of this revelation. And if getting his revenge and justice on behalf of his new family means that he has to "play nice" with Nightmare for a few minutes, then that's a price he's willing to pay.

One final thing to note. Mike is NOT selling his soul or making a deal to make his torture suggestions. Nightmare is accepting them entirely for free as a sign of respect.

The immediate threat is finally over, but Mike and the children (especially the children, and ESPECIALLY Liz) still have to recover from the events of the arc. But that's for the future, starting with the next chapter.

I hope this chapter brought a satisfying conclusion to Nightmare's arc. And I hope, as always, that you guys enjoyed!


	25. Chapter 25 - Picking Up the Pieces

A/N: You guys seemed to really enjoy the plot twist I came up with for the end of Nightmare's arc. That makes me so very happy to hear, thank you all! :D

Nightmare's threat has passed, the demon lord's shadow gone from the family at last. But he's left quite the mark on the little ghost children, and now it's time for them to deal with the legacy that Nightmare has left behind.

Rebiele: to clarify, Nightmare was NOT making a win-win situation for both himself and the ghosts. He was only making sure that HE would win. Whether or not the family stayed strong or broke apart was not his concern.

The children themselves have kind of been out of focus ever since Nightmare started his attack. I think it's time we switched our attention back to them, wouldn't you agree? Specifically on Liz (for obvious reasons) and, this might surprise you, but also on Gabe. I always interpreted Gabe to be the "leader" of the kids after Mary since Freddy was the "leader" of the animatronics, even though I don't think there's any direct evidence supporting this, but it makes sense. And this chapter will show you why.

Chapter 25 – Picking Up the Pieces

The room was in complete silence as the ghosts looked uncertainly at each other. Mike and Nightmare had moved to the kitchen after the demon lord deactivated the fire barriers, Mike utterly refusing to traumatize his children with the details no matter how enraged he might be at William Afton. They didn't hear anything for several moments, and then they heard Nightmare laugh in the kitchen, promising that he would use every single suggestion Mike had presented to **"DRAIN EVERY DROP OF AGONY AND DESPAIR FROM AFTON FOR THE NEXT THOUSAND YEARS."** They could hear a rush of flame, and then a few seconds later, Mike came back alone.

One look at the children gathered around him, and Mike was already beginning to regret exploding into rage the way he had. Not because he cared about William Afton – he didn't give the slightest shit about what happened to the man now that he had lost his malevolent wager. But he could see it in the ghosts' eyes – they were terrified. Not just because of Nightmare, or even the revelation that William Afton had tried to torment them from the depths of Hell. That fear and terror was because of _him_ , and how monstrous he could become if he let his dark side run rampant. Mike felt guilt gnaw at his insides as the children waited nervously for him to say something. He was a terrible father if his own children feared him.

"He's gone," Mike declared, and all the ghosts breathed out a sigh of relief. "Nightmare's gone. He won't bother us anymore." He sat down heavily on the couch and began to groan loudly. "Urrrrrrrgggghhhhh…."

" _Dad?"_ Cassidy asked worriedly. _"Are you all right? What's wrong?"_

"I was running on a giant adrenaline rush the entire time," Mike muttered in reply. "The rush is over now that Nightmare's out of here, and I just feel so…goddamn…tired…gah."

" _You need rest, Mike…"_ Mary insisted, _"and you need it now."_

" _Yeah dad, you should get some sleep,"_ Jeremy agreed. _"You definitely deserve it."_

"You're probably right," Mike admitted. "I might need some help getting up the stairs though. Liz, Mary, would you mind helping me get up to my room?"

" _Of course,"_ Mary agreed, and Liz nodded her willingness to help. The Marionette put her shoulder under Mike's and lifted him up, while Liz did the same. Mike barely registered the fact that Liz seemed a lot stronger while in her Scrap Baby form as the two of them carried Mike up to his bedroom between them. Mike sighed heavily as he leaned back onto his bed.

"I'm sorry…" he suddenly said to Liz.

The ghost looked up at him in confusion. _"What?"_

"I'm sorry," Mike repeated, his tone laden with regret. "Mary and I…we both knew that you killed your brother from the beginning. But when you came here…you were going through a horrific depression worse than anything I'd ever been through. We kept that part of your past hidden from you because we didn't want you to break completely."

" _It's my fault…"_ Mary interrupted. _"Mike wanted to tell you sooner rather than later, but I thought it would be better to wait until you had gotten better and been a part of the family for longer,"_ she sighed. _"Mike warned me that I would regret waiting too long…but I didn't think that something like this could possibly happen."_

Liz shook her head and looked down. _"It's not your fault,"_ she replied quietly. _"I'm not blaming either of you for this. The only person who deserves to suffer for what I did to my brother…is me."_

Mike felt his heart sink. He had hoped that his challenge against Nightmare earlier would be enough to rouse Liz out of the despair that the demon had caused, but either she'd been too absorbed in her own grief and missed it entirely, or it just hadn't been enough.

" _I…I knew I was a monster,"_ Liz continued, her voice cracking. _"I just didn't know how…how much of a monster I actually was."_

Mary's eyes glowed and she scanned Liz briefly. _"You're not a monster,"_ she firmly asserted. _"We told you this before, and we'll say it again. Your ability to transform into Scrap Baby isn't evil or corrupting by its nature. It's simply a power you possess, to use however you wish."_

Liz shook her head. _"That's not what I mean. I murdered and betrayed the only person in my old family who cared about me. What…what kind of person am I? I feel like every time I use my regular human form I'm just lying to myself and everyone around me about who and what I really am!"_

Mike didn't have an answer to that. He'd had no idea just how badly her mental state had been shattered ever since she'd been freed from her corruption. Hell, he hadn't even understood what the core problem was until now.

Scrap Baby. It wasn't just the animatronic that Liz had possessed and become. Only now could he see that to her, it was a representation of every evil act she'd ever done, corrupted or otherwise, and everything she hated about herself. And she couldn't separate herself from it, no matter how much she wanted to. Even her very voice had transformed from her original English-accented one to Baby's American one in her new form, something that Mike hadn't noticed until just now.

" _I wanted to see him,"_ Liz whispered brokenly, black ichor welling in her robotic green eyes. _"More than anything, I wanted to see Mikey again. But now…why would he come near me? He must hate me almost as much as he hates my old dad."_

" _Those were Nightmare's words,"_ Mary gently tried to comfort her, _"words that have no basis in fact. I would not trust what the demon says no matter how quote-on-quote honest he claims to be."_

Liz tried to wipe away her tears with her arm, though the black streaks kept flowing regardless. _"I don't know what to do. I don't know how I can move on from this,"_ she looked up to her father desperately. _"Dad…what do I do?"_

Mike could only look at her sadly. Throughout his entire life, it had been incredibly rare for him to feel truly helpless. He'd always prided himself on planning the important parts of his life out, taking control of every situation as best he could and trying to get the best possible outcome. But now, as his adopted daughter wept in front of him…he hadn't felt this helpless since his father had beaten him as a child. He didn't know what to do, any more than she did. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't hide the truth from her, not now. Not after everything had gone so disastrously wrong the last time.

"I don't know, Liz…" he confessed, hating the fact that he had to admit defeat. "I don't know…"

Liz's shoulders slumped and she looked down despondently at the ground. There was a time when Mary had thought that she would never look at Scrap Baby with anything other than hatred or revulsion. She'd never wanted to be proven wrong like this. _"I don't blame you for that, either."_

Mike tried to say something, but he felt a burst of pain and exhaustion erupt in his head. "Arrrrggghhhh…" he growled. Mary immediately rushed over to help get him more comfortable, and Liz decided to leave. Her father deserved better than to be burdened with problems that were her fault to begin with.

She silently floated over to her room and sat down, leaning back into the opposite wall. Her tears started to silently flow again as she slumped down to the floor.

" _You shouldn't have saved me, Mikey…"_ she mumbled. She raised her claw and stared at it for a moment with utter loathing, and then lowered it to the ground. _"You should have just left me to rot in the dark. You deserved your life, your freedom, more than I ever did. Monsters like Springtrap, like me…pain and death are the only things we deserve."_

" _You don't deserve either of those any more than we did."_

Liz recognized the voice almost immediately, though she was surprised to hear it. _"Gabe…"_

" _Do you mind if I join you?"_ Gabe asked. Liz wordlessly gestured towards the spot next to her, which Gabe took as an invitation to sit down. He floated over to Liz and sat down. _"It's been a rough night, hasn't it?"_

The words were spoken in a light-hearted tone, but Liz could hear the concern and worry in his voice regardless. _"Yeah…"_

Neither of them said anything for several seconds. And then, Liz suddenly started speaking. _"I remember…when I first came here. You and Jeremy…neither of you really trusted me. You didn't know for sure that I wasn't like Springtrap."_

"…"

Liz lowered her head into her knees. _"You…you were right about me,"_ she whispered. _"You were both right about me from the beginning."_

" _No, I wasn't,"_ Gabe answered so forcefully that Liz looked up at him in surprise. _"I was completely wrong. I was so wrong, it would almost be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. We were sent here to better ourselves, and yet I keep making the same goddamn mistake again and again!"_

" _What mistake?"_ Liz's curiosity briefly overrode her despair.

" _Ever since I died, I kept putting the Purple Guy's actions on other people's heads,"_ Gabe explained. _"It's the same mistake that killed so many innocent Night Guards, it's the same mistake that nearly got our dad killed…and it's the same mistake I made with you."_ He shook his head. _"Fritz was always the joker who never took anything seriously, but he was more mature about this than I ever was. It shouldn't have taken you literally trying to attack a demon for me to realize this!"_

He looked straight into Liz's eyes. _"I remember something you said to us, back when we were looking through those pictures of Dad's past. You said you wouldn't judge us for anything we did to Dad back at the pizzeria. Do you remember that?"_ he asked.

Liz nodded almost imperceptibly. _"Yeah…that hasn't changed. Especially not after…what happened tonight."_

" _Then I don't care about anything you did in the past,"_ Gabe asserted. _"I don't care about anything you did at that last pizzeria when you looked like this, and I don't care about the fact that you accidentally killed your brother when you had no idea what was going on."_

He took a deep breath. _"I care about what you do in the here and now, Liz. I care about the fact that tonight, when Nightmare grabbed Dad, you were the ONLY person brave enough to try and stop him."_

Liz shook her head. _"It's not like that even mattered in the end,"_ she muttered. _"Nightmare had something entirely different planned. He was never going to harm Dad to begin with."_

" _But you didn't know that, Liz!"_ Gabe interjected. _"You didn't know any of that at the time, none of us did! As far as we knew, Nightmare was going to kill Dad or horribly torture him, and you tried to save him! You tried to do the right thing while the rest of us just sat back and watched! Isn't that the definition of being a hero?"_

" _What? I'm not a hero!"_ Liz protested. Gabe was calling _her_ a hero? The idea was almost laughable, when she was the exact opposite. _"I'm not even close to one!"_

" _You were braver and better than any of us were tonight,"_ the Freddy inhabitant gently interrupted her. _"That's a fact. And it wasn't just Nightmare you were afraid of, were you?"_

"…"

" _You were afraid of us,"_ Gabe vocalized what they both knew to be true. _"You were afraid that if we saw this, we'd hate you. That we'd only see what the Purple Guy tried to turn you into and throw you out of our family."_

" _...I wasn't just trying to hide this from you,"_ Liz admitted wearily. _"I was trying to hide it from myself, too. I was trying to hide the truth about what I am from everyone around me."_

Gabe shook his head. _"I might have been freaked out a bit if you had shown this to us earlier, without Nightmare stealing the show, but I can't really blame you for that."_ He sighed. _"I'd have probably done the same if I were you. And the truth? The truth is that appearances and reality don't have anything to do with each other. Dad was still a teenager when he did his shift at Freddy's, but survived for 20 days in a Hell that killed people years older than him in 3. We're a bunch of ghosts that were secretly inside those animatronics for decades. Nightmare acted like he wanted to break us apart, but he had something entirely different planned from the beginning. And you?"_ He looked straight in Liz's eyes. _"You're the hero who tried to save Dad from a demon lord. You just look a little creepier right now than the princess or the knight in shining armor that you usually hear about in most fairy tales."_

" _That's the understatement of the century,"_ Liz muttered, but Gabe could see that she didn't seem quite as depressed as she had been seconds earlier. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, eager to keep the momentum he had gathered going.

" _Liz…I might not have trusted you when you first came here, and that was before I knew you could turn into this. But now?"_ he smiled reassuringly. _"I trust you completely. I'd trust you with my life if I still had one. Any doubts I had about you died the moment you attacked Nightmare with your claw."_

Liz sniffed. _"You saw what Nightmare showed me. You saw how I murdered and betrayed Mikey. How can you trust me after seeing that? Do I even deserve to be a part of a family anymore?"_

" _Do we deserve to have Mike as a Dad when we tried to kill him as a teenager over and over again?"_ Gabe countered firmly. _"You have more of a right to be here than any of us ever did, except for maybe Mary. And like I told you before, I don't give a damn about anything you did before you came here. And I don't care whether or not Mikey thinks you deserve to be his sister or not. Because after what I saw tonight, one thing I can say for sure…is that I'm honored to call you mine."_

Before Liz could say anything, Gabe leaned forward and wrapped her tightly in a hug. Liz sat there stunned for several seconds, and then after a seeming eternity, she closed her eyes and returned her adoptive brother's embrace. As she wrapped her left arm around him, tears began to flow from her cheeks again in earnest, but for the first time that night, the emotion behind them was something brighter than despair.

" _It'll be all right, Liz…"_ Gabe comfortingly reassured her. _"Everything will be all right. Everyone here cares about you. You're one of us now, and you always will be."_

Liz was still too overcome with emotion to say anything, overwhelmed by the fact that the ghost she thought would hate her the most had done the exact opposite. Gabe let go of his hug and got to his feet. _"I've gotta go. I've got a lot to talk about with the rest of the guys, and I can't stay around as much as I want to. Nightmare wasn't nearly as harsh towards us as he was to you, but there's still a lot of things we need to deal with, and there's no way in Hell that I'm gonna add our problems to yours."_ He pat her lightly on the shoulder. _"Get some rest, Liz. You deserve it the most out of all of us."_

He started floating towards the door. _"Gabe…"_

Gabe stopped and turned around to look at Liz. The tears were still there, but for the first time that night Liz was genuinely smiling, and he could see the warmth and gratitude even through Scrap Baby's grotesque mask. _"Thank you."_

He returned the smile with one of his own. _"You're welcome,"_ he breathed, and then he was gone. Liz decided to take her brother's advice and slowly closed her eyes, despite her fears over what tortuous visions and horrific nightmares she would face in the wake of Nightmare's cruelty. But it seemed the night had some mercy left after all. There would be nothing to torment her in the world of dreams.

/

Gabe wearily floated down the stairs and back down to the living room. After Liz and Mary had helped Mike up to his room and neither had returned, he'd decided to go up and see how they were doing. Fritz had wanted to be the one to check on Liz, probably cause they had always been very close to each other, but something in Gabe's mind had urged him to be the one instead. Considering what had just happened, he was very glad he'd followed his instincts.

The other ghosts were waiting for him when he returned. _"Are they all right?"_ Susie asked immediately.

Gabe nodded. _"Dad's gone off to sleep right now, and Mary's taking care of him. Liz..."_ he struggled to find the right words. _"…she's in a rough spot, to put it lightly. I think she's doing as good as we can expect, though."_

" _Guess that's the best we can hope for, then,"_ Jeremy muttered.

" _Yeah…"_ Gabe sat down, and then he looked up at everyone's faces. _"Before we start talking, I have to ask…does anybody here blame Dad for everything that's happened because he set the animatronics' AIs to zero?"_

Every single ghost looked both horrified and insulted at the question. _"How could you even ASK us that?"_ Susie exclaimed as though Gabe had spit in her face.

" _You saw what Nightmare showed us!"_ Jeremy added vehemently. _"All the innocent people we killed. You said it yourself, Gabe. We NEEDED to be stopped, and Dad was the one to stop us. None of this was ever his fault."_

" _Only an ungrateful little shit would hate on Dad after everything he's done for us,"_ Fritz snapped. _"I know why you brought the question up, Gabe, but if you ever ask us anything like that again, I swear to God I'll beat the everloving crap out of you!"_ The look on his face made it abundantly clear that he wasn't joking.

Gabe sighed in relief. _"Okay…"_ he replied, _"I just had to make sure, you know? Anyway…we've got a lot to talk about, don't we? About what Nightmare showed us?"_

" _Yeah…"_ Jeremy agreed. _"Nightmare might have tried to screw with the truth, like Dad kept saying, but that doesn't make what he said about us wrong. We did kill a lot of people, and we haven't done a damn thing to show that we've gotten better."_

" _It's even worse when you look at the other two ghosts living with us,"_ Susie added. _"Remember, Mary and Liz never attacked Dad at all so they don't owe him nearly as much. Mary's had an entire year to help out Mike whenever he needed it, and Liz literally attacked a freaking demon for him! What have we done?"_ she lowered her head in shame. _"Nothing."_

Gabe nodded. _"You're right, Sus. And we need to change that. Nightmare told us that we should have gone out of our way to help Mike with his life. And as weird as it sounds to agree with a demon, I think we should do just that._

" _How do we do that, though?"_ Cassidy asked. _"Dad's pretty much always done his own thing, and he seems pretty happy with himself. It doesn't seem like there's much we can help with him."_

" _He always does his own thing,"_ Gabe repeated. _"There's your answer, Cass. He always makes his own meals, does the laundry, cleans the rooms, he does all of that by himself. Before, he didn't have a choice. But now…"_

"… _now we can do that for him, instead,"_ Fritz finished. _"Holy crap, Gabe, that's perfect!"_

" _Dad's not getting any younger,"_ Jeremy added. _"Just imagine how much easier his life would be if he didn't have to take care of the entire house by himself. He'd be so happy!"_

" _We can't let Dad know why we're doing this, though,"_ Gabe interrupted them. _"Otherwise, he'd try and stop us."_

" _I'm more than happy to help, but what about Mary and Liz?"_ Susie asked. _"Should we tell them about what we're gonna do tomorrow?"_

" _Oh, hell no!"_ Fritz growled. _"They've already done PLENTY tonight! Neither of them need to do jack shit, as far as I'm concerned!"_

Gabe raised a hand to calm his friend down. _"I don't think it's that simple, Fritz. For Mary, sure. But it's more complicated for Liz."_

" _The hell do you mean?"_ the Foxy inhabitant asked impatiently.

" _Well, from what I can tell, Liz has always been kind of a daddy's girl. I don't mean that as a bad thing,"_ he quickly clarified, as Fritz bristled at what he probably thought was an insult. _"It's not a good or bad thing by itself. Yeah, it was the reason why Liz tried to follow the Purple Guy and be another child murderer, but it's also the reason why she fought a freaking demon to save Dad."_

" _Well, the difference is that Dad deserves that kind of love and the Purple Guy definitely doesn't,"_ Susie commented.

" _True, but you're missing the point,"_ Gabe interrupted. _"The point is that she'll do some extreme things, both good and bad, to keep whoever she sees as her Dad happy or safe. Don't you think she'll see something like cleaning the dishes as easy in comparison, and something she'll do whether we ask her to or not?"_

Fritz's anger visibly deflated. _"True…"_ he admitted.

" _And another thing,"_ Gabe added. _"She kept that whole Scrap Baby transformation thing hidden from us cause she thought we'd hate her for it. She's hidden it pretty well up until now, but I think she was afraid we'd kick her out of the family or at the very least stay away from her. Obviously, that's a load of bullshit, but if we stop her from helping us out tomorrow, how do you think she's going to interpret that?"_

Fritz's eyes widened as he realized what Gabe was saying. _"Fuck…"_ he muttered. _"Still doesn't feel right asking her to help with chores after all the crap that happened to her tonight."_

Gabe shook his head. _"Well, we don't have to ask her to do anything. All I'm saying is that if she wants to help out, don't stop her from joining."_

" _That sounds good to me,"_ Fritz replied, and all of the other ghosts made similar noises of agreement.

" _It sounds like we all agree on the same things, then,"_ Gabe commented. He looked around at the other ghosts with a determined gaze. _"Dad welcomed us into this house and gave us all a family,"_ he declared. _"It's time for us to show that we deserve it. We owe it to God, we owe it to the ones who finally freed us, we owe it to every Night Guard we ever attacked or killed…_

He closed his eyes, _"…and we owe it to Dad."_

/

This took me quite a long time to write for quite a few reasons, not the least of which was because my WiFi decided to fuck off and die at the absolute worst time. Cause that's always fun.

Liz really needed a goddamn break after the mountain-load of crap I put her through in Chapter 22. I could have had Mary be the one to comfort Liz in her room instead of Gabe, but I thought Gabe was the better choice. Remember, he and Jeremy didn't initially trust Liz when she first came into the family, while Mary did. I think the scene has more of an emotional impact if the person comforting Liz was someone who didn't trust her at first, but definitely does now. But maybe that's just me.

Even though her connection with Baby isn't evil or corrupting anymore, you can imagine why Liz is _really_ not happy about it. Yeah, her "physical" strength (aka ability to interact with the physical world) is much stronger when she's Scrap Baby, but that doesn't really make her feel better about it all. She was probably hoping that God would get rid of every trace of Baby entirely while He de-corrupted her, but He didn't. There are reasons for that. Both in the past…and in the future. But that's for later down the road.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	26. Chapter 26 - Returning the Favor

A/N: Happy Easter and Happy April Fools' Day, guys! Do you like Heartwarming? Do you like Horror? Well, you're about to get plenty of both this chapter! And ironically enough, this is not an April Fool's joke. Or an April Fool's chapter. RIP.

To answer some questions from reviewers:

Mike's mansion is somewhat isolated from most of the town, so the chances of someone seeing a "self-moving" lawnmower are pretty low. And the chores they plan to do are going to be inside the house, anyway. As for making robot bodies, Mike might be a retired robotics engineer, but he doesn't have the materials to pull off that kind of thing, even with his workshop factored into account.

BlazingGroudon There's actually some hidden background info. in FNAF6's Insanity Ending that suggests that there's something called Remnant smeared on the animatronics that was the real reason why the souls of the kids, Charlotte, Elizabeth, and William Afton were trapped in them. It's also implied to be the reason why Michael Afton was stuck as a living corpse. Either way, I'm going under the assumption that only the original animatronics were smeared in Remnant, so there won't be any other Night Guard ghosts lingering around. And as for Nightmare possibly trying to corrupt Mike, I'll address that topic later in this chapter.

Warning: Torture. Cause Hell.

Chapter 26 – Returning the Favor

" _Pssttt…Cassidy! Cassidy, wake up!"_

" _Hnnnnggghhh…"_ Cassidy mumbled in protest, still half-asleep.

" _Cassidy, wake up!"_ Susie insisted, this time a bit more loudly. _"We have to make breakfast for Dad, remember?"_

Cassidy's eyes shot open. _"Oh crap, you're right!"_ she got to her feet. _"We've got to hurry before Dad wakes up!"_ The two of them quickly floated through the floor and down into the kitchen. Susie flipped open her laptop. _"What are we making?"_

Susie shrugged. _"I figured we should probably do something nice and simple,"_ she replied. _"The more complicated we try to make this, the more likely we're going to mess it up. Especially since we can't taste what we're trying to make. Eggs, sausage, and pancakes sound good?"_

" _Yeah, that works,"_ Cassidy agreed. _"But I don't know how to cook anything!"_

" _Eh, it can't be that hard,"_ Susie assured her. _"Just get the things out of Dad's fridge so I can get started."_

As Cassidy opened the fridge and started rummaging, Susie started looking up directions on how to cook breakfast. As she read through them to make sure she understood, she could sense another ghost enter in the vicinity.

" _Hey guys…"_ Liz's voice greeted them. She as back in her human form by now, but she still looked and sounded incredibly tired. It wasn't hard for either Susie or Cassidy to guess why. _"What're you doing this early?"_

" _We're making breakfast for Dad,"_ Susie explained. _"The whole mess with Nightmare showed us that we really haven't done anything to thank Dad for everything he's done for us, and we're gonna fix that. Jeremy, Fritz, Gabe, us, we all decided that we were gonna start helping Dad out with the stuff that he needs to deal with every day."_

" _You didn't tell Mary or me about this though?"_ Liz asked.

" _Mary spent a good chunk of the night taking care of Dad last night, and you tried to fight a demon for him,"_ Cassidy replied. _"It didn't feel right asking either of you to do even more work."_

" _Yeah…I needed a bit of time to recover from that, but I'm better now,"_ Liz replied. There was something in her tone that hinted that she was _not_ all right, at least not fully, but Susie and Cassidy decided not to poke any further. _"So what are you guys making?"_

" _Eggs, sausage, pancakes, stuff you'd usually find in a breakfast,"_ Cassidy answered.

" _Sounds like fun! Can I join you guys?"_

The question was innocent enough, but Susie and Cassidy could both see it. Liz really wanted to take part in their family activity with them. Both remembered what Gabe had said about her, especially about how important it was to Liz that she did things for her dad. Susie hid her thoughts with a grin. _"Hope you know how to make pancakes!"_

Liz smiled and breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. _"I'll do my best,"_ she promised as she took hold of a pan and looked at the instructions quickly. _"Got any batter?"_

" _Right here!"_ Cassidy chirped as she mixed some with water. _"Let's hope we don't make a complete mess out of this."_

Liz laughed. _"I think as long as the inside's solid when we're done I'm sure it'll be fine. So all we've got to do is pour it on and…"_

" _Wait!"_ Susie interrupted. _"Put some oil on the pan first so that the batter doesn't stick."_

" _Oh wow, you're right!"_ Liz realized. _"Thanks for the catch."_ She quickly poured some on. _"Now, if I'm reading the instructions of the laptop correctly, all we need to do is pour the batter, flip it after a couple of minutes, and…"_

Thirty Minutes Later…

"Hnnrrrggghhhh!" Mike yawned as he sat up on his bed. "Man, I was out like a light last night. Surprised I didn't have any bad dreams or anything after what happened yesterday."

His mind flashed back to last night's events, and he sobered up considerably as he recalled Liz's sorrow at her brother's death. "I hope she's feeling a bit better now," he thought. "The way I handled that was fucking atrocious." He looked to the side to see Mary sitting on a beanie bag couch, sleeping peacefully.

"How long were you taking care of me, Mary?" he wondered silently as he affectionately stroked the back of the Puppet's head. Fortunately, the movement didn't wake her. "Your dad would be proud of you."

Mike slipped out of his bedroom and quietly inched open the door to Fritz and Liz's room, and was surprised to find that only Fritz was alone in there, sleeping peacefully. "Huh…where'd Liz go?" It was then that the smell of a freshly made meal began to hit his nose. "Oh my God, that smells amazing!" he thought. "But who's making it?"

He climbed down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. To his surprise, Cassidy, Susie, and Liz were all there, and they all looked up at him and grinned as he arrived.

" _Hey, Dad!"_ Susie cheerfully greeted him. _"We made some breakfast for you!"_

" _We figured you could use a break after what happened for us last night,"_ Cassidy added.

Mike stared at the plate of food in front of him. The ghost girls had prepared a stack of golden pancakes, two sausage patties, and a fresh batch of scrambled eggs arranged neatly into sections of the plate. "This looks amazing!" he exclaimed. He sat down and began eating the pancakes with a fork. His face glowed with delight. "And it tastes just as amazing as it looks! Did you guys just figure all this out this morning?"

Cassidy smiled at him. _"Yep! Well, Liz and Susie did, I just kept handing stuff over to them."_

Susie shrugged. _"I still don't know how we pulled this off considering that we don't even have taste buds. Honestly I was just following instructions off the Internet the entire time."_

Mike pat her on the head. "Well, you did a great job with this." He turned to other two girls. "All of you did. Who knows, maybe I'll start having you guys make breakfast for me instead. This is definitely better than a lot of things I make!"

The girls glowed at the praise. _"Thanks, dad!"_ they all gushed.

Mike continued eating the breakfast they had made. "Did you sleep all right last night?" he asked with concern. "After everything that happened…"

Susie shook her head. _"I can't answer for Liz, but Cass and I were just fine."_

Liz shrugged. _"I didn't have any bad dreams or anything. Surprisingly…"_ she muttered the last word under her breath, though Mike heard it.

"If you need anything, you know you can come talk to me, right?" he asked. All three girls nodded. "Okay. I'm going to finish this breakfast, and then I think I'll try and come up with the next stage of our Pathfinder campaign. Sound good?"

" _Yep!"_ the girls replied, and they watched as Mike finished the meal they had made for him. He was about to get up and put the dishes in the sink, but Susie suddenly approached closer to stop him. _"Hold on, dad, I'll take care of this."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "You sure? I don't mind taking…"

" _I'll take care of it, Dad,"_ Susie insisted. Mike shrugged and backed off as Susie picked up the dish and utensils and floated over to the sink to start cleaning them. _"Did Jeremy make a new character yet?"_ she asked as she put them in the dishwasher.

"Yeah, he decided to be a Paladin," her dad replied. "Makes sense since a lot of your enemies that you're going to be fighting are supernatural Evil and all that. I can't help but feel like he got his character killed on purpose so he could make a new one, but whatever." He got up from his chair. "I'll be in my library if anyone needs me."

" _Gotcha!"_ the girls replied as he left the kitchen and climbed back up the stairs. Once he was gone, Cassidy looked over to the living room. _"He's gone!"_

Instantly, Fritz, Jeremy, and Gabe all appeared out of nowhere. _"You did great, you three,"_ Gabe commented approvingly. _"Dad has no clue why we're doing this or even that we're doing it at all. Longer we can keep this a surprise, the better."_

Fritz looked around. _"So, uh…what do we do next?"_

Gabe and Jeremy both smirked at him, and he groaned. _"Aww, come on, guys…"_

" _We made bets last night before we went to bed and you lost. Fair's fair."_

Fritz sighed. _"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiinnneeeee…."_

/

Mike hummed to himself as he read through the list of monster encounters. There were several reasons why he wanted to introduce the ghosts to fighting demons and devils (not the least of which was because it would allow for some well-deserved schadenfreude after their encounter with Nightmare), and he wanted to set up a fight that would be difficult but still beatable. He was reading through the description of an Ice Devil when the sound of something loud suddenly echoed into his ears. "What the heck is that?" he wondered as he put down the book. He went over to the door and poked his head out. "Who's making that noise?" he called out.

Jeremy floated up from under the floor. _"Sup, Dad!"_ he called out. _"Sorry about the noise, I'm vacuuming up the house this morning."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. First the girls making breakfast and cleaning the dishes, and now Jeremy was vacuuming the house? "Not that I don't appreciate you doing this, but, uh…why?"

Jeremy shrugged. _"Parts of the house were getting a bit dusty and it was starting to annoy me a little,"_ he replied. _"Besides, cleaning up the house makes me feel like I'm freshening up the place after Nightmare showed his ugly face."_

Mike could certainly sympathize with THAT statement. "How far have you gotten so far?" he asked.

" _I've only finished the basement,"_ Jeremy reported. _"Right now I'm working on the living room and the kitchen."_

"Well, you shouldn't have much to clean," Mike commented. "It's not like you guys make messes in my rooms or anything." He shook his head in bemusement. "Honestly, I'm surprised you guys are going through all this trouble. After what happened last night, I would've thought you would have rushed to the TV and spammed video games all day. Heck, that's what I would've done."

Jeremy shrugged again. _"It's like you said earlier, dad. We've got to do things other than video games at some point or another. Might as well get something done for real."_

"Hey, whatever works for you, kiddo," Mike ruffled the boy's phantom hair. "Don't work too hard."

The former Bonnie inhabitant smirked. _"Don't worry, Dad, I'll be rotting my nonexistent brain on the TV soon enough."_

Mike's lips twitched as he retreated into his office, but as soon as he was out of sight he frowned. He didn't doubt that Jeremy genuinely wanted to help him, but something felt a little…off…about what he had said. He couldn't put a finger on it though. Maybe it was just the fact that the kids were, for a lack of a better term, doing chores, and doing them _happily_.

"I bet most of my friends would kill to have kids who _want_ to do chores," he thought with a smirk, then cringed at the wording in his sentence. "Yeesh, glad that thought was in my head and not out loud for them to hear." He turned back over to the list of monsters he had been reading earlier, and smiled. "Ah, okay, I think _this_ one would be a good choice for the next campaign…"

A couple of minutes later, he got up from his chair. "Okay, got to hit the bathroom real quick," he thought. He left the library and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. He pushed the door open, and…

"Fritz?"he spluttered.

The red-haired ghost boy was busy scrubbing the floor of the bathroom with a sponge. He quickly looked up at his father. _"Oh hey Dad!"_ he greeted him. _"Did you need to use the bathroom?"_

"Uh…yeah…but that's not important," Mike shook his head, trying to clear away his confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Fritz held up the sponge he was manipulating. _"Cleaning the bathrooms. It's not like I can get my hands or body dirty since, you know, they're not solid or anything. Thank God, too, never knew how dirty toilets can get over time."_

He picked up an air refresher can and started spraying the inside of the toilet. _"Huh, this wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. A bit surprising, actually."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you weren't too happy about this," he commented.

" _Oh, I don't have a problem with it now,"_ Fritz clarified. _"But Jeremy, Gabe, and I were randomly distributing the chores out, and I ended up getting the bathrooms. Would probably be a lot more annoyed about this if I could get myself dirty, but since I can't, hey! Not gonna complain."_

"Lucky you," Mike smirked. But inside, the gears of his mind were beginning to turn. The ghost kids had distributed these chores out beforehand? That means they'd planned this all out from the beginning. But why?

" _Earth to Dad?"_

Mike snapped out of his thoughts. "You did a really nice job, Fritz," he complimented, earning a grin from the boy. "How much have you done so far?"

" _I've gotten most of them done,"_ Fritz replied. _"I've just gotta clean the one next to your room and then I'll be good to go!"_

"Well, take your time, kiddo, nobody's in any hurry to go anywhere. I'll use the bathroom in my room then so I don't end up ruining what you've already done. Keep up the good work!" Mike gave the boy a thumbs-up and left for his bedroom. As he did so, he began to think about what he had seen in the last hour or so.

"I just don't get those kids," he thought. After Nightmare's attack, he'd expected them to distract themselves as thoroughly as possible with things like the Net and video games to bury last night's bad memories as much as they could. Chores had not been on the list of things he'd had in mind.

He walked into his bathroom to relieve himself, and as he walked back out Mary yawned as she stretched her long, spindly arms. _"Good morning, Mike,"_ she drowsily greeted him.

"Morning, Mary," he answered back. "Gotta say, those kids are something else."

Mary's eyes flickered on and off, the equivalent of her blinking. _"How so?"_

"Well, if I were in their shoes, after last night I'd try to forget about Nightmare as much as possible with things like video games and stuff like that," Mike told her. "But when I found them this morning, they were doing _chores_ of all things."

" _Really?"_ Mary asked. _"That sounds rather odd."_

"Tell me about it," Mike replied as he sat down on his bed. "Liz, Susie, and Cassidy made breakfast for me. It was kind of weird, since they can't taste the food they're making and haven't ever cooked before, but the food was so good I didn't think about it at the time. Then I found Jeremy vacuuming the house, and Fritz of all people was cleaning the bathrooms." He scratched his head. "I just don't get it."

" _Considering what I know about them, that is definitely out of the ordinary,"_ Mary agreed. _"They might have been forced to mature, but they're still kids, and kids don't like doing chores. There has to be a specific reason for what they're doing, but I honestly couldn't tell you. I didn't talk to them at all last night because I was taking care of you."_

He thought for a moment. "You know…" he said slowly, "I think I know why they're doing this. And I honestly can't believe it took me this long to figure it out, because it's so obvious in hindsight." He got to his feet and held a hand out to Mary. "Wanna go see what they're doing?"

She took the hand gratefully. _"I'd be glad to."_ The two of them walked through the hallway and down the stairs. As they entered the living room, Mike's eyes fell on the empty space where the broken ruins of his side table had once been.

Gabe popped up into visibility behind him. _"Hey, dad! I got rid of the pieces of the side table. They're in your garage now."_

Mike smiled at him. "Thanks for taking care of that. I gotta make sure to buy a replacement later. For now, Gabe, would you mind getting the other ghosts and bringing them all here? I've got something I need to talk to you all about."

Gabe felt a flicker of nervousness in him. Had Mike figured it all out already? _"Uh…sure thing!"_ he replied as he floated out of the room. Mike sat down on a couch and began humming as he heard Gabe call out to the other ghosts in the distance. A few seconds later, he returned, with the other ghost children following closely behind him. _"Did you need us for something, Dad?"_ Liz asked.

"Yeah, actually…" Mike smirked. "Come on, guys. You already know that I don't usually miss a beat. What's this really all about?"

The ghosts looked at each other. _"Uh…what?"_

"The whole chore thing," Mike pressed. "A lot of my friends from college have kids now, and I've been around them long enough to know how kids normally act. And I can tell you right now that most kids your age definitely _don't_ do things like cleaning up after bathrooms or vacuuming the house. I mean, I'm not complaining…I was going to take care of the house today anyway, and this really makes my job easier, so thank you all so much for that. But…what's really going on?"

Fritz sighed. _"No point in trying to hide this anymore, is there?"_ he asked. _"Might as well tell'em, guys."_

Gabe nodded. _"Yeah. The thing is, Dad…last night, before we went to bed, we spent a good long time talking about what Nightmare told us. And even though he tried to make things out to be a lot worse than they actually were…it doesn't make what he said wrong. We came here to carry out a redemption quest for all the innocent people we killed, but we never once did a single thing to show for it."_

The ghosts nodded in agreement. _"That's what this was all about, Dad,"_ Jeremy admitted. _"We can't help you out with the big things in your life, since you've already gone through them. But we can help you with the small things. Cleaning the house, making food for you, just making your life easier one way or another…I don't think that's too much for us to do after you gave us a home and defended us against a demon."_

" _None us ever trusted an adult after we died,"_ Susie finished. _"It was an adult who killed us, and that was part of the reason why we hunted the Night Guards so much. But you, dad? We love you and we trust you. And this is how we're showing it."_

Mike sat there silently for several seconds, and the ghosts started to wonder if they'd somehow angered him in some way. Then, he broke into a smile. "You know…" he began, "…I retired from my job when I was 47. I thought, hey, I'm rich as hell and I'm only doing my engineering job for shits and giggles, I might as well just drop it now and laze around for the rest of my life doing whatever the heck I want to."

He shook his head. "I had no idea that leaving my job would end up being nearly the worst thing that I'd ever done in my adult life. I thought my job was basically a bonus hobby, but it turns out it was the one thing in my life that gave me a consistent purpose. There's a reason people don't usually retire from their jobs until they're in their 60s. Without my job, I had no clue what I was going to be doing with the rest of my life. Even when Mary came along, I still had no idea. I was even considering going back to my job, I was so bored."

Mike's smile widened. "Then you guys came along. You popped up in my bedroom out of the blue, asking to make a family. I didn't know what was going on, but I did know what the right thing to do was. So I said yes, partly because I didn't have a proper family ever since my early years, and partly because it's what Oskar did for me so many years ago. And taking care of you guys, teaching you how to play video games, showing you why good grammar is important…I finally realized just what you guys gave me. Both you and Nightmare have said that you didn't give me anything back, but you're wrong. Both in terms of how I feel and through objective fact. You guys gave me the first real and complete family I ever had, and the first purpose that I've ever wanted to put in 100% of my time and effort into. Not a purpose to die, like I did back at that pizzeria. A purpose to live."

" _Dad…"_ Cassidy murmured. Her eyes were beginning to water, and the other ghosts weren't far off.

Mike shook his head. "The way Nightmare was talking last night, he was making it sound like you guys should be my servants. And that's just not right. I've been able to take care of myself ever since I was 11, and there's no reason why other people should be doing that for me. Especially not you guys. What really matters to me is that we be the family that we were always meant to be, and the life we were living before Nightmare showed up is a perfect example of what I want. That's what I really want you to do for me, more than anything."

Cassidy couldn't hold herself back anymore. She rushed forward and wrapped her adoptive father tightly in a hug, tears pouring out of her eyes. Susie, Fritz, Jeremy, and Gabe followed her one by one, embracing Mike until he was surrounded by spectral arms and bodies. Liz was the last to join, the doubts over whether she deserved to be a part of their family briefly returning. Mary put a hand on her shoulder and nodded towards them, wordlessly beckoning her towards the rest of their family. The lips of her mask stretched into a smile as Liz finally joined them. From the moment that she had first met their lost souls in 1987, Mary had never seen her fellow ghosts genuinely happy. Even when they had finally killed the Purple Guy, that had only been a vicious streak of satisfaction that had lasted for a short time, and that fleeting feeling of victory had died even more quickly once they'd realized that William Afton had found a new lease on life as Springtrap. Mary had only ever wanted the best for them, and she finally felt at peace with herself knowing that they had finally found what they had been denied for far too long.

" _We love you, dad!"_ Cassidy bawled.

" _We don't deserve you, dad!"_ Susie sniffed.

" _We don't want anyone else but you, dad!"_ Gabe exclaimed.

"I stopped questioning whether I deserved the good or bad things in my life a long time ago," Mike answered. "If life really was fair, my mom would never have died and you guys would never have been killed. It's better to just take things as they come, and do the best with what you have." He slowly released them from their hug, and they did the same. "Now then, no family would be complete without doing some family activities together, and I think you've done more than enough work around the house to take a break and then some. I've got a game I want to show you that is one of the most popular out there. It can be fairly complicated, but it's really fun and exciting when you can figure out the details."

" _Ooh, what is it, dad?"_ Fritz eagerly asked.

Mike grinned. "It's one of my favorites. It's called Pokémon…"

 **/**

Nightmare grinned as he watched the family embrace through the scrying portal. William Afton had refused to concede defeat when Nightmare had first told him about the events of the night, claiming that they might still break apart afterwards. The demon had accepted this line of reasoning for the next few hours; fairness was one of the few virtues that he still acknowledged. But now, here was incontrovertible proof that the family had stayed strong despite his attempts to break them apart.

" **A HAPPY ENDING FOR THEM, AND A HAPPY ENDING FOR ME,"** Nightmare said with a dark chuckle. His eyes fell on Mike, who by now was walking over to the video game pile to take out a Pokémon game. For a few moments after he had departed, he had entertained the idea of trying to corrupt Mike and bring him down into damnation. The man's darkness was truly impressive for someone so dedicated to the path of goodness, and the man would have made such an _excellent_ torture planner. But he had dismissed the notion relatively quickly.

For one thing, the man had _far_ too many moral anchors both in his past and his present to keep him on the path of darkness for any longer than a fleeting moment. Between the ghostly children who he now loved and protected as his own family, and the teachings and principles of Oskar that Mike had faithfully adhered to throughout his entire life, any attempt to corrupt him would have only a minimal chance of succeeding at best. He was looking at ample proof of that right this very moment.

And even if corrupting Mike in the long-term was feasible, Nightmare was no fool. Especially not when there was a very real risk of divine retribution if he attempted to go through with it. Nightmare was one of the very few demons who had been granted permission by Heaven to roam the Earth periodically, an _exceptionally_ rare privilege that more than one demon had tried and failed to kill him over out of jealousy. Throughout the entirety of his assault on Mike and his family, he had already skirted the edge of what Heaven would consider permissible, and if he tried to interfere with their lives and souls any further then the realm of the divine would almost certainly retaliate. The right to leave the Pit of Torment and roam the Earth was _far_ too valuable to squander on a fool's errand that was almost guaranteed to fail whether Heaven intervened or no, and there was absolutely no reason to turn a guaranteed victory into an embarrassing defeat. No, he would make do with what he had.

Besides, it wasn't as though he would be lacking in entertainment or satisfaction anytime soon. Oh, no, no, no, no…there would be _plenty_ of both to go around. Nightmare grinned as he looked at the damned soul bound in chains in front of him. The man refused to look up at him, but he could sense William Afton's bitterness at his defeat.

" **THERE IS NO DOUBT ANYMORE,"** Nightmare hissed with a malicious glee. **"YOU HAVE FAILED. YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU COULD BREAK APART THE FAMILY THAT YOUR VICTIMS CREATED WITH THE NIGHT GUARD. BUT IF ANYTHING, YOUR ACTIONS HAVE ONLY** _ **STRENGTHENED**_ **THEIR BONDS INSTEAD. YOU HAVE LOST OUR LITTLE WAGER, AND IT IS TIME FOR ME TO CLAIM MY PRIZE."**

" _You didn't even try, did you?"_ the child murderer accused hatefully. _"You could have gotten into their heads deeper, stirred their doubts up harder, before going in for the kill. But you didn't do any of that! You just went in and talked to them for a couple of minutes!"_

Nightmare only laughed. **"YOU NEVER SPECIFIED** _ **HOW**_ **I WOULD CARRY OUT MY ASSAULT,"** he sneered. **"ONLY THAT I DO IT AT ALL. YOU LEFT THE DETAILS IN THE HANDS OF A DEMON, AND YOU ACT SURPRISED WHEN THINGS DON'T GO YOUR WAY? YOU ARE A FOOL."**

" _Why?"_ William Afton growled. _"Why wouldn't you try your hardest to break them apart? We're both evil monsters! We should be working together!"_

Nightmare's grin instantly vanished, and the serial killer realized he had made a terrible mistake. Moving far too quickly for him to even realize what was going on, Nightmare raised his right hand and viciously shoved his claws straight into the man's throat. Afton howled in agony as the demon pushed the man's head upward, forcing him to look straight into his burning red eyes.

" **DID YOU HONESTLY THINK,"** Nightmare snarled, **"THAT JUST BECAUSE I HAD MADE A DEAL WITH YOU, OUR AGREEMENT SUDDENLY MADE US INTO ALLIES? OR PERHAPS, EVEN** _ **FRIENDS?"**_ he spat the last word with as much venom as possible. **"YOU HAVE NO IDEA JUST HOW MUCH I** _ **DESPISE**_ **YOU, WILLIAM AFTON."**

The serial killer tried to speak, but no words came out. The claws jammed in his throat prevented him from even breathing properly, not that there was any pure air to breathe down in the depths of Hell.

" **YOU ARE TRULY A MAN IN LOVE WITH VIOLENCE,"** Nightmare sneered. **"PERHAPS, IF YOU HAD EARNED YOUR KILLS IN BATTLE, THAT WOULD EARN MY RESPECT. BUT, NO. YOU ONLY EVER TRIED TO SHED BLOOD WHEN YOU WERE UP AGAINST WEAK LITTLE CHILDREN WITH NO WAY TO FIGHT BACK, OR IN THE BODY OF ANIMATRONIC WITH METAL AND STEEL TO EMPOWER YOU. AND EVEN THEN, YOU ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING. YOUR ENTIRE LEGACY BURNED TO ASH AND OBLIVION WITH THE TRAP THAT YOU WANDERED INTO LIKE AN IMBECILE. THE ONLY THING YOUR MURDERS ARE A TESTAMENT TO IS YOUR OWN COWARDICE. AND I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR COWARDS."**

William was still writhing and struggling to free himself from Nightmare's claws, and his feeble attempts only intensified the demon's contempt for the man. As a demon and a monster, he would freely admit that Mike Schmidt was a thousand times the man William Afton could ever hope to be.

" **BUT THAT ISN'T THE ONLY REASON WHY I DESPISE YOUR EXISTENCE, WILLIAM AFTON,"** Nightmare hissed. **"IT IS NOT EVEN THE MAIN REASON. I DO NOT PERSONALLY CARE HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU TRY TO KILL. BUT YOUR CRIMES RUN DEEPER THAN SIMPLE VIOLENCE, DON'T THEY? I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO YOUR OWN CHILDREN, HOW YOU TRIED TO MANIPULATE THEM INTO DOING YOUR WILL. I KNOW HOW YOU SENT YOUR SON MICHAEL TO DIE IN YOUR PLACE AT THE DEATH TRAP YOU DISGUISED AS A PIZZERIA. AND I KNOW HOW YOU TRIED TO CORRUPT YOUR DAUGHTER ELIZABETH AND TURN HER INTO A MONSTER AND A MURDERER JUST LIKE YOU. MAYBE YOU MIGHT HAVE CARED FOR YOUR CHILDREN AT ONE POINT. I DO NOT KNOW, AND I DO NOT CARE. BECAUSE IN THE LAST MOMENTS OF YOUR EXISTENCE, YOU NEVER SAW EITHER OF THEM AS ANYTHING MORE THAN TOOLS TO CARRY OUT YOUR PERVERTED WILL, DIDN'T YOU?"**

The demon lord's eyes began to glow with utter hatred. **"I HAVE PLEDGED MYSELF TO EVIL FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS,"** he snarled, **"AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO UNTIL THE END OF TIME. THE MORALS AND PRINCIPLES I POSSESS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. BUT NO MATTER HOW DEPRAVED I MAY BECOME,"** he finished with a furious roar. **"AT LEAST I UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF A FAMILY!"**

He violently tore his claws free from William Afton's throat, taking great care to cause as much damage as possible. Afton gasped and began wheezing in agony, too overcome with pain to even think properly. Nightmare spat with disgust at the damned soul, and Afton barely registered the fact that there were _more_ monsters coming behind him. All of them vaguely looked like one of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics, except with utterly monstrous and horrifying appearances. Except for a bear that looked remarkably like Nightmare himself, all of them were burning with hellish flames from within their bodies.

" **CAN WE BEGIN, BROTHER?"** the one that looked like Chica hissed excitedly. **"IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE WE WERE GIVEN FREE REIGN!"**

" **PATIENCE, MY DEAR SISTER…"** Nightmare replied with a grin. **"YOU WILL HAVE A THOUSAND YEARS TO DO WHATEVER YOU WISH TO THIS PATHETIC SHADE. BUT A NEW…ACQUAINTANCE…OF MINE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO PROVIDE SOME SUGGESTIONS, AND I THINK THAT YOU WILL QUITE ENJOY CARRYING THEM OUT."** He began speaking to them in an unholy language, and the other demons' eyes lit up in excitement. Nightmare gave a command, and Infernal Bonnie and Infernal Chica began to pull out a torture device. William Afton's eyes widened in fear as they took in the inner workings of the machine. It looked almost like…almost like…

" **DO YOU REMEMBER THE SPRING BONNIE SUIT, WILLIAM AFTON?"** Nightmare questioned, having adopted his tone of false politeness once again. **"DO YOU REMEMBER THE DESPAIR, THE AGONY AS YOU SUFFERED A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH? THE GUARDIAN OF THE CHILDREN YOU WRONGED HAS LOST PATIENCE WITH YOU…AND HE HAS ASKED ME TO REMIND YOU OF THAT PAIN. IT WAS QUITE DISCOURTEOUS OF ME TO BREAK INTO HIS HOME UNINVITED, SO THIS FAVOR WAS THE LEAST I COULD DO IN RETURN."**

Afton struggled harder against his bonds with an incoherent yell, but there was nothing he could do. Infernal Freddy grabbed Afton by the head as Infernal Foxy sliced open the chains holding him, and then Infernal Bonnie dragged the serial killer over towards the torture device, where Infernal Chica was waiting. The demonic version of Bonnie shoved the child murderer inside, and Chica slammed it shut. The device began to whir and hum, and seconds later, all the Nightmares could hear agonized screams as the insides of the suit began to tear into the murderer's ethereal flesh and bone and shred him to pieces, just as the Spring Bonnie suit had done to him years ago. The dripping of liquid echoed faintly from within the suit, and the Purple Guy's yells of anguish intensified – Nightmare had coated the spring locks with poisons far more devastating than anything on Earth, which were now flowing into the gaping wounds that the locks themselves had caused and were devouring his body from within.

The demonic animatronics all began to howl with laughter at Afton's suffering, and Nightmare bared his fangs with glee. **"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT,"** he added as an afterthought. **"IT WOULDN'T BE AN INFERNAL TORMENT WITHOUT AN INFERNO!"** He snapped his fingers together, and the entire device suddenly burst into hellish flames. The screams from the man inside escalated to an even higher volume, and those damned spirits who could hear Afton's shrieks were suddenly thankful that their punishments were not worse than what they already were.

It wasn't until several minutes later that Nightmare finally let the flames die down, and the only sounds William Afton was making now were quiet pleas for mercy that everyone knew he would never receive. **"WHAT WAS THAT PHRASE YOU WERE SO FOND OF SAYING?"** Nightmare asked mockingly. **"YOU'LL ALWAYS COME BACK? HOW RIGHT YOU ARE, WILLIAM AFTON. BECAUSE YOU NO MATTER HOW CLOSELY YOU EDGE TOWARDS OBLIVION, HOW MUCH YOU MIGHT LONG FOR THE SWEET RELEASE OF NOTHINGNESS, YOU WILL NEVER FIND IT. THIS IS YOUR FATE NOW, AND TO OVERSEE YOUR ETERNITY OF HORRORS IS OUR PERSONAL PLEASURE."**

The demons all laughed again as they heard Afton whimper piteously from within, Nightmare's laughter the hardest among them. It was rare for him to be able to unleash his full savagery on the damned, and it was even rarer for him to be able to claim moral superiority over them. He was going to enjoy this for a very, _very_ long time indeed.

/

A/N: And there you have it, folks! The family have now officially overcome their biggest and most difficult trial, and William Afton finally got what he deserved! Funnily enough, despite the Nightmare arc being the darkest arc I will probably ever have planned for this story, the only real and unambiguous loser was William Afton. And he got what he deserved.

You know someone's an utterly depraved piece of shit when a literal _demon_ is morally superior to him. I briefly hinted at Nightmare's morality in "A Legacy Laid to Rest", and now was the best time to expand on it where the family wouldn't be able to see him. Granted, letting your other family members have fun with torturing damned souls doesn't exactly fall under conventional definitions of kindness and care, but Nightmare treats his family (which visually look like the Jack-O Animatronics) with far more respect than William Afton ever did. It almost makes you wonder if he _wanted_ his attack to fail…

A lot of you were wondering what Mike had in mind when he made some suggestion tortures. I figured that forcing William Afton to relive his agonizing destruction in the Spring Bonnie suit would be something quite fitting and ironic, though I'll leave it up to you to decide whether Mike or Nightmare came up with the poisons and the flame. Either way, Mike might be the most dangerous person in his entire family in his own way. He knows how to fight, he knows how to plan, he knows how to find and hit your weaknesses, and he knows how to make you suffer. You do not want this man as your enemy, a lesson that William Afton wouldn't learn until far too late.

I think this is more than enough darkness for a long time. I'm gonna be going back to more lighthearted and fun chapters, at least for the next few. This is meant to be a happier fic, after all.

I mean, it's been 17 chapters since the last Video Game Bonanza chapter, wow.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	27. Chapter 27 - Fun with Video Games 2

A/N: I think we've had enough dark stuff. Let's go back to happy friendly fun times! You know, before Nightmare and William Afton decided to try and fuck things up.

I changed the name of "Video Game Bonanza" to "Fun with Video Games" so that I don't have to pigeonhole myself into talking about 3+ video games whenever I do these things. Cause Pokémon could warrant a chapter all on its own. Also, I apologize to both any hardcore Pokémon fans if the following battles don't actually play out the way they do in reality, as well as any non-Pokémon fans out there - I'll try to make the battles as interesting as possible.

To answer a few reviewers, I won't be including the Bite Victim from FNAF4 as another ghostly family member cause I have my own plans in the future for him. Him AND Michael Afton both. Neither one will show up for a while, though, especially since we just got done with the heavy, scary, and/or depressing stuff.

Chapter 27 – Fun with Video Games 2

"So, Pokémon..." Mike said as he sat on his couch, the ghosts crowding around him with all ears open. "Where do I begin?"

" _Hey Liz, remember? That's the game that broke our Henry Stickmin run back in our first night here!"_ Fritz interrupted.

Liz smiled at the memory from long ago. _"Oh yeah, that Pokeball had a Missingno and it completely glitched the game during the FAIL."_

"I have never seen a Missingno in-game, ever, and that's probably a good thing," Mike commented. "Anyway, the basic premise of the game is incredibly simple. You go around a given world catching various creatures and have them battle against each other."

" _That's it?"_ Susie asked. _"Seems kinda…basic."_

Mike smirked. "You say that, but you'll be surprised how attached you'll get to the guys you pick up as part of your team. Heck, I'd even say that the Pokémon you choose to be part of your team are part of your family. That and the fact that you try to be the best trainer in your world and you try to stop a villain team from trying to screw with the world one way or another in the process." He shook his head. "I can't explain it well. You guys have to play it to understand."

Jeremy shrugged. _"We'll take your word for it, dad."_

"Naturally, I have all 7 generations, because I have absolutely no excuse not to have them with my gigantic lottery income and all that. Pokémon is both a simple game and one of the most complicated games ever at the same time. To really enjoy it, you need to have a brain." He raised an eyebrow. "How smart do you guys think you are?"

" _We're geniuses, we can handle anything!"_ Fritz declared proudly. The other ghosts just looked at him incredulously.

" _Says the guy who thought that running solo into three Heavy Armor fighters in our last D &D session was a good idea," _Gabe snarked. Fritz threw him a dirty look and opened his mouth for a rebuttal.

" _Enough, you two,"_ Mary intervened. _"Please continue, Mike."_

Mike smiled. "I could pick any one of the generations to introduce you to Pokémon, but I'm going to pick Generation IV. Mainly because it's the one where, for me at least, battling makes the most sense, and things didn't get way too complicated yet in the series. I was thinking about that or Gen III, but some of my favorite Pokémon are in Gen IV, so there."

" _There are…certain people…who would absolutely insist that you focus on Gen I and ONLY Gen I,"_ Mary commented.

"Mary, I don't give the slightest shit about what the fucking Genwunners say," Mike blithely replied. The ghosts looked between the two of them in confusion.

" _Genwunners?"_ Cassidy repeated in bewilderment.

"I'll explain later," Mike brushed it off. "Anyway, I could just let you all go through the adventure mode in Platinum and call it a day, but we're a family and we should be playing games together. So instead, I have a ton of full evolution Pokémon that I have saved up in my Platinum games that you can use to battle each other. Their movesets might not be the best, but they're functional enough and will give you an idea of what battling is like. Does that sound good to you?"

The ghosts grinned. _"Yeah!"_ they exclaimed.

"All right, but first, I need to explain how battling works, cause that's where the complicated part comes in," Mike answered. "So, to begin with…"

 **[[ONE GIANT, LONG-ASS EXPLANATION ABOUT POKEMON BATTLING LATER, BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, POKEMON BATTLING IS COMPLICATED AS FUCK IF YOU'RE NOT BRAINLESSLY TRYING TO USE FOUR ATTACKING MOVES ON EVERY POKEMON AND IT TOOK ME WAY TOO GODDAMN LONG TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON WITHOUT SOMEONE TO HELP ME WHEN I FIRST PLAYED IT.]]**

"And that's the best way I can describe the intricacies of Pokémon battling," Mike finished his speech. The ghosts all stared at him blankly and Mike could have sworn that he could see the circling birdies animation for Confusion status around their heads.

" _What the crap?"_ Jeremy was the first to speak.

" _Why is this game so complicated?"_ Fritz added blankly.

" _I didn't understand half of what you just said,"_ Liz muttered.

Mike shook his head. "For simplicity's sake, just use attacking moves with maybe a status move thrown in here or there," he replied. "Once you get it, you'll be surprised how addicting it is." He moved over to his stack of video games, took out two Nintendo DS's, and put in two Platinum games.

Liz shuddered as she caught a glimpse of the Pokémon on the case. _"That Pokémon…"_ she muttered, _"…it looks a lot like Nightmare."_ The other ghosts also shuddered as they recognized the comparison.

"Oh, Giratina?" Mike asked, not looking bothered. "Yeah, I can kinda see the resemblance, but unlike Nightmare, Giratina isn't that bad of a guy. He helps save the world from the main villain in this game, even though he ends up nearly destroying it himself by accident. He basically rules an alternate, kind of screwy dimension, but he keeps that dimension and everything in it safe, and that's critical for keeping the real world safe too. Incidentally, he's also my favorite legendary."

Gabe looked at Giratina again uneasily but decided not to let it bother him. _"Whatever you say, Dad."_

Mike smiled. "Trust me, Gabe, there's a certain warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you catch that scary and evil-looking legendary and it completely loves you after 20 levels of training. But anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, battling. We're gonna be doing this in two teams. Three of you for each DS. One person will do the actual playing, the other two will be looking up things like Type Matchups, Items, and Moves to help the player try and beat the other team's Pokémon. This is the best I can do to get as many people involved as possible. Does that work for you guys?"

" _Yeah!"_ everyone enthusiastically agreed. Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy took one DS, while Jeremy, Fritz, and Liz took the other. Mike guided them to the PC box, where several fully evolved Level 50 Pokémon waited to be chosen. He then identified several Pokémon as "Legendary," which he banned from usage due to them being too powerful, and instructed the children to each pick four from the rest. After several minutes of talking, debating, and even flat-out arguing, the two teams were chosen.

"You guys ready?" Mike asked as the two connected a Link Battle. "Let the games begin!"

 **[[Start Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Gym/Elite Four Theme Here]]**

The first Pokémon sent out for Gabe's team was a Swampert, while the one for Jeremy's team was a Machamp. "Ooh, an interesting match-up to start off with," Mike commented.

" _Hit'em with an Earthquake!"_ Susie insisted, while Fritz encouraged Jeremy to fight using Dynamic Punch. Gabe's Swampert went off first and hit Machamp for decent damage, but Machamp was able to survive just fine and land a sure hit back with Dynamicpunch thanks to his No Guard ability. Gabe's team groaned as Swampert ended up confused, which if they remembered Mike's words correctly, was easily one of the most annoying status conditions out there.

" _Come on, please don't hit yourself…"_ Cassidy begged him. To their immense relief, Swampert was able to fight through his confusion, and landed a Waterfall on Machamp since Gabe wanted to try and get a flinch off. To their surprise and delight, the Waterfall attack caused Machamp to flinch, netting them a free hit.

" _Aww crap, this isn't good,"_ Jeremy muttered.

" _They're still confused, we can kill them with another Dynamic Punch if they hit themselves. Just go for it, there's no point in switching out this guy now,"_ Fritz pointed out, and his two teammates agreed.

Gabe tried to finish Machamp off with an Earthquake, but to his team's disappointment, this time Swampert hit itself in its confusion. Jeremy took full advantage of this failure to land another Dynamicpunch on Swampert, and the Mud Fish Pokémon fainted.

" _Don't worry about it,"_ Susie said as Gabe decided to send out a Dragonite. _"You can easily kill him back, that Machamp is almost dead."_

" _Yeah, we really can't do much with him anymore,"_ Liz reluctantly agreed with her opponent. Gabe instructed Dragonite to finish him off with a Dragon Claw, and Machamp went the same way as Swampert.

Jeremy, Fritz, and Liz quickly talked amongst themselves quickly, and Jeremy sent out a Tyranitar. "Oh, looks like we're going to have a battle of Pseudo-Legendaries here," Mike commented with a raised eyebrow.

" _Pseudo-Legendaries?"_ Cassidy asked.

"Pokemon that are powerful enough without actually being the ridiculously overpowered legendaries that I banned from this fight cause they're just that goddamn strong," Mike explained.

" _Wow. Okay. This should be interesting,"_ Fritz muttered.

" _Does our Dragonite have any Super Effective moves against that Tyranitar?"_ Susie asked Gabe. _"It has a couple of weaknesses, including a 4x one to Fighting."_

" _Lemme see…"_ Gabe quickly went through his moveset. _"Well, it has Earthquake like Swampert did."_

" _Wait, hold on, I have an idea!"_ Cassidy whispered. _"Why don't we use Dragon Dance? It'll boost our Attack and Speed one stage, and then we'll be sure to knock out that Tyranitar with an Earthquake!"_

" _Good idea!"_ Gabe agreed. He picked Dragon Dance, and they watched as their Dragonite powered itself. However, their smiles quickly vanished when they saw the menacing smirk on Jeremy's face, which was also mirrored on both Fritz's and Liz's.

" _You should've attacked me, guys,"_ he said with a grin. _"Tyranitar…use Ice Punch!"_

" _Wait, isn't Dragonite 4x weak to…OH CRAP!"_ Cassidy suddenly shouted as Tyranitar landed his attack. To everyone's surprise, however, Dragonite's item activated as soon as his enemy's attack hit.

Gabe smirked. _"Not to worry, Cass. I knew that somebody on that team would have an Ice move eventually, so I prepared for this with a Yache Berry. It'll still hurt, sure, but it won't kill."_ True to his word, Dragonite's HP lowered significantly, but not enough to cause it to faint. It was still significantly weakened, though, and it almost certainly wouldn't survive another powerful attack.

" _All right, time to fight back, with Earthquake!"_ Gabe declared. Dragonite launched its attack. Jeremy grimaced as the Earthquake slammed into his Tyranitar, and brought it down to just a _sliver_ of HP remaining. Jeremy's team breathed a sigh of relief.

" _So close, yet no cigar,"_ Jeremy replied. _"Wrap this up, Tyranitar!"_ He slammed another Ice Punch into Dragonite, and this time there was no way for the dragon to survive that. Gabe shook his head as he fainted, and Gabe turned to his team.

" _Lucario?"_ he asked.

" _Lucario."_ they agreed.

Gabe sent him out, and Jeremy's team grimaced. Considering how low their Tyranitar was thanks to Dragonite, there wasn't any point to switching him out.

" _This is for Dragonite!"_ Gabe proclaimed. _"Aura Sphere!"_

Lucario fired off an Aura Sphere at Tyranitar, who had no chance of surviving. Tyranitar's item activated, revealing a Chople Berry, but with how low his HP was it didn't even matter.

"Fun fact," Mike said as Jeremy and his team debated on who to send out against Lucario. "In Sandstorm, Rock Special Defense is boosted by 50%. I mean, it doesn't matter here when it's a 2x weakness and low health, but it's a nice fact to consider when you're making a Sandstorm team."

" _Wasn't that a 4x weakness?"_ Cassidy asked.

Mike shook his head. "Chople Berry made it a functional 2x weakness, Cass."

" _Does it also work for Ground and Steel types?"_ Susie asked eagerly.

Mike shook his head. "Nah, Sus, sorry. Your Lucario isn't getting that boost, though it doesn't take damage every turn either."

Susie shrugged as Jeremy sent out a Dusknoir. Liz poked his shoulder and whispered into his ear. _"What's his moves?"_

Jeremy looked at the moveset. _"Uh…Shadow Sneak, Thunder Punch, Substitute, Focus Punch?"_

" _Use substitute this turn and Focus Punch next turn,"_ Liz whispered. _"Lucario's squishy and weak to fighting, and Focus Punch has 150 power. With a substitute they can't stop it. There's no way that Lucario will survive!"_ she finished confidently.

" _Good idea, Liz!"_ Fritz complimented quietly. He snuck a peek at Gabe, who was looking at them suspiciously but seemingly didn't know what they were planning. _"Let's knock him out."_

" _I dunno what you're planning, but it's not gonna work!"_ Gabe declared. _"I've got Super Effective moves on this guy, too! Lucario, use Shadow Ball!"_ His Lucario fired off his attack and managed to bring down Dusknoir to slightly below half HP. He then watched in confusion as Dusknoir summoned a doll in front of him and lowered his own HP even further. Mike smiled to himself – he knew exactly what kind of strategy Jeremy's team was using.

" _Wait, what?"_ Cassidy asked, bewildered. _"Why would you do that? You just wasted your turn!"_

Jeremy smirked at her. _"Oh, did I, Cass? Did I?"_ His Dusknoir suddenly popped up in front of his substitute doll and began to channel, before slipping back behind. Lucario fired off another Shadow Ball, but this time it only hit the substitute, which promptly faded away.

" _You're screwed!"_ Fritz cackled as Dusknoir smashed a Focus Punch straight into Lucario. Gabe and his team watched as Lucario's health plummeted down…straight into 1 HP. His item suddenly activated, revealing a Focus Sash that promptly saved his team from fainting.

" _Wait, what?"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"How did that not kill?"_

Gabe wagged his finger. _"Nice try, you guys. But I put a Focus Sash on Lucario since I knew he was so squishy. And here's our gift in return!"_ He clicked on Lucario to use Shadow Ball again, but to his surprise and horror Dusknoir attacked first. His Shadow Sneak rushed at Lucario before he could fire his Shadow Ball, and at 1 HP there was no way Lucario could survive even the weakest of attacks.

" _Hah!"_ Liz grinned. _"You still died anyway!"_

" _Dammit dammit dammit…"_ Susie muttered. There was only one Pokémon left, and Gabe sent his final Pokémon, a Togekiss. He, Susie, and Cassidy all suddenly grinned as Jeremy's team looked at them worriedly.

" _What are you guys planning?"_ Jeremy muttered.

" _Only the most asinine strategy we found so far,"_ Gabe flippantly replied. He ordered Togekiss to Thunder Wave Dusknoir, and to his opponents' great annoyance Dusknoir ended up fully paralyzed on that turn and couldn't act. Gabe then proceeded to spam Air Slash, and his team started laughing at his opponents' growing ire as Togekiss proceeded to flinch Dusknoir to death.

" _What the FUCK is this nonsense?"_ Jeremy snarled as he sent out his final Pokémon, a Mamoswine. _"How the fuck is that fair?"_

Mike took out a fake pipe and proceeded to imitate smoking it. "Ah yes," he explained in a British accent that was so fake and exaggerated that the kids couldn't help but laugh. "The strategy that Gabe implemented is infamous to all players of Generation IV, and is known as the Paraflinch. You see, Togekiss has an ability known as Serene Grace that doubles Air Slash's flinch rate from 30% to 60%. When you combine this with the 25% chance of failure from paralysis, it means that your enemies will only have a 30% chance of being able to attack at all. To those of us well-versed in the intricate nature of Pokémon battling, that, my children, is known as…" his voice suddenly returned to normal, "…a real dick move." The sudden reversion in voice and personality earned another bout of laughter from the ghosts. "No, I mean seriously, Gabe, that's the kind of strategy that makes you lose all of your friends out of rage."

" _It got us down to Jeremy's last Pokémon, didn't it?"_ Gabe countered.

"I didn't say it wasn't a good strategy, only that it's annoying as fuck," Mike replied. "But anyway, here we are, down to the last Pokémon for each team. As luck would have it, both of these have the exact same base speed, and since Mamoswine is part Ground, you can't Paraflinch Hax it to death." He grinned. "Let's see who comes out on top, shall we?"

" _We've got this, guys,"_ Fritz said to his team quietly. _"We have super effective moves against Togekiss. This game's as good as ours."_

" _I wouldn't be so sure, Fritz,"_ Liz replied. _"The way this game's been going, anything can happen."_

" _Ice Shard has priority, I think we should save that for last,"_ Jeremy muttered. _"I can shoot a Stone Edge at Togekiss if you're not worried about us missing."_

" _Do it, I bet that Togekiss has super effective moves on us too,"_ Fritz told him.

With a nod, Jeremy turned back to the battle. _"Mamoswine, use Stone Edge!"_ he declared. Unfortunately for him, it was the Togekiss who acted first. The bird Pokémon sent out an Air Slash, but to Gabe's horror, the attack missed.

" _Hah, they missed! We're gonna wreck them now!"_ Fritz declared triumphantly….only for Stone Edge to miss too. The two of them stared blankly at the screen and the two full health bars.

" _Wait…the heck just happened?"_ Susie asked.

"Looks like you both missed," Mike commented with a raised eyebrow. "Huh. I mean, I sometimes call Stone Edge Stone Miss because of its 80% accuracy, but Air Slash is fairly reliable for attacking. Oh, well. Try again?"

" _Yeah, and this time I'm done screwing around,"_ Gabe muttered. _"Remember my good buddy Lucario's Aura Sphere?"_ he asked with a smirk.

" _Ye…OH,"_ Liz realized. _"That's not good."_

" _Damn right it's not!"_ he declared. _"Cause here's a round 2!"_ Togekiss fired off an Aura Sphere, and Jeremy's team flinched as the attack lowered Mamoswine to slightly below 50% HP. Mamoswine fired back with another Stone Edge, and this time the attack hit. Rocks slammed into Togekiss' belly, also lowering it to below 50%. It was clear that whoever landed the next hit would win the fight, and by extension, the entire battle.

" _It all comes down to this,"_ Mary murmured. _"Whoever manages to land the next hit will win the battle. It all comes down to whoever wins the Speed Tie."_

To her surprise, Fritz began to chuckle. _"You're right, Mary,"_ he commented. _"Whoever goes first will win."_ His lips stretched into a menacing and confident grin. _"But you're also wrong. There is no speed tie. We ARE going first."_

" _Mamoswine, use Ice Shard!"_ he, Liz, and Jeremy all shouted at the same time. And just as they had planned, Mamoswine went first thanks to Ice Shard's priority, and a volley of ice slammed into Togekiss. The attack knocked Togekiss' HP to 0, fainting it. Jeremy's team cheered and Gabe's team groaned as the battle ended, yielding victory for the former.

 **[[End Theme]]**

" _We did it, guys!"_ Fritz whooped. _"We won!"_

" _That was so much fun!"_ Liz agreed, some of her past vibrancy returning at long last. _"And man, that was tough, too! It all came down to the last 'mon!"_

" _I definitely need to play this game more!"_ Jeremy insisted. He looked over at Gabe's team. _"What do you guys think?"_

Gabe's eyes narrowed. _"This is just the beginning, Jeremy. You guys might have lucked out, but once we figure out what we're doing, we're gonna come back, and next time, we're gonna wreck you!"_ he promised.

" _Amen to that!"_ Susie agreed. _"This is way too much fun to let you guys just take a win like that."_

" _There's so many strategies and other things to think about it!"_ Cassidy added. _"I've never seen a game like this!"_

"And that's the beauty of Pokémon," Mike interrupted with a smile. "Whether it's the Pokémon themselves, the world you're in, or the battling, as you've just seen, there's so much to this video game series that can satisfy almost anyone. But enough about that…we've had some fun with competition just now. How about some cooperation now?"

The ghosts all stared at him blankly. _"What?"_

"It's quite simple," Mike replied. "With the exception of Mary, you all work together to try and beat me. In fact, I'll even make it easy. I'll use only 3 Pokémon, you get to pick 6. Think you can do it?"

His children grinned. _"You're going down, dad!"_

Mike's return chuckle was unnerving. "Oh, I very much doubt I'll go down as easily as you think. I've got my own Pokémon prepped for this." He took one of the DS's and the ghosts crowded around the other one. "Let's battle. Oh, and Legendaries are still off limits. Just so you know."

" _Fair enough,"_ Gabe conceded as he and the children picked their six Pokémon. _"Let's battle!"_

 **[[Start: Either Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Cynthia Battle Theme or Team Galactic Cyrus Theme, Depending]]**

Mike grinned. He didn't say a word, simply sent out his first Pokémon: a Starmie. Gabe sent out his own first Pokémon, a Gyarados. The kids chittered excitedly as Intimidate lowered Starmie's attack, but their enthusiasm faded when they realized Mike didn't seem even remotely bothered by this. "You know, it's a shame that Starmie is a special attacker and doesn't care about Attack drops. But you know what's more of a shame?"

" _What?"_

Their father smirked. "This." Mike's Starmie proceeded to unleash a devastating Thunderbolt on Gyarados, knocking its HP from full straight to 0 thanks to its 4x weakness. The children stared at the screen.

" _Oh, crap…"_ Cassidy was the first to mutter.

" _We've still got five more, don't give up, guys!"_ Susie tried to encourage them. _"Look, we have a Weavile! That thing completely counters Starmie! Just hit it with a Night Slash and we're good to go!"_ Nobody had any better ideas, so Gabe sent out the Weavile. To their surprise and growing nervousness, however, Starmie still went first and hit Weavile with a Surf that knocked out a good chunk of its HP.

" _Are you kidding me?"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"How? How did Starmie still go first even when Weavile has higher speed?"_ As the ghosts desperately tried to make sense of it all, Mary's eyeholes narrowed and the lights inside flickered briefly. Something wasn't right here…

Fortunately for the ghosts, Weavile's Night Slash was able to bring Starmie down to critical, though it didn't outright kill. _"Can you hit it with an Ice Shard, it might be able to kill!"_

" _I'll see what I can do!"_ Gabe muttered. He instructed Weavile to attack with an Ice Shard, and to the ghosts' immense relief, it just barely managed to knock Starmie out.

" _Okay, okay, okay…"_ Liz muttered. _"We're doing all right. He's down to 2 and we've still got 5."_

Mike shrugged and sent out a Scizor. He immediately instructed it to send out a Bullet Punch. Gabe had tried to use Rolling Kick since it was the only move that Weavile had that wasn't resisted, but Bullet Punch's priority ensured that Weavile was knocked out anyway.

"So who's next?" Mike asked with a smirk.

" _What do we do now, guys?"_ Fritz asked.

" _Wait a minute, we have a Magnezone!"_ Susie suddenly pointed out. _"We can trap that Scizor in with Magnet Pull and just Thunderbolt him to death!"_

" _Hold up, I just noticed that this Magnezone has Hidden Power. Could it be…?"_

" _Only one way to find out!"_ They sent out Magnezone, and their hopes heightened as Mike noticeably grimaced. He ordered Scizor to attack Magnezone with Superpower, but to his surprise, Magnezone's item suddenly activated. _"It's Quick Claw time!"_ Jeremy cheered as Magnezone got the jump on Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. The ghosts cheered as they realized that Mike was down to his last Pokémon. They could win this easily.

Or at least, that's what they thought. "Well, that was a bit unlucky," Mike admitted. "Didn't expect you to have a Quick Claw of all things, though I had a feeling that Magnezone had Hidden Power Fire. Oh well. Time to bring out my best and my last," Mike declared. He sent out his final Pokémon. A Garchomp that he had nicknamed Armageddon. Not wasting any time, Mike ordered Garchomp to use Earthquake, and it shot Magnezone's HP straight from full to 0.

Gabe sent out a Snorlax, intending to hit him with a high power Return. To his surprise, however, Mike didn't attack. Instead, he ordered his Garchomp to use Swords Dance, allowing Snorlax to land a hit on him that did decent damage, but nothing particularly devastating.

" _Why did you spend a turn doing that?"_ Jeremy asked. But to his surprise, Mary slapped her hand onto her face and groaned.

" _You guys just lost,"_ she muttered.

" _What?"_ Jeremy asked incredulously. " _We have four Pokémon and Mike only has one."_

" _No,"_ Mary shook her head. _"I've seen this before, and the only two Pokémon you had who could have countered Mike's Garchomp are already dead. You're about to get wrecked."_

Mike gave them an unnerving smirk as he ordered his Garchomp to use Earthquake. To the ghosts' surprise and horror, the attack destroyed their Snorlax completely, plummeting his health from full to 0.

" _What the…how…HOW?"_ Susie spluttered. _"Our Snorlax was at full HP!"_

"You're right, Susie! And now it's at zero," Mike taunted. "Try again."

The ghosts sent out Electivire, hoping against hope that it could kill Mike's Garchomp with the Ice Punch it had. Only for it to ALSO get OHKO'd. Even the Shuca Berry that Gabe had placed on Electivire meant nothing, thanks to the Swords Dance that Mike had used earlier.

 _"How are we down to our last Pokemon ALREADY?"_ Cassidy desperately asked. Gabe looked at the final Pokemon he had.

" _Uh…we have a Flygon,"_ he replied uncertainly. His eyes suddenly lit up. _"Wait, the Flygon can't be hit by Earthquake!"_

" _SEND IT OUT!"_ Liz insisted, and Gabe gladly did so. They finally had their own Dragon to play with…and their sense of relief vanished when Mike's grin widened even more.

"Oh, congrats, you finally forced me to stop with the Earthquakes," he said with mock congratulations. "The only problem is, the other main move I have on my Garchomp is _even stronger._ Armageddon, buddy, show'em your Outrage please." The background turned into a sea of red and white fire as Garchomp let loose a storm of flames from his body, obliterating the Flygon completely. Mike had killed four of their Pokémon with just one.

 **[[End Theme]]**

" _What the fu…"_ Fritz mumbled. _"…what the fuck just happened?"_

" _Mike's Garchomp completely wiped the floor with us!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"How? How is one single Pokémon THAT STRONG?"_

Jeremy suddenly realized something. _"Wait a minute…that Swords Dance earlier! It gave him a massive power boost that let him wreck all of us!"_

" _That's part of it, but I know the real reason why,"_ all eyes turned to Mary, who had her eyes narrowed. She looked straight at Mike. _"That Starmie…it was EV trained with a Timid nature, wasn't it?"_

"Maaaaaybe, maybe not…" he replied, but for some strange reason he had what looked like a nervous grin on his face.

" _And so was that Scizor, right?"_

"In my defense, it didn't matter since it got knocked out thanks to Magnezone's Quick Claw…"

" _And ESPECIALLY that Garchomp, which I bet also had a Jolly nature, didn't it?"_

"I can neither confirm nor deny…"

Mary sighed and smacked her face with her spindly hand. _"Mike, you're a great person and I love you, but you can be such a gigantic asshole sometimes."_

Mike shrugged. "Hey, I needed to get revenge for 20 shitty nights at Freddy's _somehow_ …"

The ghosts looked back and forth between Mike and Mary. _"What are you guys talking about?"_ Liz asked the question on everyone's mind.

Mary groaned again. _"I'll explain it to you,"_ she muttered. _"The long and short of it is that Mike went as close as possible to cheating in that fight without actually cheating…"_

/

A/N: Sending 3 fully EV-trained Pokémon with optimal natures against a bunch of kids without EV-trained Pokémon who didn't have any idea what they were doing? Especially a Garchomp, which is functionally Loophole Abusing since he's a non-Legendary that was easily on par with most Legendaries back in Gen IV? Dick move, Mike. Dick move.

Who remembers the glory days of Gen 4, with Togekiss spamming Paraflinch and Garchomp slaughtering entire unprepared teams all day long? Good times, good times…

The team that Mike used – Starmie, Scizor, Garchomp – is my main Platinum team for the Battle Tower. And with the right items, it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING in how well it works. Got me to a 100 streak more than once. I completely adore Garchomp – it has been one of my favorites ever since it got released. And my favorite legendary is Giratina, in case you were wondering. Hence the little talk about him earlier.

I dunno how this ended up taking a full 11 pages on Word. Thank God I decided to focus only on Pokémon this chapter, cause there's no way I could fit another game here.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	28. Chapter 28 - Expanding Horizons

A/N: It's been 27 chapters and I still haven't enabled the kids to get out of the house yet. Which is probably the most important thing that I could possibly do to expand the story and scope of the fic. So let's fix that right now.

I'm thinking about setting an update schedule for this fic, as in picking a specific day and time in which I upload a chapter. With that in mind, I'd like to ask you guys what you think would be the best time for me to upload, or if you don't mind the more sporadic but still relatively consistent uploading intervals that I currently use.

To Blazing Groudon: that's an incredibly interesting analysis, as well as a bit ironic since Giratina reminds the kids of Nightmare. The only issue is that there's no threats for her to fight against, at least not that I have planned right now. And you're right, William Afton is completely and eternally screwed. Especially since Afton managed to offend the sliver of morality and honor that prevents Nightmare from lacking any redeeming qualities whatsoever.

To sonic: In my verse, the victim of the Bite of '83 _is_ the youngest Afton (who I've named Eric), and is Liz's and Michael's brother. I'm not sure whether Eric will be making a direct appearance in the future, though he will have an impact on parts of the story in the future. Also, I don't plan on making any holy animatronics at the moment (mostly cause I don't know how).

Anyways, on to the chapter!

Chapter 28 – Expanding Horizons

Mike rubbed his temples as he stared frustrated at his desk. He had left the kids to play down in the living room to focus on the one problem that had eluded him ever since the ghosts had first come here. The kids had accepted life in his house just fine for around a month and a half now, but he knew they would soon get agitated. It wasn't just the general restlessness of being stuck in one place, either – without new things to explore and distract them, the ghosts would inevitably start brooding on their past torment and sins. Some of the older ones, like Gabe and Jeremy, either hadn't reached that point yet or were hiding their thoughts very well. But others…Cassidy had come crying to his room a few nights ago from another Freddy's-related nightmare, and while Liz hadn't outright fallen into depression again like he'd feared, she'd become much quieter and more subdued ever since Nightmare's attack and it wasn't hard for him to guess why. Hopefully, exposure to the outside world would draw their attention away from their past and towards the wonder and curiosity children naturally had.

"What do I do about this…" he muttered as he tapped his fingers on his desk.

While there was _technically_ nothing stopping them from exiting and the conditions of his house were almost certainly much better than their existence in the animatronics, the ghost kids were still functionally trapped in the house, even if this time it was for their own good. Mike sighed. He might not have to deal with several of the disadvantages of being a parent, but taking care of 7 kids was still a major challenge when he had to bear the weight of their problems on his own shoulders.

Wait a minute…bear the weight of their problems on his own shoulders…

"I'm an IDIOT!" Mike all but shouted as he slammed the palm of his hand onto his desk. He couldn't believe it – it had taken him THIS long to finally find a solution to this problem? "How did it take me an entire month to figure this out?" he shook his head, disappointed in himself. "God, only 48 years old and I'm already going senile…"

" _Uh, dad?"_ Liz's head popped out of the floor. _"Are you all right?"_

Mike seamlessly masked his frustration. "Yeah. Actually, if things work out the way I hope they do, I might be better than all right. Would you mind doing me a favor?"

The girl smiled. _"Anything for you, dad!"_

"Would you mind getting all the ghosts and bringing them up here? I think you guys are gonna like what I have to say."

Liz nodded and disappeared back down through the floor. A few seconds later, all the ghosts floated through the floor and into Mike's library as Mary entered through the door.

"Ever since that whole mess with Nightmare blew over, I've been thinking about how to finally get you guys out of the house," Mike began without preamble. "And I've been thinking about it all wrong."

" _Wait…did you finally figure it out?"_ Fritz asked eagerly, his excitement shared by his new family. Even if they hadn't realized it, they had all felt that same yearning to go out and explore the world around them without the search for redemption hanging over their heads.

"I think I have," Mike confirmed, and all the ghosts cheered. He held out a hand to calm them down. "It won't happen immediately, you're not gonna be able to just fly out of my house and to the city today. But I think I know how to approach this."

He took a deep breath before continuing his explanation. "All this time, I've been trying to think about this from what _I_ can do to prepare you for the outside world. And yes, I do need to prepare you properly, for reasons that we've already gone over before. But when it comes to making it possible, it doesn't depend on me."

He gestured towards his children. "It depends on _you_. I'm not the one with the ghost powers, I can't do anything other than supervise. You can turn yourselves invisible, you can hide yourselves to the point that nobody can see or hear you. I've seen you do it before, both to Alex and Meghan and to that thief who tried to break into my house earlier. You have the basics of stealth down from what I can tell. What you need to do now is perfect them."

The kids looked at each other with grins on their faces. That was it? That didn't seem too difficult to pull off. But Mike wasn't done. "When I say perfect them, I _mean_ perfect them," his clarified, his tone utterly serious. "Just because you can turn invisible doesn't mean that people can't tell you're there. A lot can go horribly wrong if the public learns that there's a bunch of ghosts living in my house, and that's even if they DON'T learn about the things you did in the pizzeria. Before I let you guys out into the world, I want you to be so stealthy that the only reason I know you're there is because I know you guys exist beforehand. And I'm not going to be satisfied until we get to that point."

" _Wait, time out,"_ Gabe made the gesture with his hands. _"I don't have any problem at all with keeping ourselves as secret as possible to people who don't need to know we're there. But how are we going to talk to you, then? Either we're gonna have to whisper into your ear literally floating right next to you, which people might still be able to hear anyway, or we're not gonna be able to talk to you at all."_

Mike nodded. "Great question. Which is where Mary comes in. Cause magically she's the strongest one here." He raised an eyebrow at her. "By the way, how come you're the only one here with all these powers when the rest of these guys don't? I know Cassidy could do things like the hallucinations and teleporting while she was in Golden Freddy, but still."

Mary shook her head. _"It's complicated,"_ she answered, _"and probably a story best told for another time."_

Mike shrugged. "Eh, fine by me," he replied. "Where was I? Oh, right. I've read a couple of fantasy stories in the past where two people could communicate telepathically with each other. Can you set up something like that between you, me, and the kids?"

Cassidy raised her hand this time. _"What does telepathically mean?"_ she asked. Being the youngest, her vocabulary wasn't as extensive as some of the older ghosts.

" _It means you can talk with your mind,"_ Jeremy explained succinctly.

" _Jeremy's right,"_ Mary agreed. _"As to whether I can set up something like that, I'm pretty sure I can. I'll need some time to remaster my magical capabilities since I haven't used them in a while, but yes, I can do it. It would only be a weak link, though, enough to send messages but nothing further. You won't be able to experience others' inner thoughts and emotions, and neither will we."_

"That's actually perfect," Mike gave her a thumbs up. "Messages and talking are the _only_ things I want to hear. If I experienced every single thing all seven of you were going through at the same time, I'm pretty sure my brain would literally explode."

Susie cringed at the image. _"Let's not do that,"_ she muttered.

"Yeah, I like my brain intact," Mike agreed dryly. "The only other issue we need to take care of is how to make sure you guys don't get lost. I mean, I know you managed to find your way over to my house from who knows where, but still."

" _I think I have a solution to that, too,"_ Mary offered. _"I can teach my brothers and sisters how to anchor themselves to something or someone."_

Gabe made the time-out motion again. _"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up!"_ he interrupted. _"This anchoring thing sounds disturbingly familiar to how we ended up getting trapped in those animatronics. I really don't want a round 2 of that."_

" _Me neither,"_ Liz added. _"I'd like to keep my freedom now that I finally have it."_

" _Wait a minute…"_ Jeremy interrupted, giving Mary an accusing look. _"Wasn't it YOUR fault that we got trapped in those animatronics in the first place?"_

Mary shook her head. _"I was only partially responsible for your existence in the animatronics,"_ she responded to his accusation. _"There were other factors that actually played a much bigger role, but now's not the time to think about that. And what I'm talking about is completely different and nowhere near as dangerous."_

"How so?" Mike asked.

" _It's an ability that each individual ghost controls him or herself, rather than something someone else does for you,"_ Mary explained. _"By anchoring himself to a specific object or person, the ghost will move along with that object without having to expend any energy."_

"Like a car…" the former Night Guard's eyes flashed with understanding.

" _Exactly,"_ the Marionette nodded. _"Without any anchoring, a ghost would have to expend his own energy to move. If they wanted to keep up with a fast-moving car travelling over long distances, they would end up completely exhausted by the end of it all. Anchoring removes that problem."_

" _What happens if the object gets destroyed?"_ Surprisingly, it was Fritz who asked the insightful question.

" _If the object gets destroyed then the anchor link breaks automatically,"_ Mary explained. _"The ghost can also break the link at any time. All in all, rather simple, easy to execute, and with minimal risk overall. The main downside is that you can't move too far away from an object that you're anchored to."_

" _How do you know so much about this?"_ Jeremy asked. _"I mean, you're stuck in the Puppet, right? You have a physical body for all intents and purposes even if you're still dead."_

Mary smiled again, but this time the smile was faint and a wistful look entered her eyes. _"Someone I trust told me how…"_ she murmured distractedly. She stared off into space for several seconds until Mike snapped his fingers to bring her attention back.

"You all right there?" he asked.

Mary snapped back to reality. _"Yeah, sorry about that."_

"No problem." Mike brushed it off. "How long will it take for you to get ready?"

The Marionette shrugged. _"Maybe about a week? I'll need a few days to refamiliarize myself with using my magic since I haven't done anything with them in a while, and another few to set up a stable mental link. Teaching how to anchor shouldn't take long at all."_

"All right, then," Mike said approvingly. "Sounds like a plan. Soon as I think you guys are ready, we're finally getting you out of the house."

" _When are we gonna get started?"_ Jeremy asked.

Mike grinned. "You know what they say," he answered. "No time like the present!" He got up from his chair and the ghosts launched themselves into the air. "Let's get started."

A Few Days Later…

Mike tapped his fingers pensively on the kitchen table as he evaluated his children's progress. Truth be told, they weren't doing badly at all. Like he'd told them before, they were already familiar with invisibility and quickly mastered how to mask their presence visually for an extended period of time. It had taken them a little while longer to learn how to avoid how to, for lack of a better phrase, make people feel like being watched. Gabe was the one who had eventually come up with the solution – simply avoid focusing their attention on a person for too long. Once they'd started doing that, combined with their improved invisibility, and Mike could sense their presence a lot less keenly than before, though it never faded entirely since he knew they were there.

The real issue was their ability to keep themselves silent. He knew from interacting with other kids that children tended to be hyperactive to begin with, and the fact that these particular children had only recently been freed from decades of quiet suffering had certainly done nothing to change that. Gabe, Liz, and to a lesser degree Jeremy were doing better at keeping themselves quiet for a couple of minutes at a time compared to the others, but it was always only a few minutes at most before one of them said something, giggled, or otherwise gave away their presence.

"You've got to do better than that," Mike had gently reprimanded Susie when she had blown her cover earlier that day. "I can take you guys in a car or to a deserted place just fine, but what if I'm waiting in a room with a decent number of adults and one of them starts hearing kids talking or laughing? At best, they'll think they're hearing things, and at worse, they might start thinking places are haunted."

Susie sighed. _"I know, dad. It's just…it's just hard, is all. We're not used to keeping quiet for longer than a couple of minutes at a time. We couldn't call to anyone for help when we were trapped in those animatronics, and now that we can finally talk freely, I just can't help myself."_

"I do get what you're saying," Mike assured her as he stroked her hair. "And I'm sorry I'm making you go through this. But I really do think this is best for you."

The girl nodded. _"I know, dad. And I'll keep trying."_

Mike's mind returned to the present. "Am I being too hard on them about this?" he thought gloomily. He knew that it was entirely possible to stay quiet for a long period of time, having been a college student studying for hours in a library. But that situation was completely different from the children. "Am I being too cautious? I lived my entire life by not taking risks and planning everything out as carefully as possible…but just how well does that actually work with trying to raise these kids? What if I'm just restricting them for no good reason?"

" _Mike?"_

Mike looked up towards the door to see Mary looking with concern at him. "Oh, hey Mary," he greeted her tiredly. The Puppet floated into the dining room and sat down on a chair next to him. "I've been thinking that maybe I'm going too overboard on this whole stealth thing. Is it really realistic for these kids to not say a word or laugh or make any noise with their mouths for long periods of time?"

Mary shook her head. _"I couldn't tell you that, Mike,"_ she answered. _"While part of me thinks that you might be expecting too much of them, the other part of me knows just how determined my friends and family can actually be when they set their minds to it."_

"Oh, believe me, I know all about their determination," Mike's lips twitched upward. "I've had 20 nights to get familiar with it."

The Marionette thought for a moment. _"I do have a solution for you,"_ she finally offered. _"One that will greatly simplify things. I can cast a silencing spell on my friends to prevent them from making any verbal sounds. This will eliminate the problem you're worried about entirely, and remove the last obstacle that's stopping them from safely going out into the world."_

Mike frowned. "The problem with that is that these kids were forced into silence for decades," he commented. "The only one who found any way to talk at all was Liz, and…well, we know how that turned out in the end. I don't like the idea of forcing that onto them."

" _Let them decide,"_ Mary suggested. _"I've been with them much longer than you have, except for Liz. I can tell that they want to be free of this house, and I know you can sense it too. The decision should rest with them."_

A Few Minutes Later…

" _So those are our options?"_ Gabe asked.

"Yep," Mike nodded. "You can keep practicing silence, or we can take the easy way out and have Mary silence you guys with a spell while we're in crowded places like malls and hotels and stuff. And no, this won't affect our mental link at all. You'll still be able to mind-talk with me and everyone else here. But it's up to you. The only condition I'm going to add is that, for consistency's sake, everyone's going to be doing the same thing. So, talk amongst yourselves and come to a decision."

The ghosts looked at each other. _"I don't like it,"_ Fritz was the first to say something. _"I don't like the idea of being forced into silence. Reminds me too much of what things were like back in the pizzeria."_

" _I don't see the problem,"_ Susie countered. _"Trying to be quiet for a long time is a lot harder than I thought it would be. And I really, REALLY want to see the outside world soon."_

" _Yeah, it would help a lot,"_ Cassidy agreed. _"Besides, we can still talk to each other. And it's not like we have any reason to talk to a random stranger."_

Liz shook her head. _"I'm with Fritz,"_ she argued. _"It took me so long to learn how to talk through Baby. After so many years of being trapped in the dark, being able to talk again was the first and closest thing I had to getting some freedom back."_

" _Do we really have a good reason to keep our mouths open in public, though?"_ Jeremy challenged. _"Remember, it's not like we're being silenced from the moment we leave this house to the moment we come back. We'll still be able to talk just fine in Dad's car, and in places where giving ourselves away won't be an issue. Besides, I have to agree with Sus. I'm really getting tired of this house!"_ He gave an apologetic look to Mike. _"No offense, dad."_

Mike shrugged. "None taken. There's a reason I go out almost every weekend."

Gabe decided to intervene at this point. _"Look, here's the thing,"_ he interrupted the debate. _"We can't leave the house anyway until Mary finishes prepping all of her magic stuff. Why don't we keep practicing for now, and if we still can't pull it off right by the time Mary's done, we go with the silencing thing. Personally, I'm okay with having that spell on me as long as it's only for a short period of time, but I think the other side at least deserves a chance."_

" _I'm cool with that,"_ Fritz agreed. Liz was a bit more reluctant to concede, but ultimately, she too agreed with the compromise.

" _So it seems we've all reached an agreement,"_ Mary said approvingly. _"That's one less issue in your way to freedom. I'll go back inside my music box to keep practicing. The sooner I master my magic again, the sooner you can be free of this house."_

As she floated away from the living room and into her music box, Mike's lips suddenly stretched into a mischievous smirk that all the ghosts caught.

" _What did you do, dad?"_ Cassidy mouthed.

"Wait for it," he mouthed back. Suddenly, a deafening electric guitar and drum sequence blared from the next room. The Marionette immediately popped out of the music box, clearly agitated. _"WHO THE HELL CHANGED MY MUSIC BOX TUNE TO HEAVY METAL?"_ she shouted.

The rest of the family collapsed into laughter. "Get wrecked, Mary!" Mike chortled as the Puppet gave him the middle finger.

" _Can you PLEASE fix it?"_ she all but growled. _"You think I can concentrate like this?"_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, hold on a sec…" Mike moved over to the music box. "I honestly don't know how you can stand hearing the same tune over and over, but whatever…"

A Few Days Later…

" _You are really bad at this game, Fritz."_

" _Shut up, Jeremy! You're not much better!"_

" _At least I didn't get a Game Over because I died in a pit_ ** _while having the flying P wing activated!"_**

" _Guys!"_ Mary popped out of her music box and rushed over to the living room, looking visibly excited. _"I'm ready to set up the mental link. Your wait is finally over!"_

The game was quickly abandoned as the family gave her their full attention. _"When I finish establishing this link, you'll be able to talk to each other with just your minds. Everyone, close your eyes."_

They did so, and the Marionette's eyes flashed as she channeled her energy. Everyone felt a warm glow envelop them as they were surrounded by Mary's magic. After several moments, the glow faded.

"Did it work?" Mike asked.

" _Can anyone hear me?"_ Susie's voice called out in his head. It took Mike a second to realize that she hadn't actually spoken a word.

" _I heard you!"_ Gabe's voice echoed in their heads in the same way.

" _I think it worked!"_ Liz added her own thoughts through the same mental link.

" _This is awesome!"_ Cassidy declared with a joyful laugh.

" _Now that I've established the mental link, it will be a simple matter for me to turn it on and off whenever we need it or not,"_ Mary finished. _"Since we don't need it right now, I can shut it off right now."_

The family felt something disconnect in their minds. Fritz tried to send a message through the mental link, but judging from the unchanging expressions on his family's faces, it was clear they didn't hear it. _"To be honest…"_ he admitted, _"we haven't gotten as far with keeping quiet as I would've liked. I guess we're gonna have to go with the silence spell thing after all, at least for now."_

Mike shook his head. "Well, that might be true for some places we go to," he suddenly grinned and picked up a cell phone. "But not for the one I have in mind."

One Hour Later…

"Ugggghhhhh…." Alex groaned as he buried his head into his couch pillow. "I'm so freaking booooooooored!"

Meghan slammed her head onto her desk. "Why is there nothing to do?" she complained loudly. "For God's sake, even video games have gotten boring now!"

Her brother sighed. "If it were up to me, I'd be out with my friends by now," he muttered. "But can you believe it? They're ALL busy doing one thing or another."

"Bad luck, I guess…" Meghan sighed.

"Hey, kids?" they heard their dad's voice call out to them. "Would you mind coming down here, please?"

Alex closed his laptop and Meghan put her phone down. Both of them headed downstairs and to the kitchen. "Sup, dad?" Alex asked.

"You guys doing good?" Ryan greeted them, looking more cheerful than expected. "How's your evening going?"

Meghan groaned audibly. "We are so BORED!" she exclaimed. "Please, dad, can you do anything to help?"

Ryan laughed. "Oh, don't you worry, sweetie. I'm about to change all that right now. He looked over their shoulders. "Right, Mike?"

The two children whirled around to see Mike sitting lazily on the sofa in the living room. He waved at them with a lazy grin. "Sup, kiddos?"

"Mr. Schmidt!" Alex called out to him in surprise. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"And yet, here I am!" Mike replied good-humoredly. "But I don't think you guys would be all that excited to see some old guy, to be honest. Nah, that's not why I'm here."

Meghan opened her mouth to speak. "Uh…"

"Don't worry," Mike interrupted, and his grin widened. "I've brought some guys along who I think you'll be very happy to see again."

Alex's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

All around Mike, the ghostly figures of children materialized into existence. Children they were _very_ familiar with.

" _SURPRISE!"_

/

A/N: And I think that's a good place to stop. I don't think there's any place the children would want to go to more than the home of their first living friends in over 30 years for their first time outside of the house. And now that the kids are free to go to the outside world, there's a lot more that I/they can do now that we couldn't do before.

I wanted to show Mike putting a bit of a firmer hand on parenting since he's been relatively laid-back and relaxed up to this point, Nightmare's attack being the main exception. Since he's never parented or had consistent examples of good parents in his life, I also wanted him to experience some level of internal struggle over whether he _is_ doing a good job, even though I'm fairly certain everyone would agree that he is, at least in-universe.

For those of you who like the Marionette, I've brought her more into focus here. Despite her being one of the most important characters in FNAF, up to this point in the fic I've kinda put her more off to the side since a lot of the attention was on the rest of the ghostly children. As the magically gifted ghost and the Team Mom/Cool Big Sis of the group, she also plays a significant role in guiding and taking care of them, though the main part of that burden has passed on to Mike. And did you guys catch those hints to the past? I have some plot arcs in my mind, and there'll be more FNAF lore exploration for those who like that kind of thing 😊

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	29. Chapter 29 - Supernatural Playdate 1

A/N: It seems like people don't particularly mind when I upload these chapters, so I'll just continue to post them whenever I am able.

I'm going to be starting the next "serious" chapter soon. As you might have already guessed from the explorations into Mike's past and Nightmare's attacks, it is during these moments that I will dive into the past lore of FNAF, possibly with my own spin on how events played out during the timeline of the games. I couldn't initiate any of these before Mike found a way to get the ghosts out of the house, but since I have now accomplished that, I can delve into FNAF lore more deeply.

A lot of you have asked about whether Mike can make robot bodies for the ghosts to inhabit, ones that are obviously without the issues that lead to the FNAF tragedy. Like so many other things, I have…plans…for that. I've got a good 3-5 ideas for future chapters that are bustling around in my head, many of which are tied to what I just mentioned in the last paragraph.

Jacko and GaoGod: GaoGod is correct in saying that the main SL animatronics were destroyed in FNAF6's fire (as Molten Freddy) and that there were no souls in the SL animatronics, as it would be incredibly difficult for me to handle more main characters than I am already handling. However, I believe that what Jacko was referring to were characters like Bidybab and the Minireenas. Their status is currently…undetermined.

Aurora Borealis: To be honest, I haven't really thought about that. There aren't any automatic doors or candles in Mike's house, and modern technology seems to work fine around them. In the FNAF games, the ghosts really didn't seem to have that much of an influence over technology or external environments unless they were actively messing with things like the cameras, although to be fair they were also in animatronics at the time. There's also the fact that they love Mike and have no reason to try and scare him by messing with things in his house.

Chapter 29 – Supernatural Playdate 1

"Holy crap!" Meghan exclaimed. "You guys actually did it! You're finally here!"

" _Yep!"_ Gabe replied cheerfully. _"And surprisingly, it wasn't even that hard!"_

"Wait, really?" Alex asked. "So what took you so long then?"

The ghosts gave each other uneasily. _"We were…uh…we were held up by something…"_ Jeremy finally muttered. Telling their new friends that a black bear demon had assaulted them with their past crimes and sins was probably not the best of ideas.

Fortunately, both Alex and Meghan took the hint and decided to change the subject. "Well, you picked a great time to show up!" Alex declared. "We were just talking a few minutes ago about how we were so utterly bored. You guys just saved our Friday night!"

The ghosts grinned at this. _"So what are we gonna do?"_ Susie asked eagerly. _"Video games?"_

To their surprise, both Marshalls groaned. "Maybe if it were any other time, yeah, but we've gotten to the point that even video games have started to bore the crap out of us," Alex explained.

Ryan nearly spat out his drink. "You're bored with video games?" he asked incredulously. "Jesus, you two weren't joking."

Mike shrugged. "Eh, doing a bunch of the same thing all of the time does get boring eventually," he commented. "Besides, my kids have played enough video games anyway. I was hoping they would find something else to do."

" _Don't worry, dad,"_ Gabe replied. _"We're not gonna waste time with our new friends on video games."_

"Wait, I have an idea!" Alex suddenly turned to Mike. "Mr. Schmidt, do you plan on going on a vacation any time soon?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe?"

"While we were at your house, we were talking about our vacation last year," he explained. "Are you going to be taking your kids on your next vacation with you?"

Mike realized what Alex was saying, and his lips stretched into a smirk even as the ghosts' eyes widened at the implications. "Well…" he began, pretending to think although he already knew what he was going to say from the beginning. "If I went on a vacation all by myself, it would be boring as all hell, wouldn't it?" he replied smoothly. "Hell, it's not like I have to pay to bring them along or anything." The ghosts gasped.

" _You're actually gonna take us on a vacation?"_ Fritz exclaimed, starry-eyed.

" _THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU,"_ Cassidy was all but babbling with excitement.

" _I LOVE YOU DAD!"_ Susie shouted with a silly grin on her face.

"All right, all right, settle down guys!" Mike tried desperately to calm them, and it took several seconds for him to finally be able to speak over them. Ryan bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I'll take you guys with me on vacations, but I'm not gonna do all the work. You want to go somewhere nice? You tell me where you want to go."

"Hey, wait a minute," Ryan interrupted. "I heard from Chris that you were gonna go on an extended vacation this summer that you cancelled. Is this the reason…"

"Yeah," Mike cut him off. "It is."

"But…"

"End of discussion."

His tone made it clear it was time to change the subject. "Why don't we leave these kids to themselves and head down to the basement, Mike? I can't wait 'til Stella gets home. I know she's been looking forward to seeing you again."

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've seen her," Mike agreed. The kids, living and dead, watched them leave before turning their attention back to each other. Alex suggested moving to his and his sister's room to get some privacy, to which the kids happily agreed.

"Didn't you already make a list of places you want to go to?" Meghan asked as Alex started turning on his computer. "I thought one of you did that when we were over at your house."

" _Yeah, but we only wrote down the places you showed us,"_ Fritz replied. _"There might be even better places for us to go instead. Besides, Dad was already working on trying to get us out of the house and we didn't want to make his life harder."_

Alex shrugged. "Fair enough. So, uh, what're you interested in?" he asked. "Like, what kind of places do you want to go to?"

Jeremy gave him a confused look. _"What?"_

"Do you want to go to natural wonders like the Grand Canyon?" he clarified. "Or different countries in different parts of the world? Maybe you want to go to big cities, or places that are meant to be vacation spots like a beach resort?"

" _Why not all of them?"_ Fritz asked with a grin.

Meghan thought for a moment. "Well, like we showed you before, there's a lot of amazing places in the West. Honestly, I can't think of any places in America that are more beautiful than what we already showed you," she commented. "Besides, you won't be too far away from Vegas, and that's gonna be a fun time as long as you don't stay there for too long."

"Best thing to do at Vegas is only stay for about 3 days," Alex added. "That's plenty of time for you to explore most of the hotels. I've heard Dad say that Vegas gets really boring if you stay there for too long."

" _Well, that makes one part of our job easy,"_ Liz said as Gabe took a sheet of paper out of the Marshalls kids' printer. _"But what about some of the other things you mentioned?"_

" _I still want to go to Disneyworld!"_ Cassidy insisted. _"It's the perfect place for kids like us!"_

"Yeeaaaahhhh…there's a slight problem with that, though," Meghan told her reluctantly. "If you're happy just looking around at the place, then that's perfectly fine. Disneyworld is an amazing place with plenty to do. And you'll be able to watch the shows there without any issues, I think. But, uh…will you be able to take the rides?"

" _What are you…OH,"_ Gabe realized.

"The roller coasters, the rides, etc." Alex continued for his sister. "Now, to be fair, I don't know anything about ghosts obviously, but I'm pretty sure ghosts can't go on rides."

Cassidy's face fell. _"Awwwwwww…"_ she moaned sadly. _"That would've been the best part…"_

Susie put a comforting hand on her shoulder. _"Don't worry, Cass,"_ she reassured her. _"There's still plenty of reason for us to go there. I'm sure we'll still have fun even if we can't go on the rides."_

" _Couldn't we just, I don't know, short-distance anchor ourselves to the rolling coaster carts or something?"_ Fritz asked.

Everyone stared at him. _"Oh my God, Fritz, if you didn't say stupid crap half the time I'd call you a freaking genius!"_ Jeremy exclaimed.

Meghan grinned. "Well, that's your biggest problem out of the way," she commented as Gabe started writing stuff down. "By the way, make sure you go to Universal Studios after Disney World. They're really close to each other and there's no reason why you should miss one if you're going to the other."

" _Okay…natural wonders in the West, Disney World and Universal Studios, what else could you recommend?"_

"How much money does Mr. Schmidt have for this?" Meghan asked.

Alex looked at her incredulously. "Sis, you're joking, right? You do realize Mr. Schmidt is mad rich? Like, millions of dollars rich?"

"So….no limit, then," Meghan said. "Well, if money's not stopping you…what else are you interested in?"

" _What's a beach resort?"_ Gabe asked.

"A really, _really_ nice hotel on a beach in a tropical island," Alex answered with a dreamy look in his eyes. "Take a look at this one, for example. It's called Paradisus Punta Cana – we went there two years ago."

He looked a couple of images and showed it to the ghosts. Their eyes bulged as they took in the beautiful tropical beach, the gigantic swimming pools, and the simple yet elegant buildings and restaurants.

" _Oh my God that looks amazing!"_ Susie exclaimed.

"It is," Alex agreed, "but I think this would be better for your dad than for you. The best part about Punta Cana is the huge pool and the many restaurants there, and since you're ghosts I can't imagine you being able to fully enjoy either for…obvious reasons."

The ghosts thought about Mike and how he was spending every hour of his life working for their best interests. _"Doesn't matter,"_ Jeremy said. _"It's still worth it."_

"Don't just pick the one we showed you, though," Alex advised. "We went to that one cause Mom found a really cheap deal online. Since you don't have to worry about money, look up different places and choose what you think is the best one."

" _We'll definitely do that!"_ Liz assured him as Mary suddenly appeared at the doorway.

" _Sorry for being late,"_ the Marionette apologized as she floated in. _"I had to wait until the street was deserted before Mike could get me in the house. People would get weirded out by a moving Puppet and all that."_ She looked at Alex's computer and Gabe's list. _"So you're doing vacation write-up part 2?"_

" _Yeah, but a little more organized than what we did before,"_ Gabe responded. _"So what were you saying earlier about ancient monuments?"_

For the next thirty minutes, the living and dead children exchanged information and questions about the various categories for potential vacation spots. The ghosts asked about various locations that piqued their interest, and the Marshalls did their best to provide as many details and recommendations as possible. By the time they were done, Gabe had filled out his entire paper with all the potential places they could go to.

" _We'll sort this out later,"_ he told his siblings. _"There's probably gonna be arguments that pop up if we try to decide where we want to go first, and I don't want us to make ourselves look bad in front of our friends."_

" _I don't have any problem with that,"_ Liz replied, and the rest of the family nodded in agreement.

"You guys don't have sibling rivalry when there's 7 of you?" Alex whistled. "Damn, that's impressive."

Mary's eye lights flickered. _"There's a very good reason for that,"_ she answered, and something in her voice made both Marshalls shudder. _"Anyway, it looks like you're done with vacation ideas. What should we do next?"_

" _Don't you guys play musical instruments or something?"_ Fritz asked his friends. _"I think I vaguely remember you saying something about that."_

"Oh, right!" Meghan got on her feet. "Yeah, let me go get my saxophone!" she rushed out of the room.

Alex turned and gave the ghosts an apologetic look. "Yeaaaaaahhhh…I kinda left my violin at school, so I won't be able to play anything for you guys. Sorry."

Cassidy shrugged. _"Don't worry about it,"_ she replied as Meghan came back carrying a huge golden instrument. The kids' eyes bulged when they saw it.

" _Geez, that thing looks bulky!"_ Gabe commented as Meghan started prepping it.

"I'll play something nice and simple," she decided as she experimentally blew out a few notes. Taking a deep breath, she began to play.

 **[[LOOK UP EPIC SAX GUY – DEEJAY ZONIK REMIX ON YOUTUBE AND PLAY TO ABOUT HALFWAY INTO VIDEO]]**

The ghosts' eyes all widened as Meghan played her tune. Even though they hadn't heard a saxophone before and Meghan was only 11, they were amazed by how fluidly she played out her tune, a smooth melody with no obvious mistakes. Alex's lips stretched into a wry smile – he recognized the theme immediately and it really was a rather simple tune to play, though the ghosts didn't have enough experience to know that. He noticed most of them begin to unconsciously bob their heads in sync with Meghan's beats, and couldn't help but wonder if any of them had some latent musical talent of their own.

Meghan finished playing her last sequence of notes, and the kids instantly burst into applause. _"That was epic!"_ Liz shouted excitedly. _"You're really talented!"_

" _How are you so good? I need to know!"_ Susie insisted.

Meghan shrugged and gave them a sheepish smile. "I dunno…just lots of practice, I guess." She gave her brother a sly look. "And now it's your turn, bro."

"Uh…I left my violin at school, sis. I can't play anything."

She shook her head. "Oh come on, Alex. Don't try to hide the fact you can sing from them."

" _What?"_ Fritz and the others looked at Alex with growing interest.

"Yeah, as a crappy pastime that's not worth talking about."

Meghan shook her head and took out a high school yearbook. "Hmmm…" she pretended to think as she skimmed through it. "Not worth talking about, huh? Oh, here we go!" she showed the yearbook to the ghosts and pointed to a picture with Alex on it. Underneath the picture was a caption labeled: "Best Singer Not in the Choir."

Alex groaned. "Thanks, Meghan. Good to know I can always count on you to have my back."

"No problem!" she cheerfully replied, earning another groan from her brother and a round of laughs from the ghosts.

" _Come on, Alex, show us!"_ Liz begged.

"Urrrggghhh….fiiiiiiinnnneeee…" he gave in. He cleared his throat once, and began to sing.

" **I used to rule the world** **  
** **Seas would rise when I gave the word** **  
** **Now in the morning, I sleep alone** **  
** **Sweep the streets I used to own."**

The ghosts' mouths dropped open. Meghan's saxophone playing was one thing, but this…this was something else entirely.

" **I used to roll the dice** **  
** **Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes** **  
** **Listen as the crowd would sing** **  
** **Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!**

 **One minute I held the key** **  
** **Next the walls were closed on me** **  
** **And I discovered that my castles stand** **  
** **Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand."**

Jeremy began to tap his foot in conjunction with Alex's singing. He accidentally kicked Fritz because of this, but the other boy was so fully engrossed in the song that he didn't even notice.

" **I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing** **  
** **Roman Cavalry choirs are singing** **  
** **Be my mirror, my sword and shield** **  
** **My missionaries in a foreign field** **  
** **For some reason I can't explain** **  
** **Once you go there was never, never a honest word** **  
** **And that was when I ruled the world."**

" _Why isn't he in the choir?"_ Gabe thought. This kind of talent was way too good to be ignored.

" **It was a wicked and wild wind** **  
** **Blew down the doors to let me in** **  
** **Shattered windows and the sound of drums** **  
** **People couldn't believe what I'd become**

 **Revolutionaries wait** **  
** **For my head on a silver plate** **  
** **Just a puppet on a lonely string** **  
** **Oh, who would ever want to be king?"**

" _I wonder why Alex chose to sing this?"_ Mary wondered. _"Is there a greater significance, or is he just a popular song? Not that I can't blame him – it's a really good song!"_

" **I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing** **  
** **Roman Calvary choirs are singing** **  
** **Be my mirror, my sword and shield** **  
** **My missionaries in a foreign field** **  
** **For some reason I can't explain** **  
** **I know Saint Peter won't call my name** **  
** **Never an honest word** **  
** **But that was when I ruled the world.**

 **Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh**

 **I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing** **  
** **Roman Calvary choirs are singing** **  
** **Be my mirror, my sword and shield** **  
** **My missionaries in a foreign field** **  
** **For some reason I can't explain** **  
** **I know Saint Peter won't call my name** **  
** **Never an honest word** **  
** **But that was when I ruled the world…"**

The ghosts erupted into even louder applause than before, this time with cheers and shouts of praise added in. Even Meghan, despite her initial teasing, joined in the applause. She knew her brother was a deceptively good singer, but this was without a doubt the best she had ever heard him sing.

" _Oh my God, you are absolutely amazing!"_ Gabe declared, utterly awestruck.

" _Can you teach me how to sing like that?"_ Jeremy and Susie both asked at the same time.

" _What was that song?"_ Cassidy asked curiously. _"I'm guessing it's one that someone wrote after we died."_

"Oh, Viva la Vida?" Alex replied. "Yeah, it's a classic. Still good after so many years. But sadly I can't really teach any of you guys. Between school and all the things I do outside of it, there just isn't any time. Like Meghan said earlier, the best you can do is practice. And maybe listen to some songs on Youtube videos to get an idea of what you want to sing and what goal you want to set for yourselves."

Fritz looked at Mary. _"Do you think Dad will buy instruments for us?"_

Mary thought for a moment. _"He has a piano in the basement that he barely uses, but that's about it. Keep in mind, though, instruments tend to make a lot of noise, and he might get irritated if they end up being too loud."_

Jeremy shrugged. _"Can't really hurt to ask, though."_

"Yeah, nothing to lose," Alex agreed. He coughed. "Man, now my throat's really dry. And I'm kind of in the mood to play some games now."

"Video games?" Meghan asked him. "I thought we were bored with those."

"Nah, not video games. Card games." Alex looked over to the ghosts. "Ever heard of UNO?"

Now it was his sister's turn to groan. "Really, Alex? THAT game?"

Alex grinned. "Aww come on, sis, it'll be fun introducing new friends to the game."

Meghan rolled her eyes. "If they start raging, I'm blaming you," she retorted.

" _What's UNO?"_ Liz asked curiously. _"And why are you worried about us raging?"_

"You'll see…" Alex replied cryptically. "You'll see…"

/

"It's great to see you again, Mike," Stella gave her husband's friend a warm hug. Ryan's wife and Mike's close friend had arrived at the house just a few minutes ago from grocery shopping. "It's been way too long, hasn't it?"

"Without a doubt," Mike replied with his familiar dry grin. "Looking as beautiful as ever, Stella."

Stella laughed. "Still the charmer, I see. Some things never change." She shook her head. "I have to say, when Ryan, Alex, and Meghan told me you adopted a couple of ghost kids, I thought they'd all gone insane. And yet…here they are, in my house. You don't have any parenting experience, do you?"

Mike shook his head. "Not before they showed up."

Stella smiled gently. "I don't think that'll you stop from being a great parent, Mike. You have the heart and the patience for it."

Mike returned the smile. "Thanks, Stella. I'll do the best I can."

A muffled exclamation suddenly echoed from above them. "What was that?" Ryan asked.

"Let's go check," Mike suggested, and the three of them climbed the stairs to the Marshall kids' room. They peeked through the barely open door, just out of sight.

" _Are you kidding me?"_ Fritz was howling. _"Draw 8? DRAW FREAKING EIGHT? DO YOU GUYS HATE ME OR SOMETHING?"_

The rest of the kids were doubled over in laughter, and the two Draw 4 cards at the top of the discard pile told Mike, Ryan, and Stella all they needed to know. _"Best combo ever!"_ Gabe was chuckling as he held his hand out to Alex. Alex completed the high-five (or tried to), and Fritz was grumbling under his breath as he was forced to increase his hand size from two to ten.

The three adults snuck away from the room. No need to interrupt the kids' fun when they were having such a good time. "Man, remember when we used to always try and screw each other over whenever we played games, Mike?" Ryan asked wistfully. "I miss those days."

"Yeah, Ryan…" Mike sighed. "Good times, good times. Too bad they're few and far between nowadays."

Stella shook her head. "Well, we're all here together now, aren't we? It's a Friday night, and there's nothing to get in our way. Let's just enjoy each other's company, like we used to. In memory of the old days."

Ryan smiled at his wife. "An excellent suggestion, Stella. An evening with friends underneath a night sky sounds perfect."

Mike nodded his agreement, and as the Marshall couple headed downstairs, he looked back towards the room where the kids were playing. He could hear Cassidy complain about drawing 10 cards in a single turn and smiled.

"You finally have your lives back, kiddos," he thought. "It took way too long, but better late than never. I know you'll make the most of it." And with that, he followed his friends down the stairs and out into the night.

/

A/N: Because Fritz will always be a Butt Monkey when it comes to games :P

After the whole mess with Nightmare, I figured that the kids needed and deserved some happy moments to bring some light back into their lives.

Now, about the serious chapters coming up…here's three names. Three simple yet familiar names. I wonder what this could mean…?

A) Freddy B) Henry C) Baby

Hope that gives you a little something to think about 😊 Regardless of how things turn out, you can expect to see a lot of FNAF lore exploration in the future. That is a promise.


	30. Chapter 30 - Return to Freddy's Part 1

A/N: So…much of the past has been uncovered, but there's still plenty left that's yet to be revealed. And there's more surprises to be found…I wonder what's in store? Also, the quick update is the result of me deciding to not give a shit about a med school exam I had this morning and instead write for 3 hours straight yesterday. Seriously, I took that exam in only 11 minutes (though I still got an 87 so yay for me I guess).

Guest: I don't get the reference. Sorry.

Superior: I'm really glad you took the time to write this, and my response will draw from both FNAF3 and FNAF6. Skip the following part of this A/N if you don't want spoilers (though tbh why are you worried about spoilers if you've already gotten this far into the fic?).

The thing is, simply getting revenge on the Purple Guy WASN'T enough to set the kids free. They were still trapped in the animatronics, maybe not literally stuck in the heads (otherwise they couldn't chase William Afton into the Spring Bonnie suit) but still ultimately bound to them. That's why there's two possible endings for FNAF3 – the Bad Ending where the kids are still trapped in the heads, and the Good Ending where they were set free not because they got their revenge, but because the Night Guard (likely Michael Afton) took the time to comfort them and make them feel better through the cake minigames. But here's the thing – the Night Guard has to go through a lot of loops and explore a lot of secrets to put the kids to rest in-game by making them happy, but when he's being hunted by Springtrap, would he actually have the time to do all that? In my mind, that's somewhat unrealistic, and in my fic at least, Michael Afton didn't have the time to do all that while he was at Fazbear's Fright. So this means that, yes, the FNAF3 Bad Ending is this fic's _canon_ ending.

But even if it wasn't, there's a LOT of evidence from FNAF6 that suggests that the kids weren't properly allowed to pass on to the afterlife until AFTER the final pizzeria burned down and everything was destroyed. Scrap Baby makes references to "gathering all those little souls to one place" and Candy Cadet's stories imply that all the murdered children's souls were gathered together in such a way. In addition, Cassette Guy (Henry) directly tells the souls that for "most of them, they would find peace and perhaps warm," and he is saying all this when _Molten Freddy_ is burning on the screen. And the final Gravestone ending only shows six gravestones (4 named kids, 1 in the background implied to be the Puppet, and 1 that's hidden), which implies that it's still the same kids we've been talking about throughout the entire franchise.

So here's what I think happened and here's what actually _did_ happen in this specific fic's universe. The kids were never freed from their shells, even after Fazbear's Fright burned down (FNAF3 Bad Ending). They were trapped, unable to escape, until Molten Freddy found the remains of the suits and incorporated them into his own body. By doing so, he brought all their souls into himself in the process. Baby somehow found about this (possibly because she was still a part of Ennard when this happened) and later decided to try and bring the souls to the pizzeria as a gift for her father. Except that entire plan went to shit when Henry and Michael Afton, who ALSO knew about the lost souls, activated their trap and destroyed all the animatronics, freeing everyone's souls and condemning William to Hell.

Hope that clarifies my thought process behind all this. The backstory of FNAF can be incredibly confusing, but that's what makes it so interesting as well.

Chapter 30 – Return to Freddy's Part 1

"So, I'm back here again, am I?" Mike asked as he rolled his eyes. The office at Freddy's had barely been frightening to him when he'd been there in real life, and it was an outright joke in a dream where he had absolute power over what occurred. This would be easy enough to deal with. Just de-activate the animatronics down to utter uselessness and wait until he woke up. Nice and easy.

" _Mike…"_

Mike jolted in his chair. That voice…he hadn't heard that voice in decades…it couldn't be…

" _Mike!"_ the call came again, and this time it was much more authoritative and assertive. And it destroyed any doubts he'd had.

"Oskar?" Mike breathed out. The air flickered in front of him, and the old war officer appeared before him looking exactly as he had when Mike had first met him and saved his life. At that moment, the man felt as though he were 16 again, sitting at the foot of Oskar's couch as the colonel bequeathed his life lessons onto him.

The colonel smiled, and Mike could see the pride and joy in his eyes. _"Mike, my son…"_ Oskar greeted him warmly. _"It's been far too long. You've grown so much, endured things that no child should ever have to suffer, and look at you now! You are every bit the man I had hoped you would become, and so much more."_

Mike was about to express his gratitude through an embrace, but the sound of rushing footsteps echoed from the left corridor. Without even thinking, Mike slammed down the door and both listened as Foxy knocked relentlessly at the door. Fury poured through him – how _dare_ these metal pieces of shit interrupt his reunion with his father in all but blood! With a wordless snarl, he slammed the other door down and increased the power meter until it showed ∞%.

Oskar chuckled at Mike's actions. _"My, my, old friend…don't tell me that your temper has shortened over the years!"_

"Not even close, Oskar," the former night guard replied, the old man's voice cutting away his rage. "The only thing that's gone down is my tolerance for bullshit. I've even added images of middle fingers on the other side of the doors, just for good measure."

A shriek of rage and annoyance echoed from the right side of the door, and Mike hit the lights to reveal _both_ Chica and Freddy. He raised an eyebrow. "That's new."

" _Allow me,"_ Oskar interrupted. He took one look straight at the animatronics, his eyes blazing with contempt and his mouth curled into a menacing grimace. _"Get out of my sight!"_ he growled. _"And don't come back!"_

To Mike's surprise, both Chica and Freddy showed…was that _fear_ in their eyes? The animatronics immediately left the door, and Mike could hear their footsteps retreat into the darkness. "Wow," he whistled. "If only you'd been at the actual pizzeria with me. Those fuckers wouldn't have come anywhere near the office and life would've been so much easier."

Oskar laughed. _"Unfortunately, that wouldn't have been possible. Those who move on to the afterlife are not allowed to return…"_

"…and yet, here you are," Mike finished. "To be fair, this is only in a dream, but this is still the first time you've showed yourself to me since your death." He looked straight into Oskar's eyes. "You're not just here for a family reunion, are you? There's more to it than that, isn't there?"

Oskar nodded. _"Your mind has always been very sharp, Mike, and I'm glad to see that hasn't changed. You're right, of course. There are important matters that we need to discuss. Secrets that have yet to be unearthed, duties that even now remain unfulfilled."_ He took out a cigarette and lit it, before offering one to Mike."

"I don't smoke, Oskar."

" _We're in a dream. It's not like you're going to destroy your lungs doing this."_

Mike shrugged. "In that case, fuck it." He accepted the cigarette, put it into his mouth, and then leaned forward into his chair. It was no surprise given his military background, but Oskar had always placed a high value on duty and that had been one of the many values Mike had learned from him. The fact that Oskar had chosen to come to him in a Freddy's dream, implying that his new children were involved somehow in what was to come, only heightened that importance. "I'm all ears."

A chair suddenly appeared in front of Mike, and Oskar sat down on it. _"There are places that I need you to go to, Mike,"_ the colonel began. _"Places that still hide the past within them. I have only been allowed to guide you to one for the time being, Mike. And that first…the first is the old Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria."_

Mike's expression didn't change outwardly, but he was suddenly on alert. "I'm not afraid of Freddy's, Oskar…but why do you need me to go there?"

Oskar grimaced. _"Think about what you have read about the downfall of Freddy's, Mike. Those articles about the deaths of your children."_

Mike tried to recall what he'd read. "Their bodies were stuffed in the suits…they were never found…" It suddenly hit him, and his expression suddenly turned into one of disgust and rage. "YOU'RE TELLING ME THOSE MANAGEMENT FUCKERS LEFT THEIR BODIES IN THOSE ROBOTS FOR TWO YEARS AND THEN THREW THEM IN SOME GODFORSAKEN HOLE TO ROT WHEN THEY FINALLY FOUND THEM!" he roared. He'd always been disgusted with the management of Freddy's for its incompetence, but the hatred that now blazed in his soul for it was second only to his loathing for William Afton himself. Even his fury towards Nightmare when the demon had attacked his home paled in comparison: at least Nightmare, for all his cruelty and malice, had never pretended to be a friend and had never held any responsibility for the murdered children. In the haze of his fury, a light of insight suddenly flashed inside his mind. "That's what you want me to do, isn't it?" he realized, forcing himself to calm down. "You want me to find the bodies of those kids and see them put to rest, don't you?"

" _It is not only what I want, Mike, but also what Heaven wishes as well,"_ Oskar solemnly confirmed. _"Their souls may not be tied to their bodies anymore, but they have remained unburied and abandoned for far too long. I can trust you with this task, yes?"_

"Do you even need to ask?"

Oskar smiled. _"I would expect no less from you, Mike. But allow me to grant you some additional advice, like I did all those years ago."_

Mike leaned back in his chair. "Those were always some of my favorite moments. Whatever you have to tell me, I'll be glad to hear it."

Oskar cleared his throat. _"The children who were murdered by the monster who now rots in the Abyss…they are happier now than they have ever been. But one of them is different from the others. One of them is still bound by shackles of guilt and self-loathing that she places upon her own soul. The others, no matter how much they may try to support her, cannot help her break them. You know who I'm talking about, don't you?"_

Mike nodded. "I know exactly what you're saying."

" _You may not be able to break those chains completely, my son. But with this first quest, you CAN at least weaken them, IF you handle this correctly. To do so will involve some risk, and I will understand if you choose not to embark on this specific endeavor. But if you can accomplish both, you will make your old man very, very happy indeed."_

"Wasn't it you who told me that nothing worth doing is ever easy?" Mike asked with a smirk. "Then again, I figured that out long before I met you." His smirk faded. "But I see what you're saying. I'm still new to this whole parenting thing, but I'll do everything I can."

Oskar smiled again, and to Mike's surprise, he got up from his chair and wrapped him in a warm hug. _"You're a great man, Mike. You have accomplished many things and may yet accomplish even more. But now it is time for you to return…there are others who need you more than I."_

Mike heard a faint noise in the distance. It sounded like…crying?

" _Dad!"_

Another familiar voice, though this one from a much more recent time…

" _Dad!"_

Mike's eyes opened and he groggily looked over at his clock. Only 3 AM? A weird time to wake up…

" _Dad!"_

He whipped his head around to see who was at his bed. Liz was at his side right next to him, and he could tell that she had been crying. "Liz?" he asked, as fatigue made a fast exit. "What's wrong?"

" _I…I had a nightmare…"_ she sobbed out. _"It…it was h-horrible."_ Mike wrapped an arm around Liz, and she solidified herself just enough for him to draw her into his embrace. _"I…I was Scrap Baby, and I…I killed them. I killed e-everyone in my family! Gabe, Susie, F-Fritz, Jeremy, Cassidy, M-Mikey, Mary, Y-You…I…I killed all of you! I…I can still f-feel the blood on my hands. And every time I m-murdered one of you, I…I could hear h-him laughing. I could h-hear him laughing every time I…I…"_

"Shhhh…" Mike interrupted her gently as he stroked her hair. "It was just a nightmare, that's all it was. We're all here, we're all fine. You can check every single room for yourself, if you want. Nightmare's taking care of William Afton and he won't be bothering us ever again. Everything's okay."

" _C-can I sleep here tonight, dad?"_ she desperately begged. _"Please?"_

In response, Mike moved over on the bed slightly to make room, forgetting that she was a ghost. Liz gratefully got into the bed and snuggled up to her father. _"T-Thanks, dad."_

Mike smiled. "Good night, Liz. Hopefully the rest of the night won't be as shitty."

Despite everything, Liz let out a giggle. _"T-That would be nice. Good night, dad…"_

Mike watched her drift off to the land of dreams and thought back to what Oskar had said. He had a lot of work to do…

/

Throughout the next few days, Mike wore a mask of peaceful indifference as he thought about how to approach the duty that Oskar had given to him. He dismissed the idea of bringing all the ghost kids with him back to Freddy's – seeing their own mangled corpses would very likely be too much for them to handle. Besides, Oskar had made it clear that Liz should be the one to come with him for this. The colonel's ghost had talked about breaking the chains on her soul, but Mike knew that he could make them even worse if he screwed this up. It wasn't until a full two weeks after his reunion with Oskar that Mike was finally able to fully formulate his plan and carry it out.

It was late into Saturday evening when Mike popped his head into the living room, where the ghosts were playing video games together. "Hey, kids?" he called out. "I'm going to be going out for a good chunk of the night."

The kids paused their game. _"Are you going out with some friends?"_ Fritz asked.

Mike shook his head. "Nah, not this time. I've got some…business…I need to take care of. And I'm gonna need one of you to help me." He looked straight at Liz. "Liz… would you mind coming with me?"

Liz's eyes widened. _"Me?"_ she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Mike confirmed. "For what I have planned, I'm gonna need you specifically." He looked over at the others. "Before you say anything, I promise you I am _not_ giving Liz any preferential treatment. For outings that are meant to be about fun and having a good time, we either all go or none of us go."

Jeremy shook his head. _"We're not accusing you of anything, dad,"_ he quickly reassured him. _"I'm just confused."_

Mike looked apologetically at them. "I can't tell you more, Jeremy. Sorry."

The other ghosts looked at each other. _"Well, whatever you have to do, good luck to the two of you,"_ Mary finally told them.

Mike nodded as Liz got up from off the floor and floated towards her dad. "Thanks, Mary. Something tells me we're gonna need it."

Liz turned herself invisible as she exited the house and followed Mike to his car. _"Where are we going, dad?"_ she questioned, utterly baffled. _"And why haven't you asked Mary to silence my voice?"_

"Where we're going, you're not gonna need it," Mike replied in a surprisingly ominous tone. They got into the car and spent the first ¾ of the drive in silence. It wasn't until the last stretches that Mike spoke up.

"Liz…what I'm going to ask you to do may be very uncomfortable for you, but I wouldn't be asking you this unless I had a very good reason for it," He took a deep breath and sighed. "When we get to our destination…I'm going to need your Scrap Baby form."

Liz instantly tensed up. _"Why…why do you need THAT?"_ she immediately went on the defensive.

"What we're gonna be doing requires a lot of physical strength," Mike explained. "I don't consider myself weak by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm still an older man and I can't do heavy work by myself. You're the most powerful ghost physically out of all of our family in your Scrap Baby form, and I'm going to need that strength for what I plan to do." He turned the car and looked up in front of him, "and it looks like we've arrived."

Liz followed her father's gaze and her eyes widened. _"Wait a minute…that's…that's…"_

"Yep," Mike confirmed grimly. "Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. My old workplace."

" _But…why are we here?"_ she asked, feeling her confusion and nervousness increase. Mike hadn't been joking earlier; anything involving Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria would not be a fun time for anyone.

Mike sighed. "We're going to be doing something that should've been done years ago, Liz. Except for _maybe_ Mary, the rest of our family…their bodies were never found."

" _And we're going to find them, aren't we?"_ Liz asked quietly and Mike wordlessly nodded in confirmation. Her mind flashed back to the nightmare she'd had last night, the slaughtered bodies of her new family and William Afton's cruel laughter. She remembered Nightmare's cruel visage and how he had snarled his condemnation at her for betraying her brother and his dedication to undoing her former father's evil. Compared to everything Mikey had been through, especially because of her, what right did she have to complain about anything? _"All right, dad. I can't say I'm happy about it…but I'll do it."_ Her eyes hardened and her form flickered and changed. Seconds later, Scrap Baby sat where Liz Schmidt had once been. _"I'm ready."_

Mike ruffled her hair affectionately. "That's my girl." They got out of the car and turned to look at the building that had once been Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. The structure had been left to rot like an open sore. The sign that had once showcased Freddy's cheerful face had tumbled off, laying broken and useless in front of the building. All the windows had been boarded up, and the decorative paint had long flaked off into oblivion. The only part that looked even remotely new was the chains that had been placed in front of the entrances, preventing any entry.

" _I've got this, Dad,"_ Liz said. She reached out with Scrap Baby's claw and clasped it around the chains blockading one of the doors. With a fluid motion, she clamped the pincer shut and crushed the chain, snapping the segment in two. She moved up and down the door, cutting the chain to pieces one segment at a time. After a few seconds, the last pieces of the chain fell, and the door lay bare to them. Mike reached out to the door and pushed against it, expecting to feel resistance, but to his surprise, the door swung open and into nothingness.

"The fuck?" Mike muttered. "They chained up the entrances but forgot to lock the doors?"

" _Maybe the lock mechanism rotted?"_ Liz suggested, to which Mike shrugged. _"I was going to use my claw to break the door down if it didn't open anyway, but it looks like we don't have to worry about that."_

Mike took out a flashlight and switched it on, while Scrap Baby's eyelights began to glow with their ethereal green light. Both cast their lights into the darkness, but there was very little to be seen from the outside. "Geez, I can't see a thing," he muttered. "Guess we have to go in to actually find anything." He strode forward into the darkness before Liz could respond, leaving the animatronic ghost to follow her father in close behind.

The moment Mike let go of the door, it slammed shut behind them, plunging the entire area into darkness. Mike cast his flashlight around, trying to orient himself properly. After a few seconds, he realized that they were in a colossal room, easily the largest in the entire abandoned pizzeria. "Holy crap," he realized. "This is…this is the Dining Area!"

He should have expected this, given that the pizzeria had been closed down a long time ago, but the room was almost unrecognizable to Mike apart from the large size. Back when he'd been the night guard, it had been filled with tables draped with colorful tablecloths and party hats neatly arranged on top of them, along with several chairs that would normally have been occupied by cheerful, playing children. But now, all of that was gone. There was only a barren space left where the furniture had once been. The walls hadn't been spared either – the Freddy posters had all been ripped off and the paint had chipped off in several locations, leaving the walls damaged and lifeless. Mike resisted the urge to shudder…seeing a once vibrant and lively place deprived of its vitality disturbed him more than his actual night shift at Freddy's ever had.

He forced himself to pry his attention away from the ruins of the Dining Area and back to his mission. "If I remember correctly," he mused out loud so that Liz could hear his thoughts, "the animatronics followed William Afton to…I think it was the bathrooms?" He flashed his light onto the Show Stage and was not even remotely surprised to find that the area was deserted. "I guess that's the best place for us to look."

He was about to walk in that direction, but he felt Liz put Scrap Baby's hand gently but firmly on his shoulder. _"Dad…I know that we're not here to mess around, but I…I've always been curious about your office. What was it like? Can I see it?"_

Mike shrugged. "We're not in any hurry or anything, Liz," he assured her. "Sure, let's take a detour. I have to admit I'm a bit curious as to what the place looks like nowadays."

Liz tried to give him a grateful smile through Scrap Baby's monstrous face as Mike guided her through the West Hall. He had expected the hall to be stripped of everything like the Dining Area had been, but to his surprise there were a couple of papers still attached to the wall, although most of them had long since tumbled down to the floor. "Foxy used to rush down this hall from the Pirate Cove to try and get me and Bonnie always attacked from this direction," Mike explained to Liz to try and distract himself from just how utterly dead the place looked. As they made it to the end of the hall, Mike instinctively shined his light to the right, where he'd seen the one Freddy poster that occasionally changed into a dismembered Freddy head or Golden Freddy.

His eyes widened and he stopped moving. "What the crap?" he exclaimed. Liz also stopped short and gave her father a confused look.

" _What are you talking about, dad?"_ she asked.

"That poster…it's still there!" he pointed at the poster in question, the same one that Liz had seen in Mike's drawings of the West Hall Corner. "And it looks so _clean_ compared to everything else. Just…what? How? That thing must've been there for years now!"

Liz looked more carefully at the poster in question. Mike was right…it _did_ look surprisingly pristine for a sheet of paper that had probably been exposed to the elements for God knows how long. _"Something's off with this poster…"_ she murmured.

"You're telling me," Mike muttered. It was admittedly disturbing and out-of-place, but at the end of the day, it was just like those hallucinations he had experienced during the Night Shift. Functionally harmless and irrelevant. He turned his flashlight to the opposite direction. "Well," he declared, "you wanted to see my Office. Here it is."

Liz trained her eye spotlights into the Office. For such an important location, it was almost anticlimactically small and empty. From Mike's drawings, she recalled there being a desk with several electronic devices on it, but all of that had long since been removed. The same applied to the poster and the papers that had been pinned to the wall years ago.

"Man, it's almost unrecognizable now." Mike commented. "Heck, if it weren't for those switches next to each door, this could easily be some random room in some building in the middle of nowhere. Never realized just how much atmosphere this little Office actually had until it's gone."

Liz looked at the now defunct Door-Light mechanism next to the door leading to the East Hall Corner. " _That's all you had to keep the others out?"_ she asked.

"Besides a tablet? Yep," Mike answered. "And the sad thing is, that's still a better defense than what I had for most of my entire early life."

Liz shuddered and tried not to think about the picture of scars on teenage Mike's back. _"Dad…I've been wondering something,"_ she decided to change the subject. _"When the power went out after each shift, the doors automatically opened, right?"_

"Yeah."

" _It was the same for the Private Control Module at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. But WHY would they operate like that, though?"_ Liz asked. _"Shouldn't they STAY shut if the power went out? Why would they just open up?"_

To her surprise, Mike chuckled dryly. "You know, I wanted an answer to that question for the longest time," he commented. "I didn't find one until college, where I could actually look up the answer to questions like that on library computers and stuff." He pointed at the doors. "The thing is, Liz, these are electromagnetically-sealed armored security doors," he explained. "And doors like these are designed to fail in a way that would be…eh heh heh…the safest way possible for whoever was inside here. Under most circumstances, you wouldn't want the person in here to be trapped with no hope of escape, which is why doors like these are designed to open if the power goes out." He scrunched his face up in irritation. "One logical question to ask would be why security doors like these are even at a freaking _pizzeria_ to begin with, but these doors saved my life for 20 days, so hey. Fuck details."

" _Fail in the safest way possible?"_ Liz repeated with a rare touch of sarcasm. _"I don't think the Night Guards who got killed because their power ran out would agree with you."_

"To be fair," Mike countered, "I'm preeeeeeettty sure that when the safety features of these doors were designed, haunted killer animatronics weren't exactly a maximum priority on the list of threats and emergencies that people had in mind." He began to imitate a conversation by shifting his voice into a blatantly exaggerated baritone. "All right, we need to make sure that this Office is well protected by two heavily armored security doors, even if this office is in a pizzeria which probably has absolutely nothing worth stealing from in the first place and these doors would probably be better off used in a bank or something. The best way to do this would be to make sure they open in case of a power outage or an earthquake or something so that the Night Guard doesn't end up getting trapped and killed. Any questions?"

He changed his voice into something high-pitched and nasally, which earned a stream of giggles from Liz that was rapidly escalating with every word Mike said. "Uhm, sir? Maybe we should have these doors stay _closed_ if the power runs out? I mean, what if these friendly children's animatronics suddenly turn into nightmarish hunters possessed by the ghosts of murdered children that try to attack the Office and kill the Night Guard by stuffing him into a spare suit? Maybe we should keep the doors closed if the power runs out just in case that happens."

Mike shifted his voice back again. "Irwin, what the fuck are you smoking and can I have some after this meeting?"

Liz burst into laughter for several seconds as Mike finished his fake exchange. _"When you put it that way, Dad…"_ she finally managed to breathe out.

"Yeah, reality is fucking weird," Mike commented. He took a breath. "Okay, I think we've spent enough time here. Let's take the East Hall out, it'll bring us out close to the bathrooms."

" _Okay,"_ Liz nodded her agreement. She cast Scrap Baby's eyelights around the Office one last time, and as she did so her lights fell upon the West Hall Corner poster of Freddy.

Only…it _wasn't_ a poster of Freddy anymore. The bear was completely gone, and now the poster was completely black. Black…except for two white holes for eyes and a row of white teeth. Liz shrieked and cast her eyes away from the poster, drawing Mike's attention.

"Liz!" he exclaimed. "What's going on?"

" _The…the poster…"_ she stuttered out, point at it with a ghostly metal finger. _"It…it changed to…something…"_

Mike cast his light on the poster, but the illumination revealed only the normal brown bear. Still, he wasn't going to dismiss what his daughter had told him, especially if it was a potential threat. He flashed the light on and off the poster repeatedly, and it was only after several iterations of this did he finally stop.

"If there was something there, it's gone now," Mike muttered. "I think it's best if we finish what we started and get the hell out of here as soon as possible." Liz had absolutely no disagreement to that whatsoever, and the two quickly left out into the East Hall. The posters on the East Hall were gone, but instead of the "IT'S ME" message that Mike was expecting, there was only blank wall space. "I guess those really were just hallucinations after all," Mike commented as they made their way over to the Restrooms. Mike cast his light down onto the floor, and there they were.

The four animatronics that had once been the cornerstone of the Freddy's franchise (five, if one included Golden Freddy) lay on the ground, dismantled and discarded. Several of them had their parts missing, having been taken away to what would eventually become Fazbear's Fright, and all their heads were gone. But half of them still had their bodies remaining, bodies that, perhaps, held the corpses of the murdered children within. Farther away from the pile of jumbled parts was an opening that Mike had never seen before, one that no doubt led to the Safe Room where Springtrap had been trapped for years.

He instinctively reached out towards the metal body of Bonnie, but Liz stopped him. _"Let me, Dad,"_ she insisted. _"You might get hurt trying to open these suits, and I'll be able to open them much more easily."_

Mike backed off and gestured for Liz to continue. The Scrap Baby ghost carefully approached Bonnie's body, which was missing its head and left a hole large enough for her to work with. Grabbing hold of one side with her hand and the other side with her claw, she slowly and carefully pried open the suit. The metal creaked and groaned as Liz slowly tore it in half, and Mike flinched instinctively, expecting to see the desecrated corpse of a child who had become one of his own. But instead of a brutalized carcass, there was…

"…nothing?" Mike asked incredulously. "There's nothing inside? But…I thought…"

Liz looked just as confused as he did. She moved on to another animatronic's body, this one being Chica's, and pried it open in the same way. Except for a few metal parts, it was completely empty.

"Did I miss something?" Mike asked himself aloud. "I was so certain that we'd find the bodies of our new family here. What am I missing?" Oskar would not have led him astray as some sort of sick joke. He had specified the old Freddy's location, and made it clear what he had wanted Mike to do. But there was nothing of significance here. What was he missing? He had come to the place that Oskar had asked him to go to…

…or _had he?"_

"Oh my God!" Mike smacked himself in the forehead. "I'm such a fucking idiot!"

Liz looked up in surprise. _"What?"_ she asked. _"Why would you call yourself an idiot, dad?"_

"We're not in the right place!" he explained, furious with himself for being so stupid. "The children weren't murdered here. This isn't the old Freddy Fazbear's location at all!"

" _There's another pizzeria?"_

Mike nodded grimly. "Yep," he confirmed. "The one where even Mary was caught up in a murderous rage before she came back to her senses. The one where your brother started his quest to undo your old dad's evil."

He took one last look around the place where he had once worked. "There's nothing left to see here, Liz. We already know what happened. If we want to put the other kids' bodies to rest, it's time for us to move on."

Liz nodded her agreement, and Mike stepped out of the restroom hallway and back into the Dining Area. She was about to follow him, when she suddenly felt a strange feeling on her back. Almost as though she were being watched…

Remembering the changing poster, she quickly scoped around with her eyes, trying to find any presence that could be spying on them. But she found nothing. And even as she searched, the feeling faded away, leaving her alone in the darkness of the hallway.

"Liz?" Mike called out to her. He had noticed that she hadn't followed him out into the Dining Area.

" _Coming!"_ she called back. She took one last look at the broken remains of the animatronics. _"I'll make things right,"_ Liz whispered. _"I'll do what I should have done from the beginning. I promise, for your sake…and for Mikey's."_ She left the hallway to follow her father, leaving the metal parts and the shadows of the past behind.

/

A/N: I hope I managed to surprise you guys with this chapter. I'll be honest…I actually didn't come up with the idea of Oskar reuniting with Mike until WAY after I had the rest of this arc planned out. As you might have noticed, there wasn't all THAT much digging into the past here. But don't worry, there will be plenty of that to go around in the second half of this arc, and MUCH more to come in the future "duties" that Oskar mentioned.

On a side note – the doors in FNAF1 actually do work like that in real life. It's a textbook case of "Reality is Unrealistic." You can look up the entry in the FNAF 1 TV Tropes page for more details, even though I pretty much described most of it here through Mike.

And as for that poster…it's always been a weird one. The one that switched to a distorted Freddy head or Golden Freddy, you know the one. But this time, there was a new face. I wonder who THAT could've been? Or maybe Liz was just imagining things?

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	31. Chapter 31 - Return to Freddy's Part 2

A/N: Another big chapter coming in hot for you guys 😊

Superior: The gravestone in the background is probably the Puppet with the bottom five being the murdered kids (Liz died separately from them and was technically their enemy in FNAF6, even though she isn't now for obvious reasons). Also, I'm one of the people who actually doesn't think the Bite Victim is the ghost in Golden Freddy. The first game has Golden Freddy accompanied by a little girl's laughter, for one thing. More substantially, the Bite Victim's body was never stuffed inside of an animatronic body like the other murdered children - he died inside a hospital far away from Freddy's, if I recall correctly.

Trigger Warning: Depression. Yep…it's one of THOSE chapters.

Chapter 31 – Return to Freddy's Part 2

" _Did you ever go to the original Freddy's, dad?"_ Liz asked as Mike drove back onto the main road. She was now back in her regular human form, a change that she felt significantly happier about even though nobody could see her anyway thanks to her invisibility. The sun had set while they were in the 1993 pizzeria, and by the time they had gotten back onto the road night had already fallen.

Mike shook his head. "Nope," he blithely answered. "I was still dealing with the absolute clusterfuck that was my childhood back when that place was still open."

Liz shuddered. _"I don't know how to feel about the fact that you can joke about that so easily,"_ she muttered.

"Like I told you guys before," Mike replied as they cruised down the road. "My sense of humor is kind of warped. That's the only thing about my terrible childhood that's affected my adult life on a regular basis. All in all, I think I lucked out."

" _And we lucked out too,"_ Liz thought as Mike pulled into the parking lot of the original Freddy's. Just like the 1993 Freddy's location, the building was completely abandoned and any decorative aspects had long since rotted away into oblivion. One thing Mike noted was that the building was significantly larger than the pizzeria he had worked at, although externally there weren't any noticeable differences otherwise. Without waiting for Mike to ask, Liz shifted to her Scrap Baby form and the two of them got out of the car.

"So far, everything seems to be the same," Mike commented as they approached the chained-up front entrance. "I think I remember Mary telling me that Fazbear's Fright had a couple of Toy animatronic heads. But I don't know if they picked them up from here or from wherever they scrapped the toys."

" _The toy animatronics…"_ Liz's head whipped up as a horrifying thought suddenly occurred to her. _"Were there…were there MORE children that my old dad killed?"_ she gasped. _"Children that possessed the toys too?"_

Mike shook his head. "Nah," he answered, and Liz breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Only the originals were possessed. The Purple Guy fucked with the toys' facial recognition programming, but they weren't ever haunted. And thank God for that, because the tragedy of Freddy's is bad enough without adding five more murdered kids into the catastrophe. Besides," he added with a chuckle, "there's no chance in Hell I'd be able to take care of twelve ghost kids."

Liz giggled half-heartedly as she approached the front door. Having already done this once before, it took her significantly less time now to cut open the chains blocking the door with her claw. And just like before, Mike pushed at the door and it swung inward, leading into complete darkness.

"We're gonna have to be a bit more careful this time around," Mike told Liz as they futilely attempted to scout the area from outside again. "I knew my way around the 1993 Freddy's, but I have no idea what's inside this building." He took out his cell phone and spent a few seconds moving through Internet pages before he finally found what he was looking for. "Best we can work with is this map of the place. You ready for this, Liz?"

" _Ready as I'll ever be…"_ Liz muttered as she followed Mike into the pizzeria. Once again the door closed behind them, and once again they were plunged into darkness with only Mike's flashlight and Scrap Baby's eyelights to help them navigate through the shadows.

Mike flashed his light around the room they were currently in, which was just as large as the other pizzeria's dining room if not larger. Back when it had been just her keeping him company, Mary had told him how the dining hall had not only been the main place for eating pizza and celebrating birthdays with the animatronics, but also contained a game corner with a few rides and a prize corner where she had handed out prizes to children and kept her silent vigil as the Marionette. He couldn't see the entirety of the room with the meager light that he had, but he could already tell that most of the objects and decorations in this Dining Area had suffered the same fate as the ones in the 1993 pizzeria. "Damn…they really cleaned this place out."

Liz looked over in the direction of the Game Area, her supernatural nature granting her keener vision. Her eyes widened. _"Maybe not, dad! Look!"_

She pointed out with her animatronic hand. _"There's gift boxes over there!"_ she declared.

"Wait, WHAT?" Mike trained his flashlight in the direction of Liz's finger. In the distance, he could see three large gift boxes stacked together. "Holy crap, you're right!" he exclaimed.

" _You don't think…they stuffed our family's bodies in those gift boxes, do you?"_ Liz asked, both excited and nervous at the prospect of what they would find if they opened them.

Mike shook his head. "Doubtful. One of the reports I read about the tragedy was about complaints to the health inspector about the mess the dead bodies left behind. In those gift boxes, there's a decent chance that they'd still leave a noticeable mess or at the very least smell really bad." He sighed. "Still…couldn't hurt to look anyway just to be sure."

They made their way over to the music boxes just to be sure. Liz carefully opened every single lid, wondering if she was about to be greeted with the corpses of her new family. But just like the animatronics in the other pizzeria, all she found was empty space. This time, however, neither she nor Mike were fazed by the failure…the likelihood that the bodies were in these boxes had been low to begin with.

"Still…" Mike said as Liz put the lids back on. "We're gonna have to check every room here. I just don't know what to expect since I've never been here before." He led Liz over to the room adjacent to the Prize Corner and checked his map. "This place was once called the Kids' Cove."

" _It seems like it's just an empty, smaller version of the Dining Hall,"_ Liz commented. She scanned around with her eyelights. _"I don't see anything, not even any gift boxes this time around."_

"Maybe we should check the walls," Mike suggested. "Check for any cracks that might hide a secret compartment." He looked around dubiously. "Maybe not here, though. Place seems a bit too exposed to the public for that."

" _Can't hurt to take a look around just in case,"_ Liz replied. The two of them spent the next few minutes looking for a hidden compartment in the walls, but neither of them found anything noteworthy. They returned to the Dining Hall and continued their search. Mike even climbed onto the Show Stage to see if the secret they were looking for was hiding in place sight, but once again their search proved fruitless.

"Hmm…" he mused, "…nothing so far. Wait…" he snapped his fingers. "I got it. If there's a hidden safe room in this pizzeria, the best place for it to be would probably be the Parts/Service Room. It's hidden away from the rest of the pizzeria and only employees should have access to it. Not to mention the fact that it's even bigger than the one in the other pizzeria. I think we should check there next."

Liz was about to agree, when a sudden thought occurred to her. She smacked her face with her ghostly robotic hand. _"I'm an idiot!"_ she shouted. _"I can just FLOAT through the walls to find the hidden places we're looking for!"_

Mike's eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that?" he gaped. "You're a genius, Liz! When we get over there, let's use that strategy to save us some time!"

Liz grinned at the praise, and the two of them made their way into the Main Hall with high spirits. Mike scanned his phone. "It looks like the room we're looking for is right in front of us, over there." He pointed to a door in the distance. "Looks like we might resolve this faster than I thought we would."

He approached the door and pulled at the doorknob. To his surprise, however, the door didn't budge. "What? Locked?" he asked in confusion. "But…the Fazbear's Fright people…surely they cleaned out everything inside here for their props. And if they didn't care to lock the front door, why would they lock this one?"

" _It doesn't matter, dad, remember?"_ Liz gently interrupted him. _"We still have our other plan, right?"_

Mike took a breath and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Liz. Go right ahead."

Liz approached the door and attempted to phase through it…only to run smack into it as though she were a normal, living person. _"Wh…what?"_ she gasped. _"I…I can't go through the door!"_ She tried to enter through the wall next to the door, but her actions met with the same failure. _"This isn't working! How? I should be able to float through just fine as a ghost!"_

"Maybe it's because you're Scrap Baby right now?" Mike suggested. "Maybe you'll have better luck in human form?"

Liz shifted to her human form and tried again, but her attempts to go through both the door and the adjacent walls ended in failure again. She transformed back into Scrap Baby. _"It's not working!"_

At this point, alarm bells were ringing in Mike's head. The door being locked could be explained easily enough, but the room itself keeping an _incorporeal ghost_ out? This wasn't just a simple lockout. Something supernatural was preventing them from accessing the Parts/Service Room. Something…or _someone_. And he had a sneaking suspicion that what they were seeking was inside that very room.

" _What do we do, dad?"_ Liz's worried voice broke through his thoughts.

Mike shook his head. "The best thing we can do right now is go to the office. If the desk is still there, then there just _might_ be a key to the Parts/Service room inside it. But to be honest, Liz, I feel like there's…something missing. Something we're not seeing. And I don't know what it is." As he guided Liz down the Office Hallway, the girl couldn't help but think back to the strange vision she'd seen on that poster and the feeling of being watched she'd experienced back in the 1993 pizzeria. Could that thing, whatever it was, have anything to do with why they couldn't get into the Parts/Service Room here?

The two of them entered the 1987 pizzeria's office and scanned the area with their lights. Mike was very glad that he had worked in the other restaurant's office rather than this one, because he honestly wasn't sure he would've been able to survive without the security doors protecting him. He could see two vent entrances on either side of the room with two light switches on top of them. Despite the uncanny atmosphere, he rolled his eyes. "What kind of building has vents that you can literally crawl into?" he asked. "For fuck's sake, a bunch of kids could crawl into those and mess with the vent system or even get hurt! Then again," he added sarcastically, "maybe expecting basic safety features is too much to ask for the Freddy Fazbear corporation."

" _You…really don't have much respect for the management of Freddy's, do you?"_ Liz asked, welcoming the lighthearted distraction from her dad.

"Not in the slightest, Liz," Mike replied in a deadpan tone, earning a giggle from her. He flashed his light onto the center of the room and was surprised to find that, unlike the Office in Freddy's, the desk was still there. There was absolutely nothing on it, but the object itself had not been removed. "Well, that's a surprise. At least I can try and look for the key to the Parts/Service Room now. If this desk was gone I'd really have no idea what to do." He walked over to behind the desk and knelt down to start rummaging through it. "Nothing here…nothing here…"

It took him several seconds to realize that Liz had stopped talking. "You all right, Liz?"

" _Uh…dad?"_ Her voice was filled with nervousness and fear that hadn't been there before, instantly putting Mike on full alert. _"D-dad?"_

"What's wrong, Liz?"

" _W-we're not alone in here a-anymore…"_

Mike's head instantly shot up above the desk and realized that they now indeed had company. But it wasn't a human or even an animatronic that had joined them. A being made entirely of shadows stood a few meters away, staring at them with an unfathomable emotion through the blank white eyes that, apart from a row of white teeth, were the only lights in its otherwise black frame. Mike didn't know who or what this thing was, but he couldn't afford to show any fear, especially not in front of Liz. "Who are you?" he demanded.

" **Who am I?"** the figure repeated in a voice as deep as the darkness that created it. Strangely, it didn't seem to emanate evil, or at least not any that Mike could detect. He had stood in the presence of Nightmare himself and had felt the demon's malevolence almost as though it were palpable object. This was something altogether different, or at least that's what his instincts were telling him. Still, Mike wasn't stupid enough to let his guard down. **"My true name is utterly incomprehensible to the minds of mortals. Perhaps the name that best fits me in your tongue would be…Shadow Bonnie. Yes…Shadow Bonnie would do."**

Mike could kind of see it – now that he looked more carefully, the being did seem to have a Bonnie-like appearance. But it wasn't a form of Bonnie he was familiar with – maybe this thing looked like Toy Bonnie? Before he could think any further, Shadow Bonnie began to float closer towards the center of the Office.

The moment he did so, Liz instantly sprang into action. There was no way she was going to let anything harm her dad while she could do anything to stop it. In a second, she was in front of Mike, glaring at Shadow Bonnie with glowing green eyes and her animatronic fangs gnashed together in a snarl. She moved her claw out in front of her into a battle position and snapped it twice, making it clear that she was fully ready to attack. _"Get away from my dad!"_ she shouted. _"If you want to hurt him, you'll have to get through me first!"_

The figure stopped, though its expression didn't change. **"You will not be needing that here,"** he rasped. **"I have no intention of harming either of you. And even if I did, I am beyond your ability to comprehend, and beyond your ability to destroy. I, however…I know exactly who you are."** He raised a hand and pointed a finger at Mike. **"You…you are the Chosen Guardian. The one ordained to bring those who were lost to the greatest of tragedies before their time back into the light."** He moved his finger over to Liz. **"And you…you are the Penitent Daughter. The one who seeks to cleanse the taint left behind by the legacy of a monster and to atone for the darkness of your past. I have been waiting for you."**

"Then you know why we are here?" Mike asked.

Shadow Bonnie nodded almost imperceptibly. **"The children…their souls are now free, and yet their bodies remain broken and desecrated. They have not been given the respect that is due to all the dead, and it is time for that wrong to finally be corrected."** He beckoned to them. **"Follow me…I shall lead you to that which you seek."**

Mike had a feeling he knew where Shadow Bonnie was taking them, and he was also aware that the bizarre entity could possibly be leading them into a trap. But something deep within him told him that he could trust Shadow Bonnie, that his intentions were genuine. Mike and Liz wordlessly followed it back through the Office Hallway and into the Main Hallway, back in front of the locked Parts/Service Rooms. Shadow Bonnie looked at the locked door. **"Let the shadows of the past be dispelled!"** he intoned. Mike and Liz instantly felt a shift in the atmosphere of the pizzeria, and the door suddenly glowed with a bright light for several seconds. Then, the luminescence faded, and the world plunged into darkness once again. **"Go forth,"** Shadow Bonnie commanded. **"Another waits for you within."**

Mike grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open. This time, it opened quite easily, and both Mike and Liz were able to enter without any problems. The Parts/Services Room was definitely larger than the one in the other pizzeria, there was no doubt about it. To the side, Mike could see three old arcade machines for games that had likely long gone extinct in the present day. But what really got his attention was the _second_ shadow animatronic that was gazing at them. Unlike Shadow Bonnie, this one was slumped down on the ground, as if waiting for his new guests to sit down and join him. And unlike Shadow Bonnie, this one had more of a definite shape and form and looked closer to the animatronics that Mike had grown familiar with during the Night Shift. One animatronic in particular. Liz shuddered and felt a spike of fear in her soul – she immediately recognized its face, the very same face that she had seen on the poster at the other Freddy's.

"Are you…Shadow Freddy?" Mike hazarded a guess.

" **An appropriate name for one such as myself…"** Shadow Freddy responded in the affirmative. He focused his attention over to Liz, and for the briefest moment, she felt something…familiar…with the dark figure that was sitting in front of her. But before she could even begin to try and decipher what that connection was, the moment passed, and Shadow Freddy divided its attention back to between the two of them. **"The bodies of the children…they were kept hidden away by a management riddled with incompetence and selfishness. Hidden inside a safe room that not even most of the employees were aware existed. Ever since then, the two of us have watched over this place, ensuring that they were not defiled or dishonored any further."** He raised an arm and pointed to the arcade machines that Mike had noticed earlier. **"The secret lies behind the relics of the past."**

"How did the Fazbear's Fright people miss this?" Mike asked incredulously. "Heck, why didn't they even move the arcade machines to begin with?"

An amused laugh emanated from Shadow Freddy, even though his mouth barely moved. **"My partner, Shadow Bonnie…he has been watching over this place for far longer than even I. He influenced their minds…** ** _convinced_** **them that three broken arcade machines were not worth the trouble. He diverted their attention away from the hidden secret and focused them on what the humans truly wanted in the first place...the suits, the masks, any legacy of Freddy Fazbear that they could get their hands on. Only the worthy have the right to our precious secret. And the worthy have finally come."**

His hand started to glow and both Liz and Mike watched as the arcade machines moved to the side, revealing an empty space. Empty…except for the outline of a hidden compartment…and a handle attached to the left side.

Mike turned to Liz. "You should be the one," he told her in a serious tone that was completely different from the lighthearted tone she was familiar with. "I don't know how, but I just know…you should be the one."

Liz nodded silently and nervously approached the door to the safe room, Mike and Shadow Freddy both watching carefully. She hesitantly reached out with her Scrap Baby's hand, firmly grasped onto the handle, and gingerly pulled the door open. Even before they looked inside, Mike could smell it. The smell of death, of violence…it was something that he would never forget. Swallowing down his fear, he flashed his light into the compartment while Liz knelt to peer into the safe room with her eyes.

If Mike had not been hardened by the trials of his childhood, he had little doubt that he would've vomited upon seeing the five broken corpses that lay sprawled across the floor inside the safe room. He had known this was coming, had tried to mentally prepare for it ever since Oskar had commanded him to carry out this task; even then, he felt himself grow nauseous at the sight. These were his children, children whose ghosts he had left behind at his home not a few hours ago. The laughing and smiling ghost kids who spent their days playing video games and having fun in his house and these bodies ruined beyond recognition…his mind just couldn't properly process that they were, in a way, one and the very same.

As Mike struggled to comprehend what he was seeing, Liz was consumed by the horror and grief of seeing her friends and family in such an unthinkable state. And as she felt that horror fill her soul, it opened a floodgate of other emotions and thoughts that she had tried desperately to withhold. And a new thought entered her mind, one that made guilt and regret overwhelm everything else in her mind. _"There was a time when I thought that doing this was a GOOD idea!"_ The thought made her feel sick to her core, and now a jumble of thoughts rushed through her mind and escalated her mental state into outright panic. _"I was going to murder children like my friends and throw their bodies away to rot in holes like this! What if that last pizzeria HADN'T been a trap and my plan succeeded? What if I'd done this to ALEX or MEGHAN? What if…?"_

"Liz?" Mike's voice cut through her thoughts.

She couldn't take it anymore. _"I…I would have done this…"_ she choked out. _"I…I would have done this to…to…"_ she collapsed onto her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably, gingerly placing her hand on top of one corpse's head without touching it. Even if she didn't accidentally break apart the skull with the slightest touch, she didn't deserve the honor of cradling the bodies of her father's victims.

Far away in his room, Fritz suddenly jolted as a weird sensation coursed through him. For a moment he could have sworn that he'd felt Liz's presence and that she was crying out of either pain or sadness. _"Liz?"_ he called out but received no answer. Of course he wouldn't. His sister was out with dad doing something that he'd refused to divulge. But then why had he felt her so keenly…

As Mike watched Liz grieve over her new family's deaths and her own sins, he knew that he had reached the critical point. What he said and did next would decide whether bringing Liz here would weaken her chains…or weaken her spirit. A small part of him had hoped that it would not come to this, but the more dominant and wiser part had long accepted that it had been inevitable. This was his first real test as a parent ever since Nightmare's attack, and he would need to rely on an entirely different set of skills this time around to prove his worth as a parent.

Mike bent down on his knees and gently wrapped his arms around the Liz's waist, hugging her tightly to his chest as she let her sorrows flow openly. Neither of them made a move or said a word, and it wasn't until several moments later that Liz's tears finally subsided. Mike looked around and found a chair a few inches away. He raised an eyebrow at that – he could have sworn the chair hadn't been there seconds before, and Shadow Freddy hadn't moved at all from what he'd seen. Still, he didn't question it. He slowly picked up Liz, who to his surprise was still as light as air despite being in Scrap Baby form, and sat down on the chair, hugging her all the while.

"When you first came here, Liz, I didn't truly understand what you were going through," Mike murmured quietly into her ear. "I didn't understand until the day Nightmare invaded our home. He was so much crueler to you than to the others…but if there's one good thing that came out of his attack, it's that I finally understand what was and still is torturing you so much at the core." He sighed. "I'm not going to pretend that my life circumstances were even remotely like yours, but that depression and despair…I've seen it before. I know what it feels like. And I think I understand what's causing all of this for you."

He pat one of Scrap Baby's shoulder plates. "Tell me if I'm right, Liz. It's all tied to Scrap Baby, isn't it? This animatronic you can turn into…it represents every mistake you ever made, everything you hate about yourself, every evil action you ever did whether it was your choice or not. And it's tearing you apart from the inside. You feel like you'll never escape from all this negativity, that this is all you'll ever be and that you'll never get the chance to be anything better than a brother killer or a murderer's daughter." He tilted his head down to look Liz in the eye. "Am I close to the mark?"

Liz sniffed. _"Isn't that what I am, though?"_ she asked with a wavering voice. She gestured towards the corpses of her family. _"Baby was created to be evil by my old dad, especially as Scrap Baby…and even before he found me all I've done is terrible things. The only reason why I didn't end up murdering more children like this is because the pizzeria I tried to invade was a trap designed to destroy us all."_ She lowered her head in shame. _"Evil ran in my blood and in my circuits."_

Mike began stroking her wire-like hair with his hand. "You're so much better than you think you are, Liz. But I know that simply hearing those words alone isn't going to be enough to convince you…just like it wasn't for me…" the last words were muttered under his breath, but Liz could hear them anyway.

" _You wouldn't have spent 20 days at Freddy's if it was…"_ Liz murmured, and her dad nodded solemnly.

"Liz…when Scrap Baby was destroyed, the _actual_ Scrap Baby and not what you can turn into, all of that negativity and everything you're afraid of…none of it is there anymore," he gently told her. "You tried your best to hold it off, and you only failed after years of being alone and being corrupted by that worthless murderer's programming. I think God knew that none of this was your fault, and He knew how hard you tried to fight it. And once Scrap Baby was destroyed, He could finally purify you back to what you were supposed to be. Considering how you don't seem anything remotely like the insane animatronic that Mary told me about, I think God did a thorough job in wiping your soul clean of all that nastiness. It makes absolutely no sense to me that He would forget to remove something as obvious as a Scrap Baby transformation unless He was certain that you wouldn't be corrupted by it again. And don't forget, Mary checked all this after Nightmare attacked, right?"

Liz shook her head. _"Then this must be a punishment,"_ she sighed. _"A mark of shame that I have to carry with me for the rest of eternity. I'm not going to complain about it, I know I deserve it."_

"No, I don't think that either," Mike countered. "If God wanted to punish you, then why did He guide you over to my house to find a new family? Or for that matter, like we've told you so many times before, why didn't He just send you to Hell? I think you were given the ability to transform into this for a reason, and I don't think that reason was meant to hurt you."

Liz looked up at him quizzically, and after several seconds of not saying a word Mike took it as a cue to continue. "There were a lot of ways I could have done this," he explained. "I could have brought Mary with me to the two pizzerias, since she watched over the other children for years and I'm sure she would've been more than happy to help me find the bodies of the kids. I could have called one of my closest friends to help me find them after swearing them to secrecy. Or I could have done all this alone. But I didn't. I chose _you_ as my partner for this mission, and I wanted you to use your Scrap Baby form specifically."

" _You…planned all this out?"_ Liz asked in a quiet voice. _"Even the part about Scrap Baby? Why would you want to be around the body of a monster?"_

Mike sighed. "Liz…you're so convinced that Scrap Baby is nothing but evil. And yet all the evidence points to the opposite. I and a lot of other people would argue that any of your intentions as Baby shouldn't count in the first place since they weren't done of your own free will, and I think God would agree with me. But even we _did_ count them…what evil actions have you actually _done_? You might have killed your brother and turned him into a walking corpse, true…but you genuinely had good intentions back then for the other animatronics at Circus Baby's Pizza Rental, you didn't know who he was at the time, and Michael sacrificed himself on purpose, so he has just as much responsibility for what happened to him as you do. I've seen normal humans do far, far worse to other people and for far worse reasons without any outside influence whatsoever."

" _Like an abusive parent…"_ Liz murmured.

"I wish that was the worst of it," Mike answered grimly. "And as for when you fully became corrupted as Scrap Baby, Henry knew what happened to you and he did everything he could to make sure that you wouldn't end up hurting other people. That was one of the reasons why he made the trap pizzeria in the first place. And it worked. Thanks to him, you didn't actually kill a _single_ person, let alone any children. For someone that's supposed to be pure evil, you never did a lot of it even at your worst."

"…" Liz remained silent, still processing what her father was telling her.

"But everything _good_ you've done as Scrap Baby?" Mike continued, and now he was smiling at her. "You attacked one of Hell's most powerful demons to try and keep me safe. And you've helped me with my mission to find our family's bodies in so many ways. Cutting open the chains on the pizzeria entrances, pulling open the animatronic bodies at the other pizzeria, even things as simple as helping me look around or trying to protect me from Shadow Bonnie when you thought he was a threat. Those all matter to me a lot more than any thing you did in the past, and more importantly, those were all things that you could do entirely out of your own free will. Liz, I brought you with me and asked you to help me because I wanted to show you that there is _nothing_ inherently evil about you or what you can turn into, even or _especially_ your Scrap Baby form."

" _N…nothing?"_ Liz stammered.

"NOTHING," Mike firmly asserted. "And there's nothing about you that's unwanted or unloved either. To anybody who truly cares about you, what really matters is that you try to do the right thing and be the good person that I know you are. Everything else doesn't matter."

"…"

"Liz…are you all right? Did you hear m…OOF!"

He was interrupted as Liz suddenly turned around and wrapped her arms tightly around her dad, returning the hug that he had given her a few minutes before. _"Dad…"_ she mumbled as she buried her head in his chest, and now she was crying tears of joy instead of despair. _"D-dad…how…how do you do it? H-How are you such a good person? H-how do you know exactly what to say to make me feel better? Y-you always have a solution for everything, no matter how b-bad it might be. A-are you an angel in disguise? F-for the first time…I…I f-finally feel like I can be b-better…m-maybe I'm n-not a monster after all…"_

Mike inwardly sighed as he gingerly returned the hug. Despite Oskar's warning, part of him had hoped that he would be able to free her spirit entirely. Still, judging by her reaction to what he'd said, he'd made progress. He'd said the right thing, and he hadn't failed her. That was enough for him.

" _Thank you. Th-thank you…for everything. I…I wish you were my dad…"_ Liz's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh, what? Liz, kiddo…last time I checked, I AM your dad," he joked, though he had a feeling he knew what she meant.

She shook her head. _"That's not what I mean. I wish you were my dad from the very beginning. Things could have been so much better if you were my parent from the start instead of William Afton."_

"How do you mean?" he asked.

" _Everything would be perfect,"_ Liz explained wistfully, and she had to hold back another set of tears as she thought about what could have been. _"You would never have let the accident that killed Eric ever happen. None of the murders would have ever happened because you would have been there to stop them. The Freddy Fazbear's franchise wouldn't have been ruined by all the terrible things that happened, and it would have been what it was meant to be with you watching over it – a place where children could celebrate their birthdays, play with their friends, be happy and safe. And you would've…you would've created Baby like she was supposed to be. A regular child entertainer animatronic that wasn't designed to grab innocent children, drag them inside her body, and kill them. My favorite animatronic wouldn't have been a death trap, and my old family would still be together. Everything would have been so, so…wonderful,"_ she concluded sadly.

"Are you so sure about that?" Mike questioned. "Oskar told me something once. He told me that a lifetime of hardship and suffering can either destroy your morals forever or forge them into something unbreakable. And everything I experienced in the early parts of my life, both the good and bad, turned me into the person I am today. You clearly think that I'm a great person, and at the risk of sounding pretentious, I think I've done my best to stick to my principles throughout my life. But if I hadn't gone through any of it, would I have been as good of a person as you think I am after entirely different life circumstances?"

" _You would have been better than William Afton,"_ Liz said in a voice barely above a whisper. Mike had to concede that this was very likely true. Being a better parent and a better person than William Afton was not a very difficult standard to meet in the slightest. _"Did he even care about me to begin with?"_

Mike snapped back to reality. "What?"

" _Did he ever care about me at all?"_ Liz repeated, her voice quivering. _"Or was I never anything more than a tool to him, even when I was alive?"_

This was NOT a question that Mike had been expecting, and the first thought that coursed through his mind was that no, William Afton had never cared about her. Nobody who loved their children would ever put them through the Hell Liz had been through. But as he looked down at Baby's face, the words died in his throat. He realized that Liz must have thought the world of her father back when she had been alive. It had been one of the reasons why she'd given in to him after being cast out of Ennard and why she'd been so emotionally devastated by his betrayal after the final pizzeria burned down. If he outright shut her down, then he'd effectively be telling her that a huge part of her childhood when she was alive, likely the ONLY time she'd ever been happy apart from her time with him and the other ghost kids, had been nothing but a lie. And he couldn't do that to her, not after he had only just now started to raise her morale. But he couldn't answer in the affirmative either. His hatred of William Afton was well known by all the ghost children by this point and if he simply told Liz that Afton _did_ love her at one point, then his words would sound completely fake and they would both know that he was lying.

"Do you remember anything particularly good or bad that William Afton tried to do for you at any point in your life before he died?" he asked.

Liz thought for a moment. _"I don't have any bad memories about him from back when I was alive, though my memory is kinda fuzzy,"_ she answered. _"And I think…I think he tried to stop me from seeing Baby. He knew that Baby was dangerous and didn't want me to be a victim. Not that it meant anything in the end,"_ she finished bitterly.

Mike didn't say anything for several seconds as he carefully considered his answer. "IF he ever genuinely loved you, Liz," he finally said after a seeming eternity, "it was back when he was still a normal human. It shouldn't surprise you that I hate the idea of giving William Afton credit for doing _anything_ good, but it is possible that he did care about you back when he and you were both normal humans. That's flimsy evidence, but it isn't nonexistent. But if you're talking about after he became Springtrap, then no. What he did to you was corruption and manipulation, plain and simple. If there was ever any goodness in his soul towards you, then it died along with him in that Spring Bonnie suit. Of _that_ , I am certain."

" _I guess that's the best I can hope for, then,"_ Liz sighed. Mike wasn't sure if his daughter's question even had a right answer to begin with, but it didn't seem like he had made her feel any worse. All things considered, he'd take what he could get.

Liz shifted her body so that she was facing the corpses of the murdered children again. _"What are we going to do, dad?"_ she asked. _"How are we going to get them out of here?"_

Mike grimaced. He'd been so caught up with taking care of Liz that he'd forgotten about why they had come here in the first place. "Unfortunately," he muttered, "we can't just take them out of here, as much as I want to. Their bodies have been here for such a long time, and if we tried to move them ourselves we'd very likely end up causing even more damage. And all that aside, we can't just stuff them in the trunk of my car. It wouldn't be right, and if anybody ever found out that I had a bunch of dead bodies in my car that would cause a massive load of problems that would be very difficult if not flat-out impossible for me to handle. I need to handle this slowly and carefully."

" _Is there anything I can do to help?"_

Mike shook his head. "This is something that only I'll be able to deal with, Liz. You simply can't interact with the real world like I can. I have a strategy planned out, but it'll take quite a bit of time to carry out. No matter how much I don't want to do this, we're going to have to leave them here for now. At least here we'll be sure that nothing else will happen to them."

" **We have stood guard over this place for decades,"** a voice interrupted them. They turned to see Shadow Bonnie standing a few feet away. He had joined Shadow Freddy inside the room and both were watching them with unreadable expressions. **"A little more time means nothing to us compared to our duty,"** Shadow Bonnie continued. **"We will wait for as long as necessary."**

"I have a few friends in the police," Mike told them. "One of them being a very close friend and one of the few people apart from my new ghost family that I trust. Would it be acceptable for them to come here and pick their bodies up eventually?"

" **We will sense their intentions and judge their right to complete your task accordingly."**

"That's good enough for me," Mike said as he got up from the chair, finally letting go of Liz in the process. "You can count on me to see this through."

He gestured for Liz to follow him out, but Shadow Freddy suddenly raised his hand. **"Hold,"** he stopped them. **"I would speak to your daughter for a moment, if you would allow it."**

Mike shrugged. He highly doubted that either Shadow would hurt them at this point – they would have done it a long time ago if they'd wanted to. "Go right ahead. I'll be waiting outside." He left the Parts/Service Room and stepped a few feet away to give them some privacy.

Shadow Freddy turned his gaze fully to Liz, who suddenly grew nervous. Was Shadow Freddy about to attack her? Would she have to fight him with only her claw to defend herself with?

" **I have this to say to you, Elizabeth,"** Shadow Freddy continued, and Liz jolted at the mention of her full name. _How does he know who I am?_ **"A word of advice that I believe will serve you well in the days to come. The shackles of your past are only as powerful as you allow them to be. Whether they drag your spirit down or you cast them aside to free yourself from your own darkness…that is for you and you alone to decide. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?"**

" _I…I do."_

" **Then for you, the path forward is clearer than it is for others trapped within themselves."** Shadow Freddy gestured towards the door. **"Now go. Your father is waiting."**

Liz nodded her thanks and left the room, and as she did so she could hear the door to the hidden safe room close behind her. Mike gently put a hand on her shoulder plate. "Don't tell the others about what we did tonight," he instructed. "The idea that we went searching for their murdered bodies might be too much for them to handle."

" _You can count on me, dad!"_ she promised. She tilted her head up at him, and even through Scrap Baby's nightmarish face Mike could see the bright and happy girl she had been meant to be more clearly than he had ever done in the past. The former Night Guard returned the smile and took his daughter's ethereal hand in his as they left the abandoned pizzeria together. Despite the grim nature of their mission, he thought, tonight had been a good night after all.

Shadow Bonnie and Shadow Freddy watched as the entrance to the pizzeria slammed shut, leaving the building in total darkness once again. **"He is a worthy father indeed,"** Shadow Bonnie commented. **"The ghosts of the children will find the peace and happiness they need under his care. The ones murdered by your father all those years ago…"** he turned to look straight into Shadow Freddy's eyes, **"…and your sister as well."**

Shadow Freddy met his partner's gaze. **"William Afton is not my father,"** he snarled, and his eyes flashed with hatred as he allowed fury and rage to enter his voice for the first time. **"He gave up the right to be my father when he slaughtered those innocents in this pizzeria. He gave up the right to be my father when he let my sister die, and he MOST CERTAINLY gave up the right to be our father when he corrupted her into something that she was never meant to be!"** The being forced himself to calm down. **"But finally, after far too long, the wheel of fate has shown mercy to his victims. Peace has come to us all at last."**

Shadow Freddy looked back towards the entrance, where he could still visualize Mike contentedly holding Liz's hand as they left the pizzeria behind. **"Your future is brighter than it ever was before, and a new life awaits you. Good bye, and good luck…Lizzie."**

/

A/N: Well, this was quite the beast to write. As you've seen, helping Liz deal with her inner demons was Mike's greatest test as a parent aside from defending the ghost kids from Nightmare…but this test required an entirely different set of skills altogether. I think he did the best that he could, all things considered 😊

Shadow Freddy is often identified with either William Afton or Nightmare, but that didn't really work for me at least with regards to this fic. I've already established who Nightmare was a long time ago, and as for the Purple Guy, I actually have my doubts that Shadow Freddy is meant to be William Afton. Afton didn't display any supernatural capabilities as a human as far as I can tell, and he was definitely still alive back in 1987 since he didn't get trapped in the Spring Bonnie suit until after the events of FNAF1.

So, who is Shadow Freddy here? You guys were right when you thought that Shadow Freddy was one of the Afton brothers…but _which_ Afton? I don't want to spoonfeed you all the hints right away…though if you think about it, you'll find that one answer much more sense than the other. But I like playing with ambiguity just as much as the next person, so I'll keep things vague for now. For those of you wondering why Shadow Freddy didn't simply reveal himself to Liz in this chapter, I'll explain that in the future.

As for who or what Shadow Bonnie is? Man, I have no fucking clue, to be honest. He's a complete enigma with almost no background information given about him, though the fact that he helps give cake to one of the crying children in FNAF3 suggests that he isn't malevolent, or at the very least, not affiliated with the murderer. I actually contemplated the idea of Shadow Bonnie being the Afton instead, but decided to go with Shadow Freddy for reasons that either (a) will be explained in the future or (b) you'll figure out before then.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	32. Chapter 32 - Spectral Shopping

A/N: Thanks for all the kind reviews everyone! I'm glad you guys really liked the last chapter. There's a lot of division over which Afton was Shadow Freddy. Good...I like to keep you in suspense :) Though I promise I will clear everything up in time.

I downloaded FNAF 2 a week ago on Steam and tried to play it, but for some reason every time I try to play it the game crashes after I try to start a New game. I also noticed that I get an error that requires me to upload the application on the Steam App folder when I try to open it the first time, and that this Application disappears from that folder every time the game crashes. If anybody has had a similar issue and can help me fix this, that would be very much appreciated.

Blazing Groudon: I don't consider Henry's actions to be evil since most of the animatronics at this point can't even be considered human anymore. Springtrap is the Purple Guy and needed to fucking die especially since he became even more murderously savage as an animatronic. Elizabeth/Baby was corrupted by Baby's evil programming and the only way to free her from being mentally enslaved/insane was to destroy Baby. And Molten Freddy was never human to begin with and his dialogue indicates that he's basically gone insane too. All of these animatronics would have done a lot worse evil if they were allowed free reign, and I'd argue that letting them do whatever they wanted is an even worse sin than destroying them since Henry would be doing nothing when he could have stopped them, ended the tragedy, and freed the souls (the whole them of evil wins by good doing nothing applies here).

The only two I could see your argument apply to are Lefty/the Puppet and Michael Afton. But Henry had a plan to get Michael out of harm's way and the only reason why he didn't is because Michael wanted to die. And as for Lefty/Mary, I'll be addressing that in much more detail later but all you need to know for now is that the two of them worked together to bring the rest of the animatronics down (this PROBABLY didn't happen in canon but it did in my story).

I think the church declared that in some cases suicide isn't always a sin, since the person may not always be in their right mind (the best example being depression). And some of the tapes from FNAF6 sound very much like Henry was going through some serious depression even though his voice sounds calm (and considering everything that's happened to him, his family, and his franchise, I can't blame him one bit). Also, one could interpret his going down with the pizzeria as a sacrifice to make ABSOLUTELY DAMN SURE that the animatronics were destroyed and no more tragedy would happen (ironically enough, Mary in my fic teleported OUT of the pizzeria and to safety with the exact same goal in mind). Either way, no, Henry isn't in Hell.

Jacko: What FNAF world reference? I don't get it.

Guest: Not sure.

Chapter 32 – Spectral Shopping

For the next few days after their mission, Mike started leaving the house periodically, his only explanation being that "he needed to meet with someone important." Both he and Liz adamantly refused to discuss whatever they had done together, and the other ghost kids gave up trying to get answers from Liz when it was clear that she wouldn't talk. With their options limited, the family decided to go back to their normal daily routine. Since Mike didn't have as much time to take care of the house as he normally did thanks to his outings, the kids decided to do some clean-up around the house to make his life a little easier while he was out.

"You guys did a really nice job!" Mike complimented when he came back and saw their work. "It's good to know that my house is in good hands while I'm gone."

Cassidy grinned. _"Only the best for you, dad!"_

" _I guess if there's one good thing about being a ghost, it's that our clothes don't ever get dirty when we clean the house,"_ Susie commented as she finished cleaning up a sponge in the sink.

" _Thank God for small mercies,"_ Fritz muttered. _"I mean, imagine how much it would suck to wear these clothes if they got all disgusting and crap for our cleaning!"_

" _That's the only good thing though."_ Jeremy added as he looked at his purple shirt with a frown. _"We already have to wear these for the rest of our afterlives, at least before we pass on."_

"You can't do anything about that?" Mike asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but you _can_ change your forms, right? Back when I was telling you guys about my childhood, there was a moment when you guys looked like…well, you looked like how you did when you died," he reluctantly finished. "With creepy black fluid pouring out of empty eye sockets and a lot of terrible wounds all over your bodies. Cassidy really went all-out with the whole glowing red eyes thing. And Liz can outright turn into an animatronic," he glanced at Liz, who shrugged. "Although to be fair, her case seems to be different from the rest of yours."

" _That specific example you mentioned is the only way we've ever transformed, as far as I can remember,"_ Gabe replied. _"It doesn't seem like a very major transformation either."_

"Let's see what Mary thinks," Mike said as he picked up his cell phone and swiftly texted a message for her to join them. A few seconds later, the Marionette floated to their location.

" _Is there something you need me for?"_ she asked.

"Yeah," Mike nodded. He gestured towards the ghosts. "We were just talking about how these kids have been wearing the same clothes as ghosts. I was asking them why they couldn't just transform their clothes into new ones. Since you're the closest thing to an expert here, CAN they transform their appearance like that?"

Mary shrugged. _"Well, yeah,"_ she replied nonchalantly.

The hallway instantly fell into silence as every member of the family, living or dead, stared at her. _"Wait, what?"_ Jeremy asked slowly. _"Could you…could you repeat that?"_

" _It's not that hard,"_ Mary explained. _"You just need to concentrate on what you want to look like and you'll take on that appearance. The principle isn't all that different from Liz's Scrap Baby form. Granted, her circumstances are unique compared to the rest of you and I doubt you'll be able to turn into anything beyond your human appearance, but it's pretty simple otherwise."_

" _And you're only mentioning this to us NOW?"_ Fritz asked disbelievingly.

" _You never asked about it and I didn't think it was all that important_ ," she brushed him off. _"Besides, I'm inside the Puppet, so for me it didn't matter at all."_

" _We've been wearing the same goddamn clothes FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS!"_ the former Foxy inhabitant nearly shouted.

Mike cringed. "Okay, yeah, that actually does sound pretty shitty," he admitted. Ghost or not, that had to suck.

" _Well, look on the bright side,"_ Cassidy decided to step in. _"At least we can change our clothes and stuff now!"_

" _Slight problem with that, Cass,"_ Gabe interrupted. _"Mike only has adult and guy clothes. At a stretch, that MIGHT work for half of us, but it definitely won't work for the other half."_

"We'd have to go to a store or something to find clothes for you to look at. Maybe buy them to be safe so you can concentrate more easily. It's easy enough for me since I obviously don't have money issues. A mall would probably be the best bet if you guys can keep yourselves hidden," Mike muttered. It had been meant as an offhand comment, but six pairs of eyes suddenly looked straight at him.

" _Can we, dad?"_ Susie begged, trying to give him her best impression of puppy-dog eyes. _"Please?"_

"Uh…you mean like now?" Mike asked. Six heads nodded as one in response. He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh, fuck it. Why not. It's not like I have a better way to make use of my time." The ghosts all cheered and started chatting excitedly. He clapped his hands once and got all their attention again. "That being said," his tone suddenly became more serious, "this isn't just gonna be a social outing, you guys. This is the first time I'm bringing you out to a public place where you have a real risk of being spotted, and this is going to be my first test to you. Remember. Absolute secrecy. Invisibility and silence besides the telepathy. I don't want to hear anything about a creepy mall haunted by ghost kids or any variation of that. Got it?"

" _Loud and clear!"_ Liz assured him, and the others gave their own responses of acknowledgment.

"Good, let me get ready and we'll be off in a couple of minutes," he turned to Mary. "I'm gonna need you to cast that silencing spell on them. Also, do you mind taking care of the house while I'm gone?"

" _I'll be fine,"_ Mary answered. _"Enjoy yourself with your children, Mike."_

"Will do," Mike replied with a grin. "Sooner I know that the kids can handle small stuff, then we can move on to bigger and better things. Let's see how this turns out."

Several Minutes Later…

" _Why didn't we bring Mary with us?"_ Liz asked as Mike drove up to an empty spot in the mall's parking lot.

"Well, someone has to make sure the house doesn't burn down," Mike nonchalantly answered. "Besides, she's inside what's basically a physical body, so she can't simply make herself disappear like the rest of you. We actually talked about this when it was just us two around. Even if she could make the Puppet invisible, she can't make it intangible. There's a reason why she only got out of the house very few times the year before you showed up."

" _That's kind of a bummer for her,"_ Gabe commented. _"I don't get why she doesn't just leave that Puppet already. Seems like she'd have a lot more freedom to do what she wants if she was a normal ghost like us."_

"You'll have to ask her that, but when I asked her she wasn't ready to explain why yet," Mike told him, before looking at all of them. "Okay, guys, here's the plan. You have an hour to go floating around the different shops and look for clothes that you want. I'm ONLY dealing with clothes for now, cause if I tried buying anything beyond that I won't be able to carry it all out of the mall."

" _Where are we gonna meet up with you after an hour?"_ Jeremy asked.

Mike showed them a map of the mall on his phone. "In the center of the mall, there's a really nice-looking fountain. When you're done, meet me at the fountain. I'll be waiting."

The kids grinned back and floated out of the car, severing their links to it as they did so. "This is your first real time out in the real world, kids. Be careful that you're not seen…but try and have some fun. First moments should always be special ones, after all."

Cheerful laughter and a chorus of heartfelt thank-yous answered him as the ghosts faded into invisibility. Mike couldn't help but smile. He knew in his heart that they felt would be fine.

/

After finding the fountain that Mike had told them about, the ghost children decided to split up in pairs and pursue their own interests. Gabe and Jeremy searched around the mall for things they were interested in, both quite relieved that their intangible nature made navigating around the crowds a nonissue.

Gabe had always been looked at as the leader of the children when Mary wasn't around to guide them, and he had been forced to mature to a higher degree to meet the expectations of his friends, now family. He had been hiding his thoughts behind the calm and collected persona that he had developed as a leader, but if he was honest with himself he was just as excited at the thought of getting new things for himself as the rest of them. With so many years gone by, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be a kid, forgotten his natural curiosity and eagerness to explore the rest of the world and what it had to offer.

"What am I interested in?" he asked himself. What was his style? What made him comfortable? Questions that should have been basic for any normal child, but ones that he honestly didn't have any answers to anymore. It almost made him sad to think about it. Mike had given so much of what they had lost back to them, but there were some miracles even he couldn't accomplish.

" _Hey, Gabe!"_ Jeremy's voice cut through his thoughts. _"I just found something really cool!"_

" _Coming, Jeremy!"_ Gabe answered back as he floated over to Jeremy's location. Once he arrived, Jeremy pointed at a T-Shirt that was held up on a rack.

" _Look at that!"_ Jeremy declared excitedly. The T-shirt held a light blue color, almost like a gently flowing river. The front of the shirt was covered with the image of a forest, with a majestic mountain towering over the treetops and a river flowing underneath. The T-shirt was being held right next to pair of darker blue jeans. _"That looks so cool! And it'll fit so well with those jeans too! I want those so badly!"_ He grinned. _"Yep, that settles it. I'm definitely getting that shirt and jeans!"_

Gabe couldn't help but feel his spirits lift at his brother's excitement. Maybe he was thinking about this too hard. Maybe he should just enjoy himself and go with the flow, without a care in the world just like normal children would.

" _Earth to Gabe?"_ Jeremy snapped his fingers in front of his friend. _"Hey, man. You're spacing out a lot. Snap out of it, bro."_

" _What? Oh, er…sorry."_

" _So what do you think you're gonna get?"_ Jeremy asked him. _"Surely you can come up with something. Heck, I'll give you a hand if you really don't have a clue…"_

Gabe smiled. There were some things to rediscover about himself and his childhood, some things that he wouldn't mind finding again on his own. _"Let me give you an idea of what I'm looking for, Jer…"_

/

" _Oh my God, there's so many things we can choose from!"_ Susie shouted excitedly through her mental link to Cassidy. _"It's like a dream come true!"_

" _I know, Sus!"_ her sister exclaimed. _"I don't know what to pick!"_

" _If only we could try everything we wanted on,"_ Susie wistfully murmured as she looked longingly at a red dress through a window. _"But think of what we could do! We could get dad to get so many amazing-looking dresses and skirts and everything, I can finally get out of this stupid yellow shirt and look like those kids in those photos of Mr. Marshall's wedding!"_

Cassidy frowned. _"Maybe getting a bunch of dresses wouldn't be such a good idea,"_ she commented.

Susie looked at her like she was crazy. _"What are you talking about?"_ she asked incredulously.

" _Here's the thing,"_ Cassidy explained her thoughts. _"I like dresses just as much as the next person, but the whole point of a dress is to look good around other people. Outside of some very, VERY specific times, we're gonna be hanging around home with just dad most of the time. So…what's the point of wearing a dress anyway?"_

Susie's eyes widened in surprise. She honestly hadn't thought about that. _"Besides,"_ Cassidy continued, _"dresses are kind of uncomfortable, aren't they? I mean, the clothes I'm wearing as a ghost feel like clothes I would've worn when I was alive. The way I see it, I might as well just make myself comfortable with something like a T-shirt."_

" _Uhm…"_

Cassidy shook her head. _"Don't let me stop you, Sus. If you really want a nice dress, go right ahead. Dad will get you whatever you want. Just be aware that it's not gonna be something you'll be able to show as much as you could when we were alive."_

Susie thought about what her sister had said, then sighed. _"When you put it that way, Cass…you've got a good point,"_ she admitted. _"Guess I got a bit carried away there,"_ she added sheepishly.

Cassidy smiled at her sister. _"There's nothing wrong with picking one or two,"_ she assured her. _"Just make sure you don't go overboard with it."_

" _Yeah,"_ Susie returned the affection with one of her own. Cassidy's eyes suddenly caught something in a nearby store. _"Ooh!"_ she gasped. _"That yellow dress is going to look so good on me!"_

Susie laughed. _"Now who's the one obsessed with dresses?"_ she joked.

One of the passing shoppers suddenly stopped. "Wait, what?" he muttered. "Did I just see a girl or two disappear? I could have sworn..."

Cassidy's and Susie's eyes both widened in panic and they concentrated on making themselves invisible. The shopper looked around in confusion, his eyes sweeping past the spot where they were at. He finally gave up, looking annoyed with himself. "Geez man, get a hold of yourself," he grumbled as he walked away.

" _Crap,"_ Cassidy muttered. _"That was close. We could've gotten caught."_

" _Yeah, we need to be more careful_. _Look, let's just make sure we remember anything we're interested in and we'll let dad handle the details,"_ Susie suggested.

" _I'm with you there,"_ Cassidy agreed. She looked through the store windows again. _"So I really want that one, and…"_

/

" _You seem to know you away around here, Fritz,"_ Liz commented as Fritz guided her through the mall. _"Seriously, how do you remember a place that you haven't been to for over 30 years?"_

" _Oh, I don't,"_ Fritz cheerfully replied. _"In fact, I have absolutely no idea where I'm going."_

Liz had to resist letting out a bark of laughter, and even then, she couldn't hide an amused giggle. _"Then why are you floating around as if you own the place?"_

" _I just know what I want right from the get-go,"_ Fritz explained.

" _Oh, really? Let's hear it, then."_

Fritz turned a corner and his eyes lit up. _"Here we go!"_ he exclaimed as he rushed towards the sports store, Liz trying not to fall behind. _"Perfect!"_

" _What are you even going to do here?"_ Liz rolled her eyes once she caught up to him. _"Be a football player or something? How are you even going to play sports?"_

" _Play sports?"_ Fritz repeated with a smirk. _"With what hands? With what body? I'm not gonna play any sports, Liz. I just want some generic sports clothes. You know, the kind of thing that Dad wears whenever he goes out for a run in the backyard."_

" _But why, though?"_ Liz still didn't understand. _"I still don't get it. Doesn't seem like it has much of a point to me."_

Fritz shrugged. _"Well, one could argue that changing our clothes as part of our ghostly appearance doesn't have much of a point to begin with. And I always liked to run around and be active, doesn't matter if I'm alive or dead. "And also,"_ he added, _"Dad seems like he's really chilled out and relaxed when he's in those clothes, even more than usual. And I want to be like him."_

That last part, Liz could understand. Both for the worse…and for the better. _"Is there something you're looking for in particular, or…?"_ she asked.

Fritz looked around and he beamed when he saw something that caught his eye. _"Ooh!"_ He rushed towards a red sports shirt and black Nike pants. _"This'll fit me perfectly!"_

" _It reminds you of Foxy, doesn't it?"_ Liz asked with a knowing smile.

" _What can I say?"_ Fritz gave her a pirate-like grin. _"I've always liked Foxy, and that never changed even after all the crap I've been through. But what about you, Liz?"_ he suddenly asked. _"What do you want?"_

Liz was taken aback by the question. _"I…honestly don't know…"_ she admitted. _"It's not something I ever really thought about."_

" _Anything you wore when you were alive?"_ Fritz asked.

"… _I always wore things like what I'm wearing right now,"_ Liz answered after a moment's thought. _"My old dad always got me blouses and small skirts like this one,"_ she pointed down at it. _"But that's really all I can say."_

" _Well, you have two choices,"_ her brother advised her. _"Either you can ask Dad to get more of the same except better, or you can be adventurous and try something completely new. Personally, I think you should explore a bit and branch out from the things you're comfortable with, but that's just me."_ He made a face. _"Besides, anything that separates you from what HE wanted is an OK in my book."_

Liz considered his words carefully. He did have a very good point. What was the point of having the closest thing to a new life if all she did was more of the same? _"I hope it's not bothering you or anything, Fritz, but…would you…would you mind helping me?"_ she asked after several seconds of hesitation. It was an innocent enough question, but Fritz knew better. Liz's demeanor over the past few days had gotten a lot brighter and she had a much better hold over her emotions than before. But he hadn't once forgotten the intense sadness he'd inexplicably felt from her presence the night she and Mike had gone out. He was absolutely certain he hadn't imagined it, and even now he could tell that there was still doubt and insecurity left over.

Fritz put an arm around his sister's shoulder. _"Liz…"_ he answered, and there was the sincerity in his voice that he only rarely used. _"Of course I'll help you out. We're family, and that's what family does, right?"_

Liz thought to all the ways Mike and even the other ghost kids had helped her. _"You're right,"_ she answered with a growing smile.

" _Then as long as you keep being Liz Schmidt, nothing you say or do is ever going to bother me. I promise,"_ he promised as he took his sister's hand and wrapped his pinkie around hers. Then, the humor returned to his voice. _"Unless you troll me whenever we play games or something, something which EVERYONE likes to do to me for some ungodly reason. In that case, fuck you."_

Liz couldn't help herself this time. She let out a stream of laughter that would have surely caught the attention of everyone in the room were it not for Mary's silencing spell. _"Okay, I'm really glad that Mary put that silencing spell on us. We'd be terrible at keeping ourselves secret if she didn't,"_ she finally commented once she calmed down.

Fritz grinned. _"Yep, definitely a good thing."_ He took her by the arm. _"So let's see if we can't find something for the new and improved you."_

At the end of the hour…

Mike sat on the fountain, looking around the mall as he searched for the ghosts to come back and meet up with him at the rendezvous point. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he opened it, only to roll his eyes as he read the text message that Ryan sent him. Normally he considered his close friend to be very intelligent, but this…

"Ryan, did you go out to a party or something?" he texted back. "Are you fucking high or something? Cause I'm sorry, but that is the stupidest idea I've heard come out of your brain in a long time."

"Aww come on, Mike…" the response came a second later, "it'll be hilarious!"

"Yeah, and go really wrong really fast," Mike digitally retorted. "There's no way in hell I'm introducing the kids to Cards Against Humanity. Even if I created my own deck and censored it to get rid of all the sexual innuendos, this still screams BAD IDEA!"

"All right, all right, calm down, Mike," Ryan replied. "I was just joking anyway. I wouldn't show that to my kids either."

"Thank God. I'd seriously be questioning your parenting skills if you did."

" _Dad!"_

Mike shut the phone and looked up to see the ghost kids all approaching him from different directions. He grinned at them, and while he didn't make any gesture outwardly to greet them he started communicating with them through his mind.

"You guys are done?" he asked mentally.

" _Yep!"_ Gabe confirmed. _"We've found everything that we've wanted. Ready to start buying things?"_

Mike took out his wallet. "Does this answer your question?"

" _Thanks again, dad!"_ Liz gratefully told him, and the other ghosts mirrored her words.

"No problem, kiddos," Mike replied. "Besides, it feels good to actually spend my money on something worthwhile that isn't taxes or charity for once. So…who wants to go first?"

Cassidy floated a few inches closer. _"Well, dad, I want…"_

Two Hours Later, Back at Mike House…

"All right, guys, you ready?" Mike called out from the living room. He had bought a huge variety of clothes that they had all wanted (raising an eyebrow from some of the cashiers in the process), and he was waiting now to see what they would look like now that they were no longer limited to their appearances in death.

" _Yeah!"_ the ghosts replied happily as they floated into the room. Mike couldn't help but be amazed at just how different they looked now, although he kept his expressions limited to raising an eyebrow.

Gabe was now wearing a white shirt with a checkerboard pattern running across its entirety, along with a pair of long, dark-brown khakis. His choices were surprisingly formal for a kid who had free reign over what he could wear, but they did make sense. Besides, Gabe had always seemed like the most mature out of all the children, and Mike supposed that this aspect of his personality had passed on to his tastes.

Jeremy's new look was much more relaxed and easygoing, by comparison. He was now wearing a blue shirt with a detailed scene of a forest and a mountain on it, with a pair of dark blue jeans that matched quite well. Mike couldn't help but wonder if the former Bonnie inhabitant had an interest in camping or nature. Hopefully, Jeremy would love spending some time out in a campsite somewhere, if Mike ever got around to making it happen.

Susie's appearance was the most surprising to Mike. He had thought that she would have gotten a yellow dress to represent Chica, but instead she had chosen a purple blouse and a skirt that actually wasn't all that different from what Liz normally wore. Wasn't purple the opposite of yellow on the color wheel? Either way, the colors matched incredibly well with Susie's blond hair and blue eyes.

Fritz reminded Mike very much of the animatronic he had once possessed. Once he'd found what he'd wanted, he'd stuck his mind to it. The red sports T-shirt matched his hair nicely, and with the black sports shorts he fit closely to what Mike would come up with if he were told to imagine a human Foxy, minus the eyepatch and the hook. It didn't surprise Mike at all that sports were Fritz's chosen theme – Foxy had always rushed at the door in the pizzeria office, as opposed to the slower and calmer advance of the others. And according to Mary, he had been as equally as aggressive in the 1987 pizzeria, striking out to attack even before the other Withered Animatronics had awakened.

Cassidy's appearance was arguably the most like what it had been like before they had gone to the mall. Her shirt was still yellow with a similar shade to Golden Freddy, only it was now a simple T-shirt instead of a dress shirt like the one she'd worn on the day she'd been killed. She was also wearing a simple pair of short brown pants. Cassidy had toyed the idea of putting on the yellow dress she'd seen earlier as part of her first transformation but decided to stick with something simple for now. She'd save that dress for a more special moment.

Finally, Liz's new clothes were a stark contrast to the pink blouse and purple skirt she'd been wearing before. Fritz had helped her find things she'd liked and they had decided to surprise Mike by having her wear something completely different to what he was used to. She was now wearing a forest green jacket and a plain white T-shirt, matched with a set of jeans with a lighter shade of blue than Jeremy's. A simple design, but one completely removed from what she had worn up until now. So very different from the ghost who had showed up crying at his doorstep, and he approved.

And indeed, Mike approved of ALL the different changes that the ghost kids had made to themselves, regardless of what they were. That had been the point to begin with, and this trip to the mall hadn't just been for fun. The kids had been forced to wear the same clothes every day for decades, the very same clothes that they had been murdered in during that fateful birthday party. That had been the past, and Mike wanted to do whatever he could to bring them into the hopeful and peaceful new time that he would watch over and protect for the rest of his life. Any change that brought them closer to the present and established a sense of normalcy in their lives mattered, even if it was something as simple as clothes.

Besides, he had wanted to make sure all the kids could enjoy something outside of the house together. Mike had made it clear that he had taken Liz out with him for an important task and it didn't seem like the kids had been bothered by it, but one could never be too careful. The more he got them all involved in the same fun activity, the less likely they would mistakenly accuse him of favoritism towards Liz, or towards any one ghost for that matter. Mike couldn't help but chuckle dryly on the inside. He'd somehow managed to turn an act as simple as shopping for clothes into serious business.

"I guess that's what being a parent does to you," he thought. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." He snapped back to reality. "You guys look amazing, all of you!" he complimented out loud.

The ghosts grinned and gave him one of their now familiar group hugs. _"Thanks so much, dad!"_ Susie responded.

" _I know we keep saying this, but you're the best!"_ Jeremy declared.

" _Uhm…I just realized something…"_ _Cassidy_ 's voice suddenly burst through their bubble of happy emotions. _"Are we going to be sleeping in these clothes, too? I mean, we've been doing that with our old clothes too, but…"_

Fritz's eyes widened. _"Crap!"_ he panicked. _"We forgot to look for pajamas!"_

Mike took his hand and smacked his palm to his face. He'd known something was off, and there it was. There was the obligatory screw-up of the day. "Oh, God fucking dammit..."

/

A/N: And that's that! This was just a light-hearted, fun chapter with a sprinkle of feels and bonding thrown into the mix. This IS meant to be a happy fic focused on giving the murdered children their lives back, after all.

The little Cards Against Humanity joke was actually brought up in a PM conversation that I had with one of my reviewers. I was exhausted and came up with the absolutely ATROCIOUS idea of Mike introducing the kids to Cards Against Humanity, after creating a semi-FNAF-themed deck that censored out all but the most basic of sexual innuendos and terms. No, this would NOT be a furry deck. And yes, the kids DO know what curse words are because they picked them up over their years as animatronics, and there's still plenty of messed up shit in Cards Against Humanity to go around even without them. Oh, and Nightmare would've joined them since he was taking a break from torturing William Afton. Yeah…it's not very hard to figure out why I scrapped this idea. More than anything, it's an indicator that I need to go to sleep earlier than 1 AM. I'll only write this chapter if there's a high demand for it, and even then it will probably be marked as Non-Canon for obvious reasons.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	33. Chapter 33 - Epic Fantasy Adventures 2

A/N: So, you guys seem to really like the Cards Against Humanity idea! The reviewers have spoken, and your wish is my command! Just…not right now. I've got other ideas, both serious and light-hearted, planned first. And coming up with CAH combinations and implementing them into something that can even remotely be called a consistently storyline…yeah, this one'll probably have to wait until after exams.

From this point forward, I may put in several "time skips" in between chapters so that it doesn't seem like this entire story is taking place in only one or two months. For example, I might say before the chapter starts that it's taking place in October – keep in mind this fic started in mid-summer. Which, now that I think about it…there's a minor plot hole since Alex and Meghan had school…in the summer. Eh, let's just call it a really hard summer school with exams and move on from there, it's only a minor detail anyway XD

Speaking of time skips, it is now early October. Yeah, I'm unoriginal with my author's notes. Deal with it.

Chapter 33 – Epic Fantasy Adventures, Mid-Level Version

"So, here we are again," Mike said as he and the ghosts started unpacking their D&D campaign on the dining room table. "I think we've reached the point where I can start giving you some harder enemies, AND start being tougher on you in terms of strategic thinking. Up until this point I've deliberately avoided trying to TPK you, but now I'm not gonna be so nice anymore."

" _TPK?"_ Susie asked as she started handing out the character sheets and player figurines to the other ghosts.

"Total-Party Kill," Mike clarified. "Entire team dies. Game over. Some game masters are complete assholes who go out of their way to make the players' lives as miserable as possible and try to kill them every other second." He rolled his eyes. "Personally, I don't see how anybody would want to even play with a guy like that, but whatever. I mean, I'm perfectly fine with trying to kill off one or two of you at a time or defeating you all in a fair fight, but randomly summoning a rockslide in the middle of nowhere to kill all of you? That's a dick move, no matter how you look at it."

" _Oh, we all know you have no problems with killing our characters,"_ Jeremy commented dryly. _"My old fighter can confirm that from beyond the grave."_ A few weeks ago, Jeremy had found himself in a bad spot surrounded by seven enemies. He _might_ have been able to last long enough for the others to come rescue him, if it weren't for the fact that he had a failed a Will save against a Hold Person spell that had rendered him completely helpless and vulnerable to an instant kill from taking massive damage. Add in one enemy Barbarian with a gigantic battle-axe standing right next to him, and…

Mike smirked. "Hey, it's not my fault you can't roll dice worth a shit," he countered. "A 2 on a will save is weak no matter what stage of the game you're in. Besides, your new Paladin character is probably better for today's campaign anyway." He propped up his gamebook. "And with that being said, let today's game begin."

/

Over the months, their once small adventuring party had grown in reputation and respect as they carried out and succeeded in more and more tasks and assignments given to them from different people in the city. Their true rise in popularity was earned after they had single-handedly taken down a stronghold of bandits terrorizing the countryside, after which they had caught the attention of the captain of the royal guard himself. The captain, in exchange for greater rewards and favors, had started giving them harder assignments that on occasion even called for dealing with dangerous supernatural threats. Their latest assignment, to investigate deep into a pile of ruins that had recently surged with dark power, could very well be one such mission.

"Man, this place is creepy," Fritz muttered as they progressed deeper into the dark corridor. "What do we know about this place again?"

"The captain told us that there was a surge of dark energy coming from here," Cassidy answered. "Apparently, people have started disappearing and there's been at least a few claims of unholy screams and even demons wandering around the place."

"We've been through the first couple of floors and haven't seen anything out of the ordinary," Susie commented. "I mean, we had to kill a couple of people hiding out here and there, but those could've just been ordinary bandits who decided that this place was a good hideout."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "A couple of bandits hiding out in a place rumored to be haunted?" he countered. "I don't think so. I noticed that a couple of them were wearing robes with a symbol dedicated to an evil deity on them. Those were cultists, I'm sure of it."

The party climbed down a small staircase…right into a chamber filled with bones and discarded weapons. As several of them gasped in revulsion and shock, the bones began to swirl together and form a small army of skeletons, all glaring at them as they drew their weapons and prepare to attack.

"How's that for out of the ordinary, Sus?" Gabe deadpanned. "I think we found the missing people."

"We can worry about this later," Mary interrupted them as she drew her mace. "Let's do the thinking AFTER we take care of these skeletons."

Fritz grinned. "Good enough for me!" he declared as he drew his battle axe. "I've been itching for a scrap all day! Come at me, you undead freaks!"

He charged into the room before anyone could react, unleashing his inner rage as he cleaved and hacked at several of the skeletons. Liz and Mary both groaned.

"Did he just?" Liz muttered.

"Yep, he did," Mary confirmed in an equally dry tone. She sighed. "Jeremy, keep him company so he doesn't get surrounded, will you? I'll stay here to keep the skeletons from getting at our more fragile friends and start channeling energy to kill these undead faster."

Jeremy nodded and charged into the room. As a skeleton swung its sword at ho, he raised his sword and easily deflected the undead warrior's blade, before countering and slicing its head off. Mary, Susie, and Cassidy, in the meantime, all began casting spells to weaken the undead from a safe distance as Liz and Gabe fought off any undead that got too close to them. By now, they were all seasoned warriors or reasonably powerful mages, and the undead, while many, were not particularly powerful. It didn't take very long for the party to wipe out the hordes of skeletons, and the battle ended when Fritz triumphantly hacked the last one down to pieces with his axe.

/

" _That didn't seem too hard,"_ Susie commented. _"It was just a bunch of skeletons."_

"Well, no kidding," Mike replied. "This was just to see if you would fall into the noob trap of using your most powerful spells on this pile of weak-ass bones. Congratulations, none of you were stupid enough to fall for that."

Mary glared at Fritz. _"You really need to stop running in like an idiot,"_ she scolded. _"What if there had been something a lot worse than skeletons in there?"_

Fritz raised his hands up in protest. _"Hey, my character is all about charging in and dealing tons of damage,"_ he countered. _"Besides, Rage gives me tons of fake health I can use so does it even really matter? I mean, what am I going to do if I stay back from a fight? Twiddle my thumbs and do jack shit?"_

Liz sighed. _"Just be more careful, Fritz, all right? We don't want Jeremy 2.0 to happen."_

/

"So which way do we go now?" Gabe asked. "We've got three directions to choose from, not counting the one we came from." He marked the stone next to their original entrance with a number to keep track of their location.

"Middle sound good to everyone?" Mary asked. When nobody disagreed, the party quickly reorganized into its marching order (tanks in the front and back, squishies in the middle) and proceeded to march into the chosen corridor. They soon found themselves in a different chamber with several open sarcophagi propped up to both sides facing each other in rows. It all seemed very organized… _too_ organized.

"Hold up," Gabe stopped them from advancing any further. He picked up a throwing knife and tossed it into the rows of sarcophagi. Immediately, flames exploded from the seemingly innocuous coffins as the knife sailed through them to create billowing walls of fire, stopping only once the knife had fully passed. The knife fell to the floor with a dull clunk, and the flames died down, leaving the room as lifeless as before.

/

Mike groaned. "This is why nobody ever bothers with traps in the mid-late game of a D&D campaign," he grumbled. "Yeah, they might be all cool and stuff to work with in early-game dungeons, but eventually you have someone like the rogue or assassin that can check for traps with their perception bonus of 'yes I can see your trap from a mile away so stop wasting our fucking time already.'

Gabe stifled a laugh. _"It's that good, huh?"_

"Only reason why I even bothered with this to begin with was because this trap can still cause you problems even if you find it in time."

" _I took Protection from Energy Communal and Resist Energy Communal,"_ Cassidy helpfully supplied with a cheeky grin. _"And I'm pretty sure Mary probably took at least one of those too. And that's not even going into the fact that some of us have Fire Resistance already. I think we'll be fine!"_

"I figured as much," Mike replied in a deadpan tone. "It's simply amazing how much you can cheese out of a campaign if you have the right spells, isn't it?"

/

Cassidy and Mary cast their protective spells upon everyone in the party who didn't already have endurance to fire, and they all proceeded to march down the hall of fire-spouting sarcophagi. The spells weren't enough to completely block out all the damage, but they did enough so that everyone only suffered minor burns at worst. Once everyone was through, they ventured into the connecting corridor and deeper into the ruins. As they did so, the entire atmosphere plummeted in temperature, almost as though a great chill had descended upon the ruins.

"That can't be natural," Cassidy murmured as she shivered.

"There's definitely something evil up ahead," Mary confirmed after a few minutes of concentration. "I'll heal everyone up with my weaker healing spells. And we should be careful from now on," she glared at Fritz. "That means no jumping in like a maniac, Fritz!"

"All right, all right, I get it," the Barbarian grumbled as they advanced, more slowly and cautiously this time. The corridor eventually led to an antechamber of sorts, the hallway they had come through one of many entrances that led to other parts of the ruins they had not stepped foot in. The walls on either side of them were draped with black banners marked with an unholy symbol. In front of them were a set of double doors that likely led to a great hall or throne room of some kind. Whatever lay beyond those doors, it was almost certainly foul in nature.

/

"I will now give you a choice," Mike offered. "You can either choose to confront what lies in there right now, but you won't get any of your spells that you have already used back, and you'll be stuck with the ones you have today for the beginning of the campaign. Or, you can rest here for the night, allowing you to restore yourselves to full health and get all your spells back. But…" he gave them a surprisingly sinister grin. "I can't guarantee that something may or may not happen over the night while you're resting…"

The ghosts looked at each other. _"How many spells did we end up using?"_ Susie asked.

" _Not that many, at least for me,"_ Cassidy answered, with Mary giving a similar response.

" _So spell usage isn't the issue…but do we want to change our spells so that we're more prepared to deal with whatever's inside that room?"_ Gabe mused. _"Whatever's in there is almost certainly going to be supernatural evil of some kind. Either undead or demonic, cause there's no way something like that is natural."_

" _Yeah, let's pick new spells,"_ Susie decided. _"I'm pretty sure we can handle whatever comes our way if something happens."_

The party agreed, and Mike rolled a dice behind his game board. "Well, you guys lucked out," he commented, eliciting grins from the ghosts. "There was a 50% chance of an ambush happening overnight and I rolled on the half where nothing happens. Oh well. You're all good as new. Gimme your chosen spells for the day and let's get this show on the road."

/

For the next minute or so, Cassidy, Mary, and even Susie began casting whatever protection spells they deemed necessary to maximize their chances of survival against whatever they lay ahead. Once they had done so, they assumed their battle formation and Jeremy swung the doors open. They hit the walls with a mighty clang, and all of them gasped at what they saw inside.

They were indeed inside a throne room, as many of them had suspected. But it was the darkest and foulest throne room that any of them had ever seen. Unholy symbols were engraved on various segments of the walls, and several parts of the walls and floor were splattered with blood and bones. At the base of the walls were rows of neatly lined jars, and at the far end of the room was a black throne that was as cruel as it was elegant. Sitting on the throne was an undead sorcerer, one that was far more powerful than anything the adventurers had faced up until now. He was wreathed in black and purple robes with a crown made of bone on his head, and he looked at the new arrivals with unbridled cruelty and malice.

Jeremy gasped. "A lich!" he shouted. "Out of all the undead that roam this Earth, you're one of the foulest in existence!"

The lich laughed. _"The little paladin knows my nature? How cute. But that will not save you. I am Ghuth'guaka, the Scourge of Vitality. I have committed countless atrocities and thrown my soul into the darkest pits of depravity to achieve the ascension that I have so desperately craved. I am beyond the reach of death, and in the name of my unholy patron I shall drown this world in darkness and despair. So many deaths have already served to fuel the unholy fires of my power, and soon there will be nothing to stop me from unleashing my wrath upon the world!"_

Mary gritted her teeth in rage. "We'll grind your bones back into dust long before you get the chance, lich!" she snarled. As a servant of Pharasma, she despised undead on principle and would see them cast back into the Earth where they belonged.

" _And how will you stop me?"_ Ghuth'guaka sneered. _"Other adventures besides you have stumbled upon my domain, and their bones have made for excellent servants. In life and in death, I slaughter innocents and champions alike, feasting on their deaths on a whim. I sacrificed everyone who was close to me, family and friend, so that I could become what I am now."_

/

" _This guy pisses me off already,"_ Fritz growled.

"But do you want to know what's the worst thing he's ever done is?" Mike asked. "Something so terrible, so horrible, that you'll want to wipe out the entirety of his existence on principle?"

" _What?"_ Liz asked, both curious and afraid to know at the same time.

"He watched the entirety of the Lords of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter movies," Mike answered. "And HATED them!"

Every single one of the ghosts' jaws dropped, even the Marionette's mouth opening larger than normal. Then Gabe's ghostly eyes emptied into black voids, ichor dripping out of them. _"Let's kill this son of a bitch,"_ he snarled.

/

"Find his phylactery!" Mary shouted. "It's the only way we can kill this guy permanently. It has to be in one of those jars!"

"You're kidding me, right?" Jeremy asked in a deadpan tone. "This lich was actually stupid enough to have his phylactery in the same room as him?"

A howl of rage seemed to confirm Jeremy's suspicions. _"I will tear you fools to shreds and feast on your essences!"_ Ghuth'guaka roared. He raised his hands and began chanting in a foul tongue. Immediately, a massive fireball began to appear and with a stretch of his hand the fireball plummeted towards the party.

"Scatter!" Gabe shouted as they all tried to dodge the fireball. He was able to avoid the worst of the flames easily enough, and so did Mary and Cassidy. But the rest of them were too slow, and all of them were caught in the full force of the flames. It was only thanks to a communal Protection from Energy courtesy of Susie and a communal Resist Energy from Mary that they didn't all take a significant chunk of damage from the spell, and even then those who had failed to evade had still taken around 30 damage from it.

All around them, the piles of bones were beginning to form up, creating more skeletal warriors like they had fought before. But while many of them were the same weak creatures they had fought before, a few of the ones closer to the lich had the makings of actual warriors. It was clear that the lich intended to swarm them down with his hordes of undead while he spammed them with spells from the safety of the back lines. Not unlike their own strategy come to think of it.

"We have to get rid of those undead and get to that lich before he wears us all down with his spells," Jeremy shouted. "If we can force him into close combat he won't last long!"

" _Fools!"_ Ghuth'guaka shouted. _"You will never get the chance!"_

/

" _It's a good thing I put some Death Wards on a couple of you before we went in,"_ Susie sighed with relief. _"Thanks to that, everyone passed their fear saves and now we can fight the Lich without being Shaken."_

" _Should we try to spam spells on the lich or clear out the hordes of undead so that our warriors can get a clear shot at the lich?"_ Cassidy asked.

" _Let's alternate every turn,"_ Susie suggested. _"That we can do both and have fun doing both!"_

Her sister grinned. _"Sounds good to me!"_

" _Any help you could give us against these skeletons would be really appreciated,"_ Liz requested. _"There's only so much me, Jeremy, and Fritz can do against this many skeletons."_

Jeremy snorted. _"You're forgetting, Liz. I'm a Paladin. Eating undead for breakfast is one of the things I do best."_

" _I'll keep looking for the phylactery, and I'll destroy it as soon as I find it,"_ Gabe told them. _"I can keep myself hidden with Stealth."_

" _Sounds like we've got a plan, then!"_ Mary declared. _"Just make sure that you stay relatively close to either me, Jeremy, or Susie for healing in case things go south."_

/

The entire room erupted into chaos as living and dead clashed. Jeremy, Fritz, and Liz all charged forward into to battle the hordes of undead, while Cassidy and Susie cast spells on either the horde of zombies or the lich himself from a relatively safe distance with Mary keeping them safe just in case things went south. Ghuth'guaka retaliated by firing his own spells at them, dividing his fury between the front-line fighters and the party's mages in equal measure. All the while, Gabe searched through the jars for the lich's phylactery, hoping to find it soon while secretly wondering if it really was even there at all. Every so often, Ghuth'guaka sent a spell at his direction or sent some skeletal warriors after him, but his enhanced reflexes allowed him to dodge those with little difficulty and the skeletons weren't all that hard for him to handle.

Gradually, however, the army of skeletons began to dwindle. Jeremy had realized that channeling his holy power was a more efficient way to damage multiple skeletons at once instead of trying to attack them one at a time, something that Liz and Fritz were much better at than he was. With his and Mary's channels, as well as the mages' area of effect spells, soon there were only the lich's elite guards left. Liz and Fritz engaged those guards and seemed to be winning over them too…until Ghuth'guaka sent a Cone of Cold straight at Jeremy. The paladin was too slow to dodge and ended up suffering quite a bit of damage from the spell, especially since he didn't have any resistance to Cold placed on him before. Realizing the danger, Mary quickly slapped a higher level heal spell on him, negating the damage that had been done by the lich but sacrificing the chance to do anything further for that turn.

And then, Gabe found the phylactery. It was hidden in a far corner of the room, in a seemingly unremarkable jar that looked no different from the others at first glance. But inside the jar was a shining amethyst of the deepest purple. Gabe was briefly entranced by its beauty…until he remembered that it held the soul of a monster within.

" _NO!"_ Ghuth'guaka roared when he realized that his very soul was literally at risk. He instantly shot another Cone of Cold at the Assassin, but Gabe managed to dodge the worst of the spell with his reflexes and only suffered minor damage from it. He ran quickly back to rejoin his party, barely dodging the attacks of the skeletons that remained, who now seemed entirely focused on stopping him.

"Destroy it!" Gabe shouted to Fritz, who had just managed to take down one of the guards. He took the phylactery out of the assassin's hands and raised his axe to smash it to pieces. The skeleton guard tried to stop him and even managed to get a hit in, but it was too little too late. Fritz's axe came flying down and smashed the gem, crushing it to tiny pieces.

Ghuth'guaka screamed in rage and possibly even fear as his one safeguard to immortality in undeath was destroyed beyond repair. Forgetting his reason, he maniacally ordered all his remaining skeletons to swarm the Barbarian who had dared to destroy his precious artifact. Jeremy and Liz instantly leapt forward to their friend's defense, helping him fight off the undead that were now out for his blood. The Barbarian's rage allowed him to ignore many wounds, but even he wouldn't be able to withstand so many attacks for long without help.

After several rounds of combat, only the lich remained. Cassidy and Susie shot a Fireball and Flame Strike at him, but he seemed to only take minimal damage from them at most. Then, Jeremy and Mary strode forward to deal with the lich personally. His very existence was an abomination to them to an even greater level than to the others, and they would be the ones to wipe his existence out once and for all. Seeing the danger, Ghuth'guaka began throwing 3 scorching rays at the two of them, but they ignored the searing burns as they approached his throne. He then tried to cast a ray of negative energy at Jeremy that managed to weaken his power, but Mary promptly cast Restoration on her friend to negate the effects.

"And now we'll wipe your pathetic existence off the face of the earth!" Jeremy shouted. His sword began to channel with holy power, and he brought it down upon the lich. The undead sorcerer screamed in agony as divine energy smote at his very essence, but he wouldn't go down with just one attack. In retaliation, Ghuth'guaka reached out and grabbed at Jeremy, who instantly felt a wave of unholy power try to freeze him in place. With all his will, he resisted the binding power of the lich's touch and struck at him again with his sword, channeling his holy might once more. By now, Fritz and Liz had caught up with them, deciding to help their friends get rid of the lich once and for all. Even an undead sorcerer could not survive against this many attacks at once, and it wasn't long before the Scourge of Vitality was reduced to a pile of barely functioning bones.

But it seemed that even in defeat, Ghuth'guaka had one last trick to play.

" _You think you've won…"_ he rasped. _"Did you really think that I wouldn't have one last trick in the event that I was defeated? If I cannot achieve my goal of conquest and destruction, I will call upon the power of the Abyss itself to make sure you never leave here alive! You cannot stand against the unholy powers that now come for you!"_

The lich let out a torrent of mocking laughter as he breathed his last. As he did so, the entire room began to shake and rumble as a portal to the Abyss began to open in the center of the room. Cassidy and Susie, realizing that they were separated from the rest of the party, quickly scrambled to the other side of the room to rejoin their friends. Unholy demons began to emerge from the portal. Most of them weren't that large or didn't seem overly powerful, but there was one that towered over the others. A gigantic, hideous beast with the head of a boar and a grotesque gorilla-like body with wings sprouting from its back. The portal closed from underneath him, and the humongous demon let out a mighty roar as it noticed its challengers.

"A Nalfeshnee…" Jeremy breathed as he held his sword out in front of him. "One of the most dangerous and surprisingly intelligent demons from the Chaotic Evil plane."

"What do we do now?" Susie asked nervously. "That thing is huge, and it seems really powerful!"

/

Mary smirked. _"I know what I'm going to do,"_ she said with no fear in her voice. _"I had my 6th level spell prepared just in case we came across an evil outsider. I cast Banishment upon the Nalfeshnee."_

"You do realize that the Nalfeshnee has a +21 will save, right?" Mike asked incredulously. "You do realize that his will save is literally higher than what your Banishment DC is capable of, so the only way this spell is going to work is if I roll a 1 out of 20? And you do realize that he has a SR of 25 on top of that, so you have to break through that if you even want me to roll that save in the first place?"

" _Mike, Mike, Mike…I don't give a shit,"_ Mary flippantly replied, earning grins and even a few giggles from the other ghosts. Mary had always been the mature, wise, and even-tempered one. Any situation where she was outright cursing was either going to be incredibly humorous or incredibly terrifying. She pointed a long, spindly finger at the table. _"I want to see you roll that one."_

Mike snorted. "All right then, roll against Spell Resistance." Mary did as instructed.

" _I rolled a 17. I pass,"_ she pointed at the dice.

"All righty, then. Rolling for the Nalfeshnee, with a will save of Fuck You…" Mike rolled the dice…"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" he howled.

Every single ghost child erupted into uncontrollable laughter, some of them even falling off the chairs or even banging the table with their ethereal fists. The dice that Mike rolled sat placidly on the table, proudly showing a 1 on its top segment. "WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK!" Mike continued to rant as the laughter of his children only intensified. He whipped out a calculator and began putting in numbers. "A FUCKING 1.75 PERCENT CHANCE OF THAT BANISHMENT SUCCEEDING! HOW? JUST…HOW?"

" _What was that you said earlier?"_ Jeremy taunted as he gave Mary a high-five. _"It's not our fault you can't roll worth shit? Well, looks to me a 1 is even worse than a 2, dad!"_ His words elicited more cheers and laughter from his family.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…" Mike growled in frustration. "I have this badass, epic surprise fight against the demons of Hell planned out, and this entire encounter gets completely fucking FUBAR'd by one bad dice roll. This is the Fuckening of 1995 all over again…" He glared at Mary. "Thanks a lot, Mary."

" _No problem!"_ the Marionette cheerfully replied.

" _So what happens to the Nalfeshnee?"_ Liz asked once she had finally calmed down.

"It gets banished back to the Abyss or wherever the fuck it came from," Mike grumbled as he picked up the figurine of the demon and tossed it back into the box. "He can meet up with Nightmare down in Hell and they can have a party torturing William Afton for all the fucks I don't give. Speaking of Nightmare, I can't help but wonder what he's doing right now."

 _Meanwhile in Hell…_

" **HEY, NIGHTMARE!"** a spindly figure floated into his brother and master's throne room. **"YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST DID!"**

Nightmare looked up from the scrying portal that he was looking through and leered at the arrival. **"WHAT DO YOU WANT, NIGHTMARIONNE?"** the black bear monstrosity growled. **"CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M BUSY RUINING THE LIVES OF MORTALS IN WAYS THAT WON'T INCUR DIVINE RETALIATION?"**

" **OH, YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS, NIGHTMARE,"** Nightmarionne replied. **"YOU KNOW THAT MIKE SCHMIDT GUY? THE ONE YOU RAN INTO A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO?"** When Nightmare nodded in acknowledgment, Nightmarionne continued. **"HE WAS DOING A D &D CAMPAIGN WITH THOSE GHOST KIDS AFTON KILLED, AND HE HAD THIS BADASS FINAL BOSS ENCOUNTER SET UP WITH A NALFESHNEE."**

" **AND?"** Nightmare pressed.

" **I MADE HIM ROLL A ONE ON THE NALFESHNEE'S SAVE AGAINST A BANISHMENT SPELL,"** Nightmarionne cackled. **"HE SPENT DAYS COMING UP WITH THAT ENCOUNTER AND I JUST COMPLETELY FUCKED UP THE ENTIRETY OF HIS PLANS! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

Nightmare grinned. **"NOT BAD, BROTHER,"** he chuckled. **"NOT BAD AT ALL. BUT I CAN DO BETTER."** He beckoned Nightmarionne to come over and turned the scrying portal so that his fellow demon could look into it. **"THIS MORTAL HAS BEEN SHINY HUNTING FOR A SHINY RAYQUAZA FOR DAYS NOW. OVER TWO THOUSAND SOFT RESETS, AND HE IS FINALLY ABOUT TO FIND THAT WHICH HE SEEKS."** Nightmare's grin widened. **"IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF HIS GAME WERE TO MALFUNCTION WHEN HE FINALLY FOUND IT…"**

The shiny Rayquaza finally appeared in the scrying portal, and the two demons could hear the Pokémon player's excited shouts as he finally found it. Nightmare tapped the portal with his claw and sent some magic through it. The game instantly began to freeze, and the two nightmares roared with laughter as the player's glee turned into confusion, then shock, and then a howl of outrage as he realized what had happened. They watched as the player picked up his Game Boy Advance and hurled it into the wall before stomping off angrily to someplace unknown.

" **I KNOW WE'RE DEMONS AND ALL THAT, NIGHTMARE,"** Nightmarionne commented as he finally calmed down and his brother changed the portal to a different location. **"BUT DAMN…THAT IS TRUE CRUELTY RIGHT THERE. I ALMOST FEEL SORRY FOR THE POOR BASTARD."**

" **OF COURSE IT IS,"** Nightmare dryly replied. **"I HOLD MY DEPRAVITY TO THE HIGHEST OF STANDARDS. OR SHOULD I SAY LOWEST? WHATEVER, YOU GET THE POINT."**

" **BROTHER!"** a new voice interrupted them. The two nightmares turned to see Nightmare/Infernal Fredbear at the entrance to his throne room. **"I HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE TORTURE OF WILLIAM AFTON."**

Nightmare turned to his face his other second-in-command and glared at him. He always reacted with the brutality and cruelty expected of a demon lord to anyone outside of his family who dared to question or challenge him, and while Nightmare allowed the other nightmares to voice their opinions as long as they showed him the respect he was due, he made it abundantly clear that he would _not_ respond well to inane or foolish comments. **"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"** he growled. **"HAS AFTON STOPPED RESPONDING TO HIS LATEST TORTURE?"**

" **NO,"** Nightmare Fredbear admitted, **"BUT THAT'S THE THING. YOU'VE BEEN USING THAT SAME TORTURE FOR DAYS NOW, MUCH LONGER THAN THE FIRST TWO THAT WE'VE TAKEN OUT OF SCHMIDT'S LIST OF TORMENTS. WHY HAVE YOU BEEN FORCING AFTON TO LISTEN TO HORRIBLE MUSIC NONSTOP AT MAX VOLUME FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK NOW?"**

Nightmare got off his throne and gestured Nightmare Fredbear to follow him. **"FREDBEAR, FREDBEAR, FREDBEAR,"** he began in a tone laden with poisoned sweetness. **"I DO HOPE THAT YOU DON'T THINK THAT I'M STARTING TO TAKE PITY ON AFTON,"** he spat the name out as if it were a disease. **"I ASSURE YOU, NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. IT'S JUST THAT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE VERSATILITY TO BE HAD WITH HORRIBLE MUSIC THAN THERE IS WITH SOME OF THE MORE…PHYSICAL TORTURES. BESIDES…HAVE YOU EVEN CHECKED THE SONG THAT I'M FORCING HIM TO LISTEN TO?"**

The two demons made their way into the dungeons, where William Afton was being wrapped in burning hot chains with a pair of spiked headphones shoved into his ears and sealed there with lava. The man was screaming in agony, begging for anything, anything to stop the agony. Fredbear opened the dungeon door and looked at the attached computer monitor for the song that Afton was being forced to listen to. The words "Rebecca Black – Friday" flashed on the screen.

Nightmare Fredbear immediately flinched and backed out of the dungeon, slamming the door shut behind him. **"MY APOLOGIES, BROTHER,"** he apologized. **"I DID NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION. I SEE NOW THAT YOU HAVE PLENTY OF CRUELTY AND BRUTALITY TO GO AROUND, JUST LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO."**

Nightmare chuckled menacingly. **"I THOUGHT YOU'D SAY THAT. AND YES. YES I DO."**

 _Back at Mike's House…_

"Ideally it would involve Purple Guy torture, but as long as it doesn't involve us, then I don't care," Mike decided as he dismissed Nightmare from his mind. He suddenly remembered that his Nalfeshnee had been banished and groaned. "Well, without the Nalfeshnee, the rest of the demons aren't going to do shit to you unless you REALLY fuck up your tactics, which given your performance against the lich I highly doubt you will. So let's just say that you kill them with extreme prejudice, get out of the ruins, and report to the captain what happened, because it's getting close to dinner time and I'm getting hungry. Sound good?"

" _Yeah, that works for us, dad!"_ the ghosts all replied, and they began cleaning up the game.

"I'll decide whether to level you guys up or not later, since I don't want you leveling up every single week now that we're past level 10," Mike added as he got started putting away things on his own. He sighed and shook his head. "I still can't believe that happened. 1.75% chance, my God. If all my rolls are going to be this bad I need to throw away this D20 and get a new one…"

" _Well, you have to admit, dad, it's never a dull day with us around,"_ Fritz grinned expectantly at his dad. _"Right?"_

Mike returned the smile. "Can't argue with that, Fritz," he replied as he made his way to the kitchen and the ghosts floated over to the living room to start playing their video games for the night. "And here's to many more days together in the future."

/

A/N: Yes, I broke the boundaries of sanity. I actually used the nightmares as a source of humor. Because they need to have fun once in a while just like everyone else, even if that fun comes from the suffering of others. And yes, Infernal and Nightmare animatronics are the same thing, just with two different names.

I hope this chapter was at least a little bit funny outside of the Nightmare shenanigans and the D&D/Pathfinder stuff made at least a little sense. The campaign that I had Mike and the kids play was one based on a campaign that I played with some friends in my undergrad years. There was a time when we fought a lich underground, and there was also a time when the GM summoned a Nalfeshnee (only it was during a war where a rift to the Abyss opened up in some frost giant land) and it got promptly banished because the GM rolled a 1 on the will save. That Banishment was cast by me :D

I decided to write this chapter early since I didn't have anything better to do and I didn't feel like studying after this morning's med school exam. There's a decent chance that I might not be able to upload a chapter next week because it's med school finals week, though then again I wrote almost the entirety of this chapter in about 5 hours today so eh, who knows.

Hope you guys enjoyed! We are so close to 100 favs and follows, and it would make me incredibly happy if we reached that benchmark.


	34. Chapter 34 - The Engineer's Successor

A/N: We hit 100 Favs and Follows! Thank you so much for helping me hit that benchmark, you guys are the best! And I promise to keep bringing out high quality chapters! I was originally going to have this be another serious lore exploration chapter, but with my med school final exam week happening this week that just isn't going to be happening unless I half-ass it (and we all know that wouldn't make ANYBODY happy).

So here's this instead. This one isn't going to focus on the ghosts, but instead introduce a new character who has more to do with Mike's life rather than the ghosts'. I'd like to make it clear that she is NOT currently a love interest, and that right now she is only a close friend of Mike's and someone who will enable an important plot element later down the road.

Also, I beat Night 6 on FNAF 2 after HOURS AND HOURS OF TRYING. Yeesh…I'd rather do FNAF1's 4/20 mode a thousand times instead of that crap again. And after so many hours of trying to get the second star, I got the third star with 4/20 mode in just 2 tries. Go figure. Not even gonna TRY to do Golden Freddy mode, Fazbear Fever was bad enough as it is...

Chapter 34 – The Engineer's Successor

" _And it looks like Harry's pulled through yet another grand adventure filled with danger,"_ Mary finished as she put the book down. _"I have to say, this one surprised me quite a bit."_

" _I know, right?"_ Gabe commented. _"I had no idea Sirius Black was going to be a GOOD guy at the end of it all."_

" _At least Harry can go to Hogsmeade without screwing the rules,"_ Fritz snarked as he got off the bed. _"I mean, I'm all for a little rule-breaking myself every so often, but even I have to admit that was going a bit too far…"_

" _Am I the only one who noticed that Voldemort didn't even show up?"_ Liz asked. _"Isn't he supposed to be the main villain of this series?"_

Mary shrugged. _"He'll be back later,"_ she replied. _"In the meantime, I'm going to go quickly scan the house and the workshop to make sure nobody broke into them."_

She flipped up the security tablet and began scanning through it. Mike had left the house earlier in the afternoon to go hang out with some old buddies of his. "I love you guys to death and I'll never regret taking you in, but even I need a goddamn break once in a while," was his explanation before he left the house. Even though Mike could easily replace anything that was lost or repair any damage, Mary still felt a responsibility to make sure nothing bad happened to it while he was gone.

" _Nothing there…nothing there…nothing there…"_

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes flashed. Jeremy, who had been about to leave the room, noticed the change in expression. _"What's up?"_ he asked.

Mary pointed at the tablet. _"There's someone inside Mike's workshop,"_ she muttered. _"She must have broken in there somehow!"_ The tablet showed the workshop, fully lit, with a woman looking at different items and picking one or two things up every so often. She looked to be only slightly younger than Mike with long black hair wrapped up in a ponytail behind her head, and she exuded in aura of confidence that the ghosts could see with every step she took.

Susie's eyes flashed angrily. _"Look at her!"_ she snapped. _"She's not even trying to be subtle. Turning the lights on, walking around as though she owned the place!"_

" _I think we should teach her a lesson,"_ Fritz suggested, a sinister grin stretching across his face. _"Just like we did with Colm. Show her what happens to people who try to do bad things to our dad!"_

" _I'm not opposed to that idea by itself, but be careful with how you go about this,"_ Mary warned. _"We are not killers anymore. Mike would be severely disappointed with all of you if you ruined your redemption over something as insignificant as this."_

" _We know,"_ Cassidy gently but firmly assured her. _"Believe me, we want our new life to be as different from our old life as possible."_

Mary nodded. _"I just wanted to make sure,"_ she said, before the mouth of her mask widened and her eye lights glinted. _"Let's give this thief an early Halloween scare."_

/

Melody couldn't help but marvel not only at how many things Mike had stored in his workshop, but also at how organized everything was. "I guess a lot of the company rubbed off on Mike before he left," she thought as she picked up a couple of mechanical parts. "I have to thank him later for letting me borrow some of these."

She was about to pick up and look at a screwdriver when she suddenly heard a high-pitched giggle come from behind her. Stephanie whirled around to see who was there, but there was nothing. "Did I just hear a kid's laugh?" she thought. "Impossible. Mike doesn't have any kids, he would've told me if he did." She knelt on the floor to check the various screwdrivers that were neatly arranged in an order. "Let's see…I'm going to need a specific one that's not too big or too small, so…"

" _You shouldn't be here,"_ the voice of a young boy whispered menacingly into her ear.

Melody felt her blood run cold. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. "Who's there?" she called out.

" _His family, that's who,"_ another voice growled, and then suddenly the lights shut off. Melody blinked as she tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness. An orange-haired boy wearing a red T-shirt and black sports pants suddenly appeared a few feet away. Melody paled as she realized the boy was glowing, transparent and floating in mid-air.

"Y-you're a…you're a…"

The boy tilted his head. _"Ghost?"_ he finished with an unnatural smile that sent shivers down her spine. _"That's right! And it's not just me. We've got a whole family to join us!"_

More ghosts began to appear on either side of him, boys and girls of different ages. From behind them, a tall and thin figure emerged, its white mask trapped in a permanent smile as it glared balefully at her. From the way the other ghosts moved aside to let her through, it was clear that she was the leader of the group. _"What makes you think you have any right to be here?"_ it hissed with undisguised hostility, and Melody barely processed the fact that it was a female voice. _"You think you can just walk into here, take Mike's hard-earned things, and then leave? You made a grave mistake coming here."_

"Wait, WHAT?" Melody exclaimed. "I'm not here to steal anything! Mike gave me permission to take some things from his garage to help me with some projects that I'm in charge of at work!"

A boy with black hair laughed mockingly. _"Yeah, right!"_ he sneered. _"Like we have any reason to believe you!"_

"I swear it's the truth!" Melody insisted. "You can ask him! Ask him about Melody Park from Eisensteel Robotics! I'm one of his closest friends!"

A girl with yellow hair snorted. _"Never heard of you before."_ But the Marionette suddenly paused.

" _That name…it does sound familiar,"_ she admitted. _"Mike did mention you a few times, and from what I remember he did think fondly of you."_ The hostility in her gaze returned. _"But why should we trust you?"_ she challenged. _"For all we know, you could be someone pretending to be this Melody."_

"I know things about his life that only the few people he trusts would ever know," she replied as she remembered everything Mike had confided to her about his early life. "I know that he was abused as a kid and lived out in the streets for years." The ghosts' eyes widened. "I know that he spent 20 nights in some hellhole of a pizzeria where some animal robots or something were trying to kill him." Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw one ghost flinch. "I know that he won the lottery for a thousand dollars a day and that he's one of the richest people in this state."

Melody looked the Puppet straight in her eyes. "And I know that the man who saved him and turned his entire life around was Colonel Oskar Schmidt." She took a deep breath. "So I'm either some crazy stalker pretending to be Melody Park, or I'm one of his closest friends and one of the few people he trusts. It's your call to make."

None of the ghosts made any sound or movement for several seconds. And then, unexpectedly, Mary's cell phone suddenly began to ring, shattering the tense silence. She raised the phone to her face. _"Hello?"_

"Hello, hello?" Mike's unmistakable voice rang through the workshop. The man chuckled. "Geez, I sound like the guy who taught me how to survive at Freddy's. Anyway, I forgot to tell you this earlier, but there's going to be someone coming around my workshop to pick up a few things. She's an old friend of mine named Melody who works where I used to, we go back a long way. She's a black-haired Asian woman and I've given her full permission to take whatever she needs from my workshop. If you see her in the security tablet, just leave her be, she's not doing anything wrong."

" _Uh, Mike?"_ Mary interrupted.

"Yeah, Mary?"

" _Too_ late," everyone in the room, both living and dead, said in unison. The sound of a hand slapping a face echoed from the receiver of the phone.

"So…you guys saw Melody go into the garage and went after her cause you thought she was a thief."

" _Yep,"_ Liz answered.

"And now Melody knows that there's seven ghostly children living with me in my house."

"That's right," the woman confirmed.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Then Mike, the man who had possessed enough eloquence to challenge a demon lord, uttered only two words.

"Well shit."

/

The ghosts watched sheepishly as Melody put the last of the things she'd needed into her van. Mike had offered to come back from his break day to help her load the materials, but she outright refused to inconvenience him and insisted that she could take care of everything herself. Her original plan had been simply to take what she'd needed from the garage and leave, but now she was far too curious about the ghost kids to simply just let the topic hang there.

" _Sorry about trying to scare you earlier,"_ Jeremy apologized. _"We weren't ever going to actually hurt you. It's just that…we really don't take kindly to thieves trying to break into Dad's house. Especially since there was one who tried to steal a couple thousand dollars from him a month or so ago."_

"Don't worry about it," Melody waved it off. "I'm honestly glad Mike has some company with him. If he stayed isolated in this house for the rest of his life with nobody to talk with in person that would've scared me more. Anyways, I think we got started off on the wrong foot," she held out a hand to the Puppet, the only person whose hand she could physically shake. "My name's Melody Park."

" _I'm Mary,"_ she returned the handshake. _"Nice to meet you. Would you like to come in?"_

"I'd love to," Melody answered, and she followed the ghosts into the house. They guided her over to the living room, and she whistled as she saw the array of video games and movies stacked on the shelves or sprawled on the floor. "Damn!" she commented appreciatively. "I didn't realize Mike was such a video game maniac. I'd come over to play some if I wasn't so busy right now."

The ghosts took the time to introduce themselves as Mary sat down on the couch. Once they did so, Cassidy looked up at Mary. _"If Mike and Melody are close friends, why didn't he mention her or why didn't he have any pictures of her in that album we saw?"_ she asked.

"I can answer the second question for you," Melody offered. "The thing is, I didn't really interact with Mike all that much outside of the workplace, at least no place worth taking a picture in. Most of the time we interacted with each other was at Eisensteel, and they don't let you take pictures there without a good reason. I tried to get the exec board to change their minds when I became head robotics engineer after Mike left, but no dice."

The ghosts' eyes widened. "You and Mike are head engineers?" they gasped.

"Well, Mike WAS head engineer," Melody corrected. "I was working directly under him for a couple of years, and then I took over when Mike retired two years ago." A nostalgic smile appeared on her lips. "Man, we worked on so many machines together, good times, good times."

" _As for why Mike never mentioned you to the other kids,"_ Mary continued, _"I think it's because when the children arrived, Mike focused all of his attention on getting my brothers and sisters adjusted to a new life here, and everything else took a backseat."_

"Knowing what I do about Mike, that makes sense," Melody agreed. "Even though he was nothing short of brilliant, he always preferred to focus on one thing at a time. Sometimes that was a good thing, sometimes it brought what was otherwise an exemplary performance down a peg." She smirked. "I'm guessing that's the reason why he forgot to tell you about my visit."

Some of the ghosts giggled. _"I like her already,"_ Susie thought as the woman took a sip of coffee that Mary had offered to her. _"What kind of projects did you make?"_ she asked out loud.

Melody shrugged. "Mostly robots designed to do various things. I could talk about the details, but they'd probably make you fall asleep from boredom so I'll spare you those. Believe me, you do not want a committed engineer to talk about her projects because I could literally go on for hours." She said with a grin as she put her mug down. Then, her expression turned into a wistful smile. "Ever since I first showed up at Eisensteel, Mike was the friend and mentor guiding me every step of the way. From a lowly intern to replacing him as head engineer, I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as I did in life it wasn't for him. He's one of the smartest people I know and one of the best."

Liz smiled. _"That sounds like Dad all right."_

"Speaking of dad, Mike never mentioned anything about ghost kids living in his house last time we talked, because I definitely would've remembered something like that if he had. Granted, that was a while ago, but still," Melody sighed. "Then again, I can't exactly blame him for that, considering I probably would've thought he'd gone insane."

The ghosts looked at each other nervously, debating how much they should tell her. Gabe decided to speak up. _"We…we were lost souls looking for a place to rest,"_ he said carefully. _"We found Mike, and he welcomed us into our home. He's been watching over us ever since, and we've repaid that kindness as much as we can."_

The house fell into silence for several moments as Melody processed his words. _"You…don't believe me, do you?"_ Gabe finally asked.

Melody shook her head. "It's not that I don't think you're telling the truth…it's more that I know you're trying to hide things from me," she reluctantly admitted. "One of the subtler skills Mike taught me was how to detect if other people are trying to keep secrets from you. There's a lot of shady business people who would love to try and screw you into a bad deal. I could tell you what I suspect about you…or I can just drop the subject." She glanced around at the ghosts. "I'll let you make the call on that one."

The children looked at each other for several seconds. _"What should we do?"_ Liz asked through their mental link. _"Do you think she knows about you guys?"_

" _I have a feeling she does,"_ Fritz replied grimly.

" _I…uh…I flinched when she talked about Freddy's back in the garage,"_ Cassidy admitted. _"I'm sorry, I think I gave us away."_

" _Don't worry about it, Cass,"_ Susie assured her. _"She was going to find out eventually."_

" _I feel like if we try to drop the subject now then she'll have a bad opinion of us,"_ Jeremy said with a sigh. _"This is one of Dad's friends we're talking about, and another living person that we could potentially bond with too. I don't want to ruin that before it even got a chance to happen."_

" _Since I'm sure she already suspects us anyway, we might as well just be honest with her,"_ Gabe finally decided after several moments of thought. _"We've already given away a lot as it is."_

Melody looked at them in confusion. To her, it just seemed like they had been looking silently at each other for several seconds. "Uh…you guys okay?" she asked.

" _Yeah, we were just talking to each other with telepathy,"_ Jeremy assured her, before his smile faded. _"The truth is, Melody…we…we weren't always good people,"_ he confessed, _"and we didn't always care about Dad like we do now. In fact, we were…kind of the opposite, to be honest."_

"You were the ones who tried to kill him back in that pizzeria, weren't you?" Melody asked. It wasn't an accusation, simply a question. "You tried to stuff him in one of those suits. Those rumors and ghost stories were all true, weren't they?"

The ghosts looked down in shame. _"We were murdered by someone who looked like a Night Guard,"_ Susie confessed. Melody's eyes widened in horror, but before she could console them the girl had already continued. _"We were so, so angry…the only thing we wanted was revenge for our deaths. We thought that every Night Guard was just like the one who took our lives…a heartless murderer…and we tried to kill every Night Guard from that point onward."_ Tears began to flow from her eyes. _"We didn't realize that we were becoming just like the person who murdered us until we had taken far, far too many lives."_

"And one of those people you tried to kill was Mike," Melody filled in the unspoken part. "When he was a Night Guard there."

" _Yes…"_ Gabe admitted. _"But Dad…he wasn't like the others. He had a plan, he knew what to do. He came up with strategies to counter what we did, took advantage of every weakness we showed him. He survived for 20 days until he found that lottery ticket that changed his life. Out of all the night guards, he lasted by far the longest."_ He rubbed his eyes. _"Thank God we failed. THANK GOD we failed!"_

Melody's lips twitched. "That sounds like Mike, all right," she commented, her voice holding only the faintest tinge of dry humor. "He always did have a great mind for planning things out, and he could also adapt quickly whenever, to quote the man himself, things went to shit." That elicited a tiny few giggles out of the ghosts despite the sudden mood change. "He's saved more than one project from going down under, I can tell you that for certain."

" _We've learned a long time ago that trying to keep secrets for too long results in a lot more problems down the road,"_ Mary replied. _"And it seems like you already knew the truth, or at least had started putting most of the pieces together. We do want to be friends with you, Melody. Even if the chances of that happening now are low because of what we just told you."_

Melody sighed and put her cup down. "You know, I didn't think my respect for Mike could get any higher, but this wouldn't be the first time he's surprised me." She looked up at the ghosts. "I'm not going to judge you or hate on you for what you did back in that pizzeria. If I were in your shoes…I honestly don't know if I would have done any better than you have," she reluctantly admitted. "Besides, Mike has more of a right to that than I ever could, and if he forgave you then I'll trust his judgment."

Visible looks of relief appeared on the ghosts' faces, but Melody wasn't done. "That being said…there are some things I need to talk to you about."

" _Whatever you want, we'll do our best to answer,"_ Cassidy promised.

"Yeah…I've noticed you guys are awfully close to Mike," Melody observed. "A huge swing from trying to kill him thirty-plus or so years ago. Granted, he's given you a lot of reasons for that, but is there any reason why you're so dedicated and loyal to him aside from love and family?"

" _We were sent here to make things right with a survivor of our killing spree,"_ Gabe explained. _"Taking care of Mike and being his family is our quest for redemption, so that we can earn eternal peace one day."_

"I'm not gonna pretend to know how the afterlife works, but it seems you're doing at least a decent job of it from what I can tell," the head engineer noted. Then, unexpectedly, a sad look crossed her face. "Can I tell you something that's been on my mind for a while?" she asked. "Speaking from friend to family member?"

" _Of course!"_ Susie exclaimed. _"We'll be glad to listen to anything you have to tell us!"_

"The thing is…I'm worried about Mike," Melody confessed, instantly alarming the ghosts as they leaned forward to hear what she had to say. "One thing that he had a reputation for when he was still at Eisensteel was that he was always a huge workaholic. It was one of the main reasons why he got to the job of head engineer, true, but I can't help but feel like he was always trying to do just too much for his own good." She looked them in the eyes. "Did you know that he almost never took a vacation in the many years he's worked there? He never took breaks for anything longer than a few days at a time, and even those didn't happen very often either."

The ghosts thought back to Nightmare's flashback, and how Mike's friend had protested his decision to cancel his vacation. What Melody said made a disturbing amount of sense.

"To be honest, I was kind of relieved when he retired," Melody continued. "Not because I wanted his job, I'm perfectly happy with where I am, and I have more than enough to keep my daily life going strong. I thought that Mike would finally get to relax and take the rest of his life easy. God knows that he's been through enough shit in his life."

" _We know that all too well,"_ Liz mumbled.

"Please don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way, but I have mixed feelings knowing that he's spending his days now taking care of you," the engineer's successor admitted. "Don't get me wrong, it makes me really happy to know that he has people to depend on and that he has a stable, loving family. He should've had that so much earlier in his life. But at the same time, if I know Mike as well as I'm sure I do, he's been devoting all his energy to making sure you guys are happy and safe. And now I can't help but worry again that he'll burn himself out and exhaust himself. He might seem very energetic and ready to take on the world, but he isn't getting any younger. And everyone's going to suffer if he ever reaches that breaking point."

Mary leaned forward and put her hand on Melody's. _"We don't want that to happen any more than you do,"_ she assured her, her voice loud and strong.

"Just…please watch over him," she implored. "I'm sure you know this already, but family is a two-way street. Please do everything you can to make his life better and easier, just like I'm sure he's done everything he could to do the same for yours. That's all that I want to ask, as his friend."

Gabe smiled at her. _"You didn't need to ask us that for us to do it, Melody."_

" _Ever since we've come here, we've all done our best to make things easier for Mike,"_ Mary added. _"I have a few magical powers that I've used to help calm Mike down and help him sleep easier whenever he's feeling restless, and my friends have all started doing house chores every so often so that Mike doesn't have to deal with it."_

"That makes me really happy to hear that, guys," the woman beamed. "But I have a suggestion if you're willing to go one step further. It could only help you with your redemption, and it might be something that fits with your own interests too."

" _Let's hear it!"_ Jeremy declared, and the other ghosts made varying noises of agreement.

"You might want to look up some real-world things that could be helpful to you even as ghosts," Melody continued. "For example, one of you might want to look up how the technology in this house works, and another one of you might want to look up some basic first aid or how to deal with things like the common cold or a bad cut. If, God forbid, something bad happens, Mike won't be the only one who'll know how to handle it." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Did you guys ever have dreams or ideal jobs when you were still alive? This might be the closest thing you can get to seeing those dreams become real."

The ghosts were silent as they pondered Melody's words. Find more ways to help their dad out while pursuing other interests at the same time? Could they really do that?

Melody shrugged. "It's just a thought, in the end. I'm sure you guys have done a great job taking care of Mike already, and I don't see that changing anytime soon." She got up from the sofa. "Well, I've got to head out," she told them. "I have to take the parts I borrowed from Mike's workshop over to my own station so that I can have everything ready to go when the weekend ends. We're working on a huge project that could make or break us and I have to give this my 100%."

" _You're gonna do great,"_ Gabe assured her, _"and don't you worry about a thing. We'll make sure we do our part just as much as Dad is doing his."_

"Once this project is done I might swing by the house some more," the engineer called over her shoulder as she headed towards the door. "Maybe tell you some more stories about what Mike and I did together. Until then, see ya later!"

" _Bye!"_ all the ghosts chorused as she swung the door shut behind her. _"I like her!"_ Cassidy declared as they heard her van drive away in the distance. _"She seems like a really nice lady!"_

" _I was secretly using my magic to test the truth behind her intentions, just in case,"_ Mary commented, before shaking her head. _"I shouldn't have bothered. Every single word she spoke was genuine in both the letter and the spirit."_

" _Thank God Dad called at just the right time,"_ Fritz added. _"If we hadn't, this would've turned into a disaster."_

The ghosts fell into silence as they pondered Melody's advice. Out of all the ghosts, only Mary had a solid idea on how she could help Mike out when he ran into trouble, and that was only because she had been staying with him for over a year by the time the rest of them had arrived. _"So…does anybody have any interests they want to follow?"_ Mary asked after several seconds. _"I think I have enough internet experience to guide you around to things you might be interested in."_

" _Well…"_ _Gabe_ began, _"I always wanted to be a doctor…"_

/

A/N: Sorry if this chapter isn't as big, intense, or funny as some of the other ones I've written. Med school exams take priority and I do need Melody to enable some plot advancement later down the road.

I do hope that I've effectively portrayed Melody as a likable character and a good friend who's genuinely concerned for Mike's well-being. I figured I should introduce more living characters besides Mike and the Marshalls, cause otherwise the fic would get boring with using the same characters repeatedly. I might also use Melody as a conduit to talk about Mike's old job in the future sometime, since it's not something I've talked about in detail (and to be honest it is a rather minor detail, but still).

Not much to say here. Just want to thank you guys again for all the support you've given me. The next few chapters will be lore exploration again, this time focusing on the Puppet and Henry.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	35. Chapter 35 - The Puppet's Family Part 1

A/N: Finals week is done, everything's turned out all right! And now I can relax and proceed to not give a shit about life for the next couple of weeks. That is going to feel very, _very_ nice indeed. And thanks for all the support you've given me on this fic, I really appreciate it and it keeps me motivated to keep writing!

I promised you more lore and character exploration chapters, and you're about to get them! This time we'll be focusing on the Marionette and Henry, two of the most important characters in the entire franchise and the main enemies to William Afton besides Michael Afton himself. Just like before, the other ghost kids will not be featured since the focus should be and will be entirely on Mary. Although we may not be calling her that for much longer…hint hint 😉

Now despite what I've just written, there won't be that much lore exploration in this specific chapter per say. This is more of a deeper insight and revelation into the Marionette's thoughts and why she seems to act so calm and confident compared to the rest of the ghost kids. The bulk of the lore exploration will begin next chapter.

Chapter 35 – The Puppet's Family Part 1

Ever since her death, Mary had dreaded the dreams about Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and its many incarnations. So many times, the pizzeria would plunge into a nightmare clawing its way up from the past, forcing her to relive either the deaths of the children that she now called family or the many murders that she and they had committed in the name of misplaced revenge. So when she found that her dreams had landed her once again in a Freddy's pizzeria, Mary closed her eyes and started bracing herself for the latest of many tormented nights.

But the sound that reached her ears was not the screams of children or adults about to be murdered. The sounds instead were of children laughing and enjoying themselves, with 2 animatronics singing in the distance. Mary opened her eyes and carefully looked towards the stage. She could see Fredbear and Spring Bonnie standing proudly on the stage and singing to a group of kids seated in the dining hall, looking exactly like they had been when her father had first created them and before the Fazbear franchise had been corrupted by tragedy and evil.

" _To think that something so innocent could have fallen so far…"_ a voice spoke quietly from behind her.

Mary froze. That voice…it couldn't be…

" _I wish that you could have joined me in Paradise, my precious daughter…but I understand why you chose to stay behind. Being with you here in your dreams is enough for me, at long last…Charlie…"_

Charlie got out of her chair and rushed towards the source of the voice. Two comforting arms enveloped her in a warm embrace as she grabbed tightly at the man who had appeared in the entryway. _"DAD!"_ she sobbed as buried her head in her chest. _"I can't believe it! It's…it's really you!"_

Henry smiled gently at his daughter as he stroked her hair. _"It is, baby girl…I'm here with you at long last,"_ he murmured, assuring her that he really was there with her. _"If I could have visited you in your new home even a second earlier, I would have done so."_ He shook his head sadly. _"Unfortunately, Heaven's rules regarding visitations to Earth are incredibly strict."_

" _It doesn't matter,"_ Charlie brushed her tears from her eyes. _"I'm just so happy to see you again, dad!"_ she blinked as she realized that she had indeed been crying tears and could feel her father's hand on her hair. She looked down at her hands…her _human_ hands. _"Wait a minute. I'm…I'm…"_

" _Human?"_ Henry placed a hand over hers. _"You always have been, baby girl, no matter how long you have assumed the mantle of the Marionette as your own."_

At the mention of the Marionette, Charlie's smile faded. _"Dad…"_ she choked out. _"I'm…I'm sorry…"_

Henry gave her a puzzled look. _"Whatever you could be sorry for?"_

" _I…I…I let my rage get the better of me,"_ Charlie confessed, and now tears of regret for flowing out of her eyes. _"When I died out in that alley, I was so…_ ** _angry_** _…and because of that, I…I killed innocent people. I've killed at least two Night Guards, dad! Night Guards who never did anything wrong, Night Guards who could have been fans of Freddy's like we were!"_ She collapsed onto her knees and started crying in earnest. _"Oh, God…"_ she wept. _"I'm a murderer like_ ** _him!_** _I…I…"_

Henry reacted immediately, drawing his daughter tighter into his embrace. _"Listen to me, Charlie,"_ he commanded, soothingly but firmly as he stroked her hair again. _"You are_ ** _nothing_** _like William Afton. You might have strayed into the darkness at one point, I won't deny that, but you found your way back to the light before you lost yourself completely. And from what I've been told, you realized your wrongs and tried to correct them the earliest out of all of his victims."_ He looked into her eyes. _"Didn't you try to stop the others from chasing after their vengeance in the 90s version of the pizzeria?"_

Charlie shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. _"Not that that did any good,"_ she muttered. _"I should've done more than just refused to help them. I should have stood my ground, I should have done more to stop them or help the night guards, I should have…"_

" _Don't lament over the "what ifs" and the "could haves" of your life, my daughter,"_ Henry advised. _"I spent far, far too long shedding tears over the course of history. It was only after I decided to take action, to end the nightmare with my own hands, that I could finally find peace."_ He gave her an encouraging smile. _"Your new life with Mr. Schmidt is helping you leave all that sadness behind, is it not?"_

Charlie gave her father a smile of her own. _"Mike is…absolutely amazing,"_ she glowingly praised. _"He's done so much for all of us. My friends…I never realized how much they needed a father until he accepted them into his home. We might not ever be able to have our lives back, but Mike has given us the next best thing."_

Henry nodded approvingly. _"If I'm ever allowed to do so, I must greet Mr. Schmidt and thank him personally,"_ he vowed. Then, his eyes narrowed in the scrutinizing fashion that Charlie recognized so well. _"But…there's something that bothers me. You call him Mike. Not dad, father, or any variation thereof. May I ask why?"_

" _It wouldn't feel right calling him that,"_ his daughter explained. _"The other children don't remember their old families, their memories all but gone as the years passed. In every sense that matters, Mike is the only father they've really had. And Liz…"_ she shuddered, _"I don't think I need to say WHY Liz has rejected her original father in favor of Mike."_

Henry let out a dry chuckle. _"I don't blame her in the slightest."_

" _But…I remember you,"_ Charlie continued. _"You're my dad. We worked together to bring all the corrupted animatronics to our trap and burn the nightmare down. No matter how much I love Mike for his kindness and generosity, I can't just replace you like that!"_ she protested. _"I'd be spitting on your memory!"_

Her father shook his head. _"The thing is, my daughter…I couldn't disagree with you more."_ To Charlie's surprise, tears started flowing down his eyes too. _"I…I let you die. One of the most fundamental responsibilities of a parent is to keep his child safe, and I…I failed in that duty completely. If I had seen William Afton for who he truly was, you would never have died in the dark, without anyone to comfort you in your last moments."_ He brushed away the tears with his arm. _"My actions since then have been to rectify that mistake, but no amount of action will ever undo your death. No…Mike Schmidt has done more for you as a father than I ever have."_

" _But…"_

" _You wouldn't be doing me a disservice, baby girl. You would be giving him an honor that he deserves more than anyone."_

" _I…if…if you say so…"_ Charlie murmured, though they could both could tell that she wasn't entirely convinced. _"Dad…I…I have a question."_

" _Anything, my daughter. All you need to do is ask."_

Charlie looked up at her father. _"For the longest time, I thought…I thought that everything was my fault,"_ she confessed the thought that had been troubling her mind ever since the children had appeared at Mike's house. _"Not William Afton's killing, but me giving the animatronics life. I thought for the longest time that I enslaved my friends to their cursed existence. Jeremy even accused me of this at one point, and I told him that I wasn't the only or even the main reason why they haunted the animatronics. But, that was only because you told me this, dad…back when we were working to stop Afton once and for all. I didn't…and still don't…really understand."_

Henry frowned. _"Ah, yes…I meant every word I said, Charlie. You were_ ** _not_** _the main reason why the animatronics became haunted as they were. Maybe if it was only the Freddy Fazbear animatronics that became possessed, then yes, the blame would likely fall on you. But if that were the case, how can you explain the possession of Springtrap? And of Baby? You had nothing to do with the spirit of Elizabeth possessing Circus Baby, and you_ ** _most certainly_** _did not have anything to do with William Afton's return as Springtrap. No, my daughter, the true cause of the possessions lies deeper than your involvement. You see…"_

He opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly stopped and tilted his head, as though he were receiving instructions that Charlie couldn't hear. Then, Henry looked back at his daughter and sighed. _"It appears that the Heavenly Father does not wish for me to divulge all of these secrets directly. He has requested that I instead direct you to where you will be able to find them."_

" _I'm not going to argue with anything Heaven says, but why would He want me to find out the long way?"_ Charlie asked, confused.

Henry shrugged. _"Who can say? Personally, I believe that it is so that you can strengthen your bond with Mike even more as you uncover the secrets together. As we have touched upon before, your relationship, as close as it already is, could be strengthened further."_ He put a hand on her shoulder. _"Don't be afraid to call Mike father, Charlie."_ He suddenly smirked. _"And for the love of God, tell him your real name."_

Charlie giggled. _"It was going to be a long practical joke,"_ she admitted. _"I wanted to see how long it would take Mi…er, my new dad…to realize I was screwing around with him."_ She sighed. _"In hindsight, I feel like I've been insulting him this entire time."_

Henry chuckled. _"From what I've heard about his character, he'll take it all in good humor."_ A clock suddenly chimed somewhere, and Henry looked around. Already, the background was beginning to disappear, the singing of Fredbear and the laughing children starting to fade. _"I do not have much time, left, baby girl, so I must tell you the most important things now,"_ he decided, and Charlie instantly stood at attention. There was no way she was going to miss even a single word of her father's instructions. _"Do you remember the house where we used to live?"_

" _Yeah…"_ Charlie nodded, _"I remember."_

" _Back when we were orchestrating our plan together, I had originally planned to burn every secret along with the two of us inside the trap pizzeria,"_ Henry explained. _"But at the last moment, I had a change of heart, and I sent copies of some files that contain my innermost thoughts and darkest secrets to a very close friend of mine, the only one whom I could trust this knowledge with. I left the house to him in my will, and at this moment he is the only guardian of the secrets surrounding Freddy's. Go to the house and tell him who you are. He will let you access those files and take anything else that you need. Do you know how to get there?"_

His daughter nodded. _"I do, dad. I understand completely."_

Henry smiled approvingly at Charlie, and as he did so his body and the rest of the environment began to fade. _"One more thing, baby girl. I know that you still feel regret over the deaths you caused and your perceived failings. But don't forget that you took your first steps towards redemption when the rest of your friends were still lost in the dark and have walked the path of the light longer than they have. Continue being the guide, the mentor, the big sister that your friends need. Keep being the dutiful and loving daughter that Mike deserves. And the road to your future will remain bright and clear."_

Charlie blinked back tears and waved at her dad, who returned the gesture even as the last of his body faded into nothingness. _"Thanks, dad…"_ she murmured as the last of the dream faded and she was forced back into reality. _"I promise, I won't let you down."_

Her head snapped up as she awoke, nearly hitting the top of her music box as it did so. It took her a few seconds to get oriented and to remember that she was still inside the body of the Marionette. She pushed open the top of the lid and floated out of the box and through the house until she was in Mike's room.

" _Dad?"_ she called out to him. The man groggily rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, Mary?" he mumbled, having just been woken up by his alarm clock.

" _Can I talk to you about something, dad?"_ she asked. It felt a bit odd calling Mike "Dad"after so long, but to her surprise, it wasn't nearly as jarring or uncomfortable as she'd expected. _"It's really, REALLY important."_

Mike yawned as he struggled to fight off the lingering traces of sleep. "Sure," he muttered, "meet me in my study in a bit while I get freshened up."

" _Thanks, dad!"_ Charlie gratefully replied as she left the bedroom. Mike yawned again and got up from the bed to get ready for the day. It wasn't until he had taken a shower that he realized that, after a year and several months, the girl inside the Marionette had finally called him "Dad."

 _A Few Days Later…_

"We're going to be going out for a bit," Mike told the ghost kids as Charlie stood beside him. "This is kinda like the same thing I did for Liz a while back. It's for something important that the two of us need to do."

" _Good luck with whatever you're doing!"_ Jeremy answered as he put his book down.

" _Can we go over that list of vacation spots we gave you when you come back?"_ Cassidy asked.

"Yeah, that'll be next up on the list of priorities," Mike promised as he opened the front door. "Remember kids, no destroying the house while I'm gone," he joked.

" _Pfffftttt…"_ Fritz snorted as he and everyone else rolled their eyes. _"You've told us that a million times and yet we haven't done that once. We'll be just fine."_

Mike chuckled as he left the door. He and Charlie got into the car and started driving off towards the address that the Puppet had given him.

"You know, I still can't believe that it took me THIS LONG to realize that you had an actual name besides Mary," Mike deadpanned as he drove on. "I mean, God, you've been living with me for over a year now!"

Charlie let out a small giggle. _"I thought it would be funny."_

"The only humor I'm getting from this is laughing at how dumb I am," Mike commented dryly. "Melody and Ryan told me that I'm the smartest person they know, but I honestly just don't fucking see it. I mean, my God. Could you imagine if some random guy just walked up to your face and told you 'oh hey, I have a daughter that's been living with me for a year and a couple of months but I don't even know what her name is.' First thing out of my mouth would be 'you're a fucking moron.'"

Charlie's smile disappeared. _"I'm sorry, dad…"_ she apologized, _"I didn't mean to insult you with this."_

Mike brushed it off. "Eh, I'm just fucking with you right now. Don't worry about it." He smiled at her. "I'm really happy that you've finally started calling me dad after so long."

She sighed. _"It's not that I didn't love you from the beginning, dad…it's just that I still remembered who my original dad was. I didn't want to just throw him to the side like he didn't mean anything, you know?"_

Mike affectionately stroked the back of her head. "Hey, I get it, Charlie," he gently assured her, dropping the humorous tone. "I'm not offended. I probably would've done the same in your shoes."

Charlie leaned her head back into Mike's hand. _"Thanks, dad_."

The man grinned. "Don't you worry about a thing," he told her. "Heck, I'm honored that Henry thinks I'm good enough to be your father. I wonder why he thinks so highly about me?"

" _Geez, let me take a guess…"_ now it was Charlie's turn to deadpan. _"Maybe it was the fact that you gave me a home for over a year now? Maybe it was the fact that you forgave and welcomed a group of ghosts who tried to murder you with barely a moment's hesitation? Or how about that time when you single-handedly brought Liz out of her depression or effectively stood your ground against a demon lord for all our sakes and basically told him to fuck off?"_

"All right, all right, I get it, I'm the ideal family man," Mike joked as he turned the car around a corner. His smile suddenly disappeared. "In all seriousness, Charlie, there is something I do want to talk to you about, though."

" _About what, dad?"_ she asked.

"Charlie…I've noticed how you've acted around the other kids," Mike explained. "You're so calm and collected, so confident in everything you do. I guess the best way for me to describe it is, you act like you've 'got your shit together' all the time. Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. On the contrary, I think it's great that the other kids have such a strong anchor to depend on if I can't be the person they need. No matter how good of a father you guys think I am, I just can't relate to the rest of the kids on the same level you can."

" _I sense a but coming…"_ Charlie muttered.

"But because of this, you've also been keeping all of your issues to yourself," he continued. "Bottling them up, not wanting to share your thoughts and things that are troubling you with other people. You might be able to convince the other kids that everything's all right, Charlie, but I see through it. I was very much the same when I was younger. And I can also tell you that even having a few people to share your secrets with makes things so much better."

" _I'm scared to, dad…"_ Charlie admitted after several seconds of silence. _"Back when we were in the pizzeria…I was the only one who could watch over them and protect them. I wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination – I tried to stop them from killing more innocent Night Guards like you and I failed completely. But apart from that – they looked up to me, dad. As long as I was there to comfort them and assure them that everything was going to be all right, that was the closest thing they had to happiness."_ She lowered her head. _"I was their bedrock, their one sense of security. If they learned that I was dealing with just as many problems as they were…"_

Mike shook his head and pulled over to a parking lot. This conversation would require his full attention. "I get what you're saying, Charlie," he said gently as he put an arm around her shoulder. "But here's what I have to say. Building up that emotional wall, trying to be tough and strong, that might have been necessary back when you were all trapped in the Fazbear tragedy. I'm not sure I would have agreed with that, but I can't say anything since I wasn't there. Now, though…everything is different. The bad times are finally over. You don't have to hold in all your problems anymore. The others might still look up to you, but they don't need to depend on you as much as they once did. And there's no shame in turning to the people you care about for help."

Charlie sighed. _"I know, dad. It's just…I still don't feel all that comfortable with spilling out my troubles to them. A good chunk of them don't even have anything to do with my brothers and sisters, not really. I feel like the only thing I'll be doing is making my problems their problems, and that's not fair to them."_

"One could argue that that's the whole point of family though," Mike pointed out. "We help solve each other's problems together. But I won't force you to do anything you don't want to, Charlie. That's your call to make. But I do hope that if you aren't comfortable with talking to them, you can at least come and talk to me. I'll be there."

Charlie nodded. _"I know, dad. And thank you…"_ her voice trailed off. _"Can I…can I tell you something now?"_

Mike spread his arms across the car. "Speak!" he declared dramatically, "and ye shall be heard!"

She giggled and rolled her eyelights before quickly sobering up. _"Do you remember back when Nightmare attacked us? How I tried and failed to fight Nightmare off while the rest of you were talking about your nightmares?"_

"Yeah," Mike nodded, "At first, I did find it a bit strange that Nightmare didn't try to screw with your mind first before going for the direct attack. I assumed that he just didn't want to waste time and that he wanted to quickly get a hostage to force the rest of us to come down. Granted, I didn't have a nightmare either, but I made peace with my own dark past a long time ago, so Nightmare didn't really have much to attack me with."

" _The truth is, dad…Nightmare DID attack me in my dreams first before he attacked me in real life."_

Mike was instantly alert. "He forced you to relive killing Night Guards again, didn't he?" From what he remembered, Charlie's body count was much lower compared to the other ghost children, but it wasn't zero. Even the guilt from killing just two people would give Nightmare plenty to work with.

But to his surprise, Charlie shook her head. _"No…it was much worse than that…"_

 _The Night of Nightmare's Attack..._

From the moment her eyes opened, Charlie knew that something was terribly wrong. The very air and atmosphere of her surroundings was tainted by darkness, a hint at the nightmare that was yet to come. She was in a music box, not the one that Mike had set up for her to rest in, but her _original_ music box from the early days of Fredbear's Family Diner and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

Back when she had been consumed by the same murderous rage that would continue to dominate her friends long after she had broken free of it.

The familiar tune of "Grandfather's Clock" suddenly stopped playing and "Pop Goes the Weasel" replaced it. Charlie sighed as she knew what was about to come next. Her body acted out of its own accord, climbing out of the music box and floating towards the office even as she tried to resist it. Part of her wanted to look away as she inevitably delivered a gruesome death to an innocent person, but the stronger part of her refused. She had already destroyed this person's life once, whoever he was. The very least he deserved was for her to look him in the eye and see who he was without the filter of revenge clouding her mind and soul.

She forced herself to look towards the Office as she approached it…and her heart would have stopped if she still had it. Sitting in the chair was an old man with a bushy pile of white hair on his head and a carefully trimmed beard to match. A man that Charlie couldn't possibly forget.

" _Dad...?"_ her voice came out as a whisper, but inside she was anything but calm. _"No, no, no, NO, NO!"_ she screamed in her mind. She could already tell what was about to happen. _"NOT HIM! PLEASE, NO!"_

" _Hello, baby girl…"_ Henry's voice sounded so utterly tired. _"It's so good to see you again after so many years, but something tells me that you don't feel the same way."_

" _Dad, what are you doing here?"_ Charlie wanted to shout. _"This place is dangerous! Get out while you still can!"_ But that wasn't what came out of her mouth. What came out instead was a menacing hiss filled with rage. _"You let me die…"_ was the hateful snarl that left the Puppet's mouth. _"You failed me, father!"_ Charlie wanted to throw up the moment she heard those words come out of her mouth. Was this really the kind of person she had been back then?

" _I know…"_ Henry bowed his head in shame. _"Everything you've said is true, Charlie. I did fail you. I should never have let you die. If anybody should have died that night at Fredbear's Family Diner, it should have been me. I should have been the one to pay the price for so blindly trusting a monster."_ He brushed away the tears that were forming in his eyes. _"I wasn't even there to hold you in your arms as your life seeped out of you. I have failed as a parent in every single way."_

" _That's not true!"_ Charlie tried to speak, but once again no words came out of her mouth. The only miniscule comfort was that there was no malicious whisper to replace them this time. _"You did everything you could to right those wrongs, wrongs that were never your fault to begin with! I still love you, dad! I never stopped loving you! Don't give up, dad! Not like this…"_

Henry shook his head and sighed. _"I can sense it even now, baby girl. You want revenge. Revenge against William Afton for the many crimes he has committed…and revenge against me for letting all this tragedy happen. I understand you, Charlie. And I accept your judgment. There can only be one punishment that is fair and just for my failures."_

" _No!"_ Charlie wordlessly protested. _"There's nothing fair or just about this at all! You don't deserve to die for the sins of another person! I know that now!"_ she tried to struggle even harder, to stop the kill that she knew was about to happen. But it was no use. Her body floated ever closer to her father, ready to kill him just like she had killed the Night Guards before him.

Henry bowed his head and waited for the inevitable. _"The time has come, then. I hope my death will be enough to satisfy your rage, my daughter. I had wanted to put myself in a final sleep long before today…and there can be no end more fitting for me than death at the hands of the one I should have protected with my very life."_ Charlie could only scream as the Marionette leapt at her father with a roar, wrapping her hands around his neck and squeezing it with unholy fury, just like she had done to others in the past. And as the life drained from his eyes and he breathed his last, she could hear demonic laughter echoing around her and a malicious voice taunting her from the shadows.

" **YOU ARE NOT AS FAR FROM THE DARKNESS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL,"** the voice that she would later learn was Nightmare's hissed. **"IT MATTERS NOT HOW MANY OR HOW FEW YOU HAVE KILLED, YOUR HANDS ARE STILL STAINED WITH THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS THAT CAN NEVER BE CLEANSED. HOW MANY LIVES WERE LOST BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WERE CONSUMED BY YOUR MISGUIDED AND MEANINGLESS QUEST FOR VENGEANCE? YOU KNOW, IN YOUR HEART, THAT THIS PARTICULAR MURDER, ONE THAT EVEN NOW FILLS YOU WITH SUCH HORROR AND DREAD, COULD VERY EASILY HAVE BECOME A REALITY."**

 _The Present Day_

" _And he was RIGHT!"_ Charlie was openly crying now. _"Everything Nightmare said about me was right! I could have killed my own father back when I was still seeking vengeance for my death and the deaths of my friends! I can see it happening!"_ She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. _"Back when we were working to destroy all the remaining animatronics, we didn't cooperate at first. My father created Lefty to capture and pacify me, and it was only after I convinced him that I wouldn't harm him that he deactivated the traps inside Lefty and we started working together. He thought that I was still caught up in my murderous rage, and I CAN'T BLAME HIM!"_ she shouted the last few words, before burying her face in her hands. _"What kind of daughter am I?"_ she mumbled between sobs. _"My own father was afraid of me, and he had every right to be!"_

Mike drew her into a hug as much as the space of the car would allow, and Charlie buried her head in his chest for several moments as she let her sadness and regret flow out of her. "Who would have thought that she and Liz could be so similar?" he thought as he pulled her in closer. "Different regrets and different personalities, but at the end of the day, they're both just kids who've lost their way and need help finding themselves again."

"Charlie…" he finally spoke up after she had calmed down enough and was now only sniffling into his shirt. "That dream Nightmare showed you…it wasn't like the others. It wasn't an event that happened in the past, twisted by evil but with a foundation of truth. Yours was based on a hypothetical, a premise that we both know is bullshit. You never intended to murder Henry at any point in your past. It doesn't matter what you would've done if you hadn't broken out of that murderous mentality, because the only truth that means anything in the end is that you DID stop. You DID realize that you were going down the same road as William Afton, and you pulled yourself away from the darkness before it was too late. And Henry recognized that too. He might have been afraid of you at first, but the only possible reason why he deactivated the traps in Lefty was because he trusted you to do the right thing, and you did."

" _I can't take it back,"_ Charlie lamented. _"The people the others and I killed…they had their entire lives ahead of them, and we destroyed that."_

"No, you can't," Mike admitted as he stroked the back of the Puppet's head comfortingly. "You might have done evil things, but who hasn't at some point in their life? I'm just as guilty of doing wrong as you are, and so is everyone else in the world. But you're not an evil person, Charlie. After living with you for an entire year, I can say that with absolute certainty. People who are truly evil at their core don't cry for the lives they've hurt. And you've made my life so much better in the year before the rest of the kids showed up, from simply being another person to keep me company after I retired to everything you've done to take care of me and keep me happy. You're not the same person you were thirty years ago, Charlie. If Henry knew just how well you've been helping me out for the past year or so, I'm sure he would be very proud of you."

Charlie leaned into her new father's body and snuggled close to him. _"I'm starting to think Liz was right,"_ she murmured. _"You really are an angel in disguise. The way you make people like me feel better is almost magical."_

Mike shook his head. "The only reason why I'm apparently so good at this is because I've dealt with my fair share of garbage in my own life. I definitely am not some kind of angel. Not even close." A dark look entered his eyes for the briefest of moments, but it quickly faded and judging by the fact that Charlie was still clutching contentedly to his shirt he assumed that she had missed it. "But I hope what I said helped."

" _It definitely did, dad,"_ she answered appreciatively as she righted herself back into her seat. _"Thank you. For this…and for everything else."_

"Always glad to help, Charlie," Mike smiled at her as he started the car up again.

They drove on in silence for a few minutes. Then, Charlie turned to Mike again. _"Dad…what you've said about me opening up more…I think you might be right. But please don't tell anyone about what we've talked about today. I want to share my thoughts with the others when I think I'm ready."_

Mike pantomimed zipping his lips. "Your secrets are safe with me, Charlie," he promised, before he suddenly grinned. "Forget night guarding and engineering. When it comes to keeping secrets, I am a goddamn professional with years and years of experience."

Charlie giggled. _"Can't argue with you there,"_ she conceded.

Mike nodded, thinking that now was as good a time as any to change the subject. "So tell me something. What do you think we're going to find at your old house?"

Charlie shrugged. _"I honestly couldn't tell you, dad,"_ she replied, her calm and self-assured tone slowly returning. _"The only thing Heaven let him tell me was that I would find the real reason why all the animatronics were haunted for so long…not just me and the Purple Guy's victims, but Baby and Springtrap too. I'm still not sure why he didn't tell me the answer before when he was still alive. Maybe he wasn't entirely certain that what he discovered was the truth behind it all. But he spoke with so much confidence when we were reunited in my dream a few days ago that I'm certain he has no more doubts about it now."_

"I've gotta admit, I've been curious about that too," Mike agreed. "It still seems like a lot of work to drive all the way over there just for a secret that Henry could have told you directly in his dream. Yeah, I know he mentioned bonding time, but we could have done that at home. I can't help but feel like there's something else in the equation that we don't know about yet, something we're going to find in your old house."

" _Well, it looks like we're about to find out,"_ Charlie pointed out. Already, she could see the street leading to her dad's house in the distance. None of the houses were nearly as extravagant or fancy as Mike's mansion, but it was still in an area that was clearly inhabited by the more well-to-do members of society. _"We're almost there."_ Her eyelights glowed more brightly in intensity as determination entered her voice. _"It's time to see what my dad left for me before his death. Let's find the last of the Freddy Fazbear secrets and close this chapter of our lives once and for all."_

/

A/N: Well, this chapter certainly has a lot in it. A combination of Heartwarming, Tearjerker, Nightmare Fuel (Nightmare's such a useful tool for causing angst and terror, isn't he?), and just a smidgeon of humor thrown in. And not to mention a much more detailed journey into the Marionette's thoughts and personality, including why she hasn't outright embraced Mike as her new dad in the same way the other ghosts had until now.

Up until this point, I have portrayed Charlie/The Marionette as the cool big sis, the calm and collected one, the leader, the person who has her shit together the most out of all the ghost kids. But this was a persona that I believe Charlie had to develop over the years so that her friends and fellow victims wouldn't collapse into complete and total despair. She might be a lot better at hiding it, but I think she has just as much emotional baggage on her head as the other ghosts and didn't want to force that burden on her friends. And even if she is genuinely calmer and more composed under normal circumstances, reuniting with Henry in her dream and remembering Nightmare's attack on her mind would almost certainly have triggered a few emotional buttons anyway. She's still a kid, even if she was forced to mature to a much greater degree than the others because of everything she's been through. And because she's spent so long acting as the emotional bedrock for the other ghost kids, she isn't used to relying on others the way someone like Liz is. I think the only two people she would really be comfortable sharing her thoughts with are Henry and Mike. Even with the latter there was still a bit of a barrier that has only now been completely shattered with her full acceptance of Mike as her new dad.

And after 34 chapters, we finally know the Marionette's real name. And yes, it is indeed Charlie as almost everybody has assumed. Originally, I was going to have this as a dramatic reveal where she genuinely didn't know her name until Henry revealed it to her in her dream, but I realized that this didn't make any sense since Henry would have almost certainly called her by her real name at some point while they were working on orchestrating the events of FNAF6. So I decided to instead have it as a long-standing joke that Charlie decided to play on Mike. Admittedly this is a bit of a cop-out, but at the same time Charlie hasn't been able to genuinely have fun for decades and this would be the first time she would finally be able to indulge in her more playful side after far, far too long.

As you may have noticed, my version of the Marionette has a bit of Adaptational Heroism being invoked. She was still caught up in a murderous and vengeful rage during the events of FNAF2 (otherwise keeping the music box wound up would have been a nonissue), but she snapped out of it by the time FNAF1 and beyond rolled around. This is my in-universe explanation as to why she was there in the FNAF1 pizzeria but did not participate in the murders of the Night Guards. Ironically, if you were to ask her, my present-day Charlie would not consider herself a true hero. Two is a much smaller body count than what the rest of the ghost kids have, but she still killed people and she has to live with that on her conscience.

Next chapter, we start delving into the lore of FNAF more thoroughly. And what Mike and Charlie will discover will have major implications not just in the past, but for the future. I hope you guys enjoyed!


	36. Chapter 36 - The Puppet's Family Part 2

A/N: Don't really have much to say, so let's move on to the next chapter! And as I promised in the last chapter, there will be plenty of lore exploration and secrets to uncover in the murkiness that still surrounds the dark history of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. A lot of this will be centered around lore from FNAF6, though the past history from other games will be addressed as well.

Since this chapter is almost certainly going to be one of the most important ones I'm going to write, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you can give me in a review. Whether it's encouragement or constructive criticism, anything that's not just being an asshole is welcome and will help me continue to improve as a writer.

I've also updated the fic's picture image. This one was made by chibineko, I did NOT make it.

And with that said, on with the show!

Chapter 36 – The Puppet's Family Part 2

Night had fallen by the time that Mike pulled up right outside the house where Charlie and her father had used to live. With the sky plunged in darkness and nobody outside, Charlie didn't have to worry about hiding her Marionette body from curious eyes like she had at the Marshalls' house.

"I just realized that we didn't let whoever is inside this house know that we were coming, or if they're even here in the first place," Mike muttered as they approached the front door. "I hope we don't piss off whoever your dad left to take care of the house."

" _Dad made it sound like we wouldn't have any issues getting in,"_ Charlie replied. _"Still, you're right. We might run into some issues that we hadn't thought about."_

"Hope luck's on our side," her new dad answered back as he rang the doorbell. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then, the sound of footsteps slowly approached the door, and the two of them could hear it unlock from inside. The door opened to reveal an elderly man, bald but with a white mustache and beard.

"So you've come at last," he murmured, almost too quietly for them to hear. He looked around to the left and right, then opened the door wider. "Come inside, and quickly. We have much to discuss."

Mike and Charlie looked at each other, surprised by the fact that the man had not only apparently expected them, but also by his secretive nature. The two of them walked into the house and the man quickly shut the door and locked it behind them. "My apologies for the abrupt greeting," he said as he guided them into the kitchen. "Henry was insistent that the darker secrets of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria and anything associated with it be kept in the shadows as thoroughly and carefully as possible. After seeing these secrets with my own eyes, I have to agree with him." He took a seat onto a chair, and both Mike and Charlie did the same. "Allow me to introduce myself," he held out a hand to Mike. "My name is Nelson MacGregor. I was one of Henry's closest friends before his death, and one of his business partners in happier times."

Mike took the hand slowly and gave his own name, not quite sure if he could trust the man sitting a few feet away from him. Nelson chuckled. "You don't trust me, or at least not completely. I'm glad to see that, I'd consider you a fool if you did. Henry spoke very highly of you last night when he told me that you and Charlie would arrive here tonight."

Charlie's eyelights flickered in surprise. _"He came to you in a dream, too?"_ she asked. Suddenly her father being in a rush made a lot more sense.

"He did indeed," Nelson confirmed with a smile. "Someone had to let me know who you were and why you were coming." His eyes fell on Charlie. "I remember when you were just a little girl, Charlie. You were always so bright and happy, you loved Fredbear's Family Diner more than anything. And then everything came crashing down." He shook his head sadly, and then a look of rage entered his face. "May William Afton rot in Hell for all eternity," he snarled.

An icy smile stretched across Mike's lips. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Mr. MacGregor," he assured him with a tone that caused Charlie to shudder. "I took care of that _personally."_

If Nelson was disturbed by the sudden menace that Mike emanated in that moment, he hid it expertly. "You wouldn't be the first father that Afton underestimated. And please, call me Nelson," he replied without missing a beat, and then his eyes fell upon Charlie again. A sad chuckle left his lips. "I have to say, though…I never would have imagined that you would one day return in the body of what Henry has always believed to be his greatest invention. Though even if you look nothing like what you used to, Charlie, I can still see the daughter he loved more than anything as clear as day."

" _The Marionette did everything it could to protect me and keep me safe,"_ Charlie answered, and then a sad sigh left her lips. _"But it couldn't save me from William Afton's knife, no matter how hard it tried to. It was the closest thing that I had to a friend in the final moments of my life."_

"You're talking about the Marionette as if it were alive, as if it could think on its own." Mike noted. "But…the animatronics…I thought they were just that, animatronics. I thought the only reason why they came alive and attacked me and the other Night Guards was because of the kids possessing them."

" _That is true for the most part, Dad,"_ Charlie explained. _"The Marionette…it was programmed to give gifts out at the prize corner, that much everyone knew. But it was also designed specifically to keep children like me safe. I don't know if that makes it alive in the sense that you're alive, but it had a purpose and vitality that the other animatronics never had. I was wearing a security bracelet that would allow the Marionette to follow me around and guard me from anything that it perceived to be a threat."_

Mike's eyes widened. "Damn, that's pretty advanced for 1983," he whistled.

Charlie shook her head. _"It was an incredible animatronic, but it wasn't perfect. The day I died, the door was locked and it took the Marionette some time to find a way to open it. It didn't help that I was outside of the building so the signal from my bracelet was weaker to begin with."_ Her words suddenly began to falter. _"Th…there was no one to help me…"_ she stuttered as she struggled to hold back her sobs. _"It…it was so dark…s-so c-cold…I…I…"_

Mike immediately rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her body in a tight hug. "Breathe, Charlie..." he murmured in her ear. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. Take in deep breaths. That's it. In and out…"

As Charlie followed her new father's instructions to calm herself down, Nelson looked on with silent approval. He was liking this man, Mike Schmidt, more and more with every passing moment. Eventually, Charlie was able to calm down enough to continue her story. _"The Marionette finally managed to get through to me, but it was too late. And because of all the rain, its inner workings became damaged as well. All it could do was lay down beside me, trying to wake me up from something I could never wake up from. And then…"_

"…you possessed it," Nelson finished. "Your soul became one with the Puppet."

" _Yes…"_ Charlie confirmed, _"…but I was a long time before I finally woke up and realized that I was inside the Marionette's body. When I realized what had happened to me, I was so…_ _ **angry**_ _…at my death."_ She lowered her head in shame. _"You know what happened next afterwards."_

Mike and Nelson both knew what she was talking about, but both opted not to comment on it. Her guilt over her past actions was bad enough without either of them rubbing it in. "I'm guessing that whatever sentience was inside the Marionette that day was lost because of the damage," Mike instead commented.

Charlie nodded. _"It sacrificed its life to try and save me, and I'll always honor it for that. In that darkest of moments, it gave me comfort when no one else could."_

"Now I understand why you're still wearing the Marionette as a body for so many years," Mike murmured. "You're the only one whose animatronic wasn't a prison of some kind."

"That may be so," Nelson added, "but the reason why your spirit inhabited the body of the Marionette in the first place is still the same as it was for all the other animatronics."

Charlie looked up at her father's old friend. _"The reason why all the animatronics became haunted?"_ she asked.

"Indeed. That secret is hidden inside the computers and files, where only myself and now you can reach it. But I'd like to learn more about what happened to you first, Charlie, if you don't mind." Nelson shook his head sadly. "I always sensed that there was something…wrong…about William Afton when he first started working with Henry," he confessed. "Something dark about him. But he seemed to work so well with William, and there was nothing concrete I could point to that would convince Henry to break ties with him. To this day I still curse myself for being a fool."

" _It wasn't your fault, any more than it was dad's,"_ Charlie assured him.

Nelson smiled at that. "You're still the same sweet, kind child you have always been, Charlie. I'm glad to see that years of rage and vengeance could not erase that. But as I was saying, I do have some questions of my own, as I'm sure that your new father does."

" _Go right ahead,"_ Charlie said invitingly, _"it's only fair after we intruded like this."_

"Henry told me that you developed quite an impressive array of magical powers," Nelson asked curiously. "And I'm not talking about giving the animatronics life. Even now, with your new family, you continue to display magical capabilities that the other ghosts do not. May I ask how you came across those? The Marionette was a special animatronic, to be sure, but it was never capable of doing what you can do by itself."

"I was actually wondering that myself," Mike admitted with a sheepish grin. "I've seen what you can do, and it's really cool, but I still have no idea how you're able to pull something like that off."

" _I didn't develop these by myself,"_ Charlie explained, secretly glad that they were moving on to more comfortable topics. _"And despite what everyone believed, I wasn't entirely alone either. When I was moved to the 1987 location, I came across two…frankly bizarre figures. They looked like…shadowy forms of Bonnie and Freddy, I think is the best way to describe them."_

Mike instantly tensed. Could she be talking about…

" _They taught me how to draw upon my inner power and manifest it in the form of magic,"_ she continued, not noticing her father's sudden change in demeanor. _"They didn't teach me anything specific though, and instead they left it to me to figure out what I could do with my newfound power."_ Despite the mask, her face took on a pensive look. _"I still wonder what they are and where they have gone, now that the tragedy surrounding the Freddy franchise is over and done with."_

"I'm just glad that you had some form of company with you in those lonely years," Nelson commented as Mike slowly relaxed.

" _You have no idea just how hard those years truly were,"_ Charlie replied with another sigh. _"I wasn't exactly lonely, per say. I always had my new family, William Afton's fellow victims, to keep me company. I followed them from the 1982 pizzeria to the 1993 pizzeria, and I kept my vigil even through the destruction of the animatronics, Purple Guy's death, and the rise of Fazbear's Fright. But it was so incredibly exhausting, trying to keep them from falling into complete and total despair while at the same time not giving in to the urge to surrender into that same blackness."_

"I'm sure you did the best you could," Mike said comfortingly as he put a hand on her shoulder.

" _All I could do was press on,"_ Charlie continued sadly. _"I would have stopped William Afton from destroying the animatronics if I could have, but the others warned me not to. They needed one of us to stay alive and undamaged, so that we could one day find help in some way. They trusted me to find someone to save them, though I swore that I wouldn't leave them until I had no other choice."_

"I assume that the burning of Fazbear's Fright was the tipping point?" Nelson guessed.

The girl inside the Marionette nodded again. _"With its destruction, I knew that the time had come. Nobody would come and save us...if I wanted to find someone to end the tragedy once and for all, I would have to seek him out myself. And even though I didn't have any clue whether he still lived in this house, or whether he would even recognize me or would be able to help us at all, I sought out the one person who I thought would even be willing to help me."_

"Henry…" Nelson and Mike both said at the same time. "It's only natural," Nelson added, "for a lost child to seek out her parents in times of great need."

" _Yes…although unfortunately, he misunderstood my intentions when our paths first crossed, after so many years."_ Mike gave her a sympathetic glance as he remembered what she had tearfully confessed to him on their car ride here. _"He had been planning a grand trap, one that would finally burn down all of the remaining animatronics and bring a conclusive end to this decades-long nightmare. I didn't want to be seen by anyone besides him, so I snuck into this house just in case my father had moved away or something."_

"And was that when…?" Mike began, but Charlie already knew what he was going to ask.

" _Yes,"_ she confirmed, _"that was when he trapped me inside Lefty. And that was how I finally found my father again."_

 _A Few Years Ago…_

The moment she first heard the tune "Grandfather's Clock" play, she knew that something was terribly wrong. There was some inner mechanism in the Marionette that always drew it towards the source of that specific jingle whenever it was played, and even after so many years it was still operational. Charlie couldn't do anything but watch as her body moved on its own accord, following the jingle all the way to a new animatronic that she had never seen before. Her body approached the bear that she would later learn was called Lefty and climbed inside, where she lay secure and unmoving as she desperately wondered what was going on.

Her first terrifying thought was that the Purple Guy had somehow found a way to trap her yet again, had finally cornered her and would now finish what he had started. But that didn't make any sense – the murderer had been trapped inside Springtrap for years now, and wouldn't have any way to access the materials that would be needed to create Lefty. Then, footsteps slowly approached, and Charlie's eyes widened as she saw the man that her father had become.

The girl could barely remember what her father looked like when she'd still been alive, but it was clear to her that the years had taken a heavy toll on Henry. He seemed so incredibly tired and sad, and beyond that Charlie could see that something had broken inside him, a fundamental piece of his soul that was forever lost.

"Hello, my daughter…" Henry greeted her, and she could hear how exhausted he was through his voice. "It has been so very long since…that day. The day that you suffered something that no child should ever have to suffer. I have cursed myself for letting it happen almost as much as I cursed William Afton for being the monster who would cause all this. You should never have died and been forced to endure this cursed existence, let alone the other innocent souls. But now…now I am finally ending it."

He knelt down onto the floor in front of Charlie, who was still immobile. Tears were flowing out of his eyes, though he brushed them away with his arm. "So many times, I wanted to give up. Give up…and put myself to an endless sleep. But I could not. Not when I was the only one who could do something to end Springtrap's madness and the horror that he had caused. And after years of planning, I finally have the means to end it all. And I can finally end your suffering as well, my precious baby girl. I can't imagine the agony that you must have gone through all these years, and it was my fault for allowing it to happen in the first place. But even though I could not do anything to stop it…at least I can be the one to finally ease your pain and the pain of those who fell to William Afton's cruelty along with you."

He got up and was about to leave, but Charlie couldn't remain silent anymore. By some incredible miracle, her father knew about the tragedy and had already taken steps to bring it to a close. But there were still things that neither of them understood, things that were stopping them pursuing their mutual goal together. _"Dad…"_ she breathed.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her father would never forget the way it sounded. He whirled around. "Ch…Charlie?" he asked, wondering if he had imagined it.

" _Dad…"_ she called out again, her voice stronger this time and leaving no room for doubt. _"It's…it's me. Why…why did you trap me in this? Why…would you ensnare me in this…this suit?"_

Henry was too shocked to speak for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "I…I…" he turned his face away in shame. "I didn't know how much of my daughter was left," he confessed. "I didn't know if you had been lost completely to the need for vengeance against those you believe had wronged you. If that had been the case…then releasing your soul was the only mercy that I could give you."

Charlie felt her shame renew itself as she remembered the two Night Guards she had murdered and the many more innocents that her friends had slain. _"Dad…it's…it's still me…"_ she tried to argue. _"I don't want to kill anymore. I stopped wanting to kill a long time ago. And I'm…I'm not in pain. This existence…it isn't as much of a curse as you think it is. My friends have suffered far more than I have. All I want…is the very same thing you want. I want to end the tragedy and stop William Afton once and for all."_

"Charlie…"

" _Please, dad…"_ she begged, desperation filling her voice. _"Please...let me help you. You can trust me. I won't do anything to hurt you. And you don't have to do this alone. We can do this together, the last act we can carry out as a family. Please, dad…don't break us apart again after we've finally come back together."_

Henry didn't move for several seconds. Then, finally, he sighed and knelt down in front of Lefty. "If there is a God," he prayed silently, "please, don't let this be some cruel trick. Please, let this truly be my daughter, free from the murderous madness that once consumed her and her friends." Then, very slowly, he deactivated the machinery that were keeping Lefty and the Puppet immobile. Once the last one was shut down, he closed his eyes and waited.

He could hear Lefty's machinery activate and felt a pair of metal arms encircle his body. At first, he wondered if he was about to be killed by his first and last creation combined in one, but the arms around him didn't have enough pressure to crush or kill. Sobs began to reach his ears from the animatronic in front of him, and that was enough for him to realize that the Puppet was crying. Crying…and _hugging_ him through her new body.

" _I missed you so, so much, dad…"_ Charlie was crying openly now, no longer able to hold back her emotions. _"Thank you. Thank you…for trusting me."_

Henry awkwardly pat the back of Lefty's head as he gave her a gentle and relieved smile. His daughter had finally come back to him, in body, mind, and soul. Of that, he had no more doubts now. Father and daughter sat there for several moments in silence as they basked in their reunion and the emotions it brought them both. Then, Henry slowly got to his feet.

"There is so much I need to do, baby girl," he said, eyes hardening in determination. Having Charlie at his side fueled him with a drive and determination that he had been struggling to find only seconds before. "The first thing I need to do is to work on the Marionette."

Charlie tilted Lefty's head and gave her a puzzled look. _"What do you mean, dad?"_

"The mechanism that keeps you docile with Grandfather's Clock needs to be removed," Henry explained. Charlie was happy to see that he was already becoming far more vibrant now that they had been reunited. "Now that I know that I can trust you, it is a vulnerability that our future enemies might exploit, and I won't allow anything that will leave you helpless."

" _And then afterwards?"_ Charlie asked.

Henry gave her a grim smile. "We have a lot of work to do."

 _Present Day_

"Like I told you, Charlie," Mike said with a knowing smile, "your father trusted you to do the right thing in the end."

Charlie's eyelights twinkled. _"I know, dad. And for us, doing the right thing meant months of preparation and planning. Creating the trap pizzeria, luring the animatronics over there."_ The merry look in her eyes faded. _"But there were flaws in our plan. The biggest one was when I returned to Fazbear's Fright, only to discover that my friend's souls were gone. I don't know how my father knew about Ennard, or Molten Freddy as he would later be known, but he somehow knew that their spirits had been gathered into that mechanical abomination."_ She shook her head sadly. _"Ideally, we would have found them before that creature did, but there was nothing we could do about it except adjust our plan to accommodate for that development."_

"How _did_ Henry know about all this?" Mike questioned. "I mean, I know that your dad was a genius in the sea of incompetent fucktards that was Fazbear Inc., but it seems like he knew far more about what was going on than you'd expect any regular human being to."

Charlie shrugged. _"I couldn't tell you, to be honest,"_ she answered. _"Apart from going back to Fazbear's Fright, my dad didn't let me leave the house, as much for my own safety as much as it was to avoid causing panic and possibly alerting Springtrap to our actions. And there were some things that he could only guess at, rather than know for certain. His belief that Baby's programming would eventually corrupt Liz was an educated guess, though we know now that he was completely correct."_

"At least Liz is safe with us now," Mike confidently stated. "Safe and free to be the bright, happy, and kindhearted child that I know she was always supposed to be. Just like all the others."

"By Liz, do you mean Elizabeth Afton?" Nelson asked. When both Mike and Charlie confirmed it, a look of relief appeared on his face. "That girl deserved better than to be twisted into a monstrosity. I'm glad to hear that she's in good hands."

"And it's going to stay that way until the day I die," Mike assured him.

"I hold you to that promise, my friend," Nelson replied, before gesturing towards Charlie. "I'm sorry, we were interrupting you. Please continue."

Charlie nodded. _"We spent two months perfecting our plan, creating a fake pizzeria that would lure the animatronics in, a false opportunity to murder more innocents that they would not be able to resist. There were some things my father did on the side related to our project that I didn't ever see, but I was busy doing my own part so I didn't question it. And then, the day finally came. My father hired someone to manage our false pizzeria, and the animatronics came one at a time. First Molten Freddy, then Springtrap's new ruined form, then Scrap Baby, and then me."_

"You went into that pizzeria willingly, knowing it was a death trap?" Nelson asked incredulously. "Why?"

" _Someone needed to be the one to make sure that the other evil animatronics remained trapped there,"_ Charlie explained. _"Dad was fairly certain that there would be no way for them to escape, but he had learned long ago that only fools left things to chance. I went in there to make sure their fate was sealed. Lefty might have been meant to be my prison at one point, but now it made for excellent armor. The other animatronics were worn down and decrepit, but Lefty was new and well-made. Its higher quality gave me the ability to fight off any of the older animatronics or flee if things became too dangerous. But as it turned out, we had the perfect ally that neither my father nor I expected."_

"Michael Afton," Mike said quietly.

" _That's right,"_ she agreed, and a quiet laugh left her mouth. _"We didn't know it at first, but Michael Afton had taken the job, for he was just as dedicated to ending the Fazbear tragedy that his monster of a father created as we were. And despite being little better than a walking corpse by that point, he deflected the attacks of the other animatronics with a skill that could only come from years of experience of being a Night Guard. We could not have found a better person to ensure that the animatronics would remain sealed inside the pizzeria until we burned it down at the end of the week."_

"Henry intended for that pizzeria to be a final resting place not just for them, but for you and him as well," Nelson commented. "The only one he intended to let out was Michael Afton, though the man ultimately stayed because he sought eternal peace as well. And yet you are here now, while the others have passed on to the afterlife."

" _I had to make sure that the animatronics truly were destroyed, and the only way I could ensure the end of the tragedy was to teleport out of the pizzeria before I was consumed by the flames,"_ Charlie explained to him. _"It appears that my father had the same idea, but he stayed inside the building to see their destruction with his own eyes."_ She sighed and shook her head. _"Because of that one moment of miscommunication, I won't be able to follow him to the afterlife for years to come, but I am certain that both of us are willing to pay that price if it means that all the souls are freed and the nightmare is ended. And after seeing their ruined remains with my own eyes, I can finally say without a shadow of a doubt that it is finally over."_

"And with that, one chapter of your life ends, and another one begins," Mike said as he smiled and put an arm around Charlie's shoulder, who held onto his hand and returned the gesture with an affectionate look in her eyes.

"I may not have known you for very long, Mr. Schmidt, but I can already tell that if God appointed you as the guardian of William Afton's victims, then He chose wisely and He chose well," Nelson praised. "I have only seen Charlie this happy when she was a little girl, before this entire mess started."

Mike grinned. "I do my best."

" _Heck yeah you do!"_ Charlie added, and all three of them laughed for several seconds. Then, Nelson's expression became more somber.

"You have told your tale and your secrets, Charlie," he declared. "And now, it is time for me to tell you mine. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say your father's." He got up from his chair and beckoned for Mike and Charlie to follow him up the stairs and to Henry's old room. A large desktop was waiting for them. Nelson sat down on the computer and began to open up three files that Mike recognized as blueprints. One of them he recognized as Lefty, detailing Henry's plan to capture the Marionette inside his body before Charlie had convinced him otherwise. The other two were of machines unfamiliar to him, and he guessed that they were from Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental rather than Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. But there was one word shared between both files that caught his eye.

"Remnant?" he read the word aloud. "Why do I feel like this is significant somehow?"

"Because it is, Mr. Schmidt," Nelson answered, his face suddenly taking on a grim look. "More than you could possibly know. For this substance, Remnant…it is the true reason why the souls were trapped inside the animatronics in the first place.

Mike's and Charlie's jaws dropped. _"Even…even the original ones?"_ Charlie gasped. _"Even Spring Bonnie…and me?"_

"That is correct, Charlie," Nelson confirmed. "It was used on the animatronics that would form the foundation of Fredbear's Family Diner, its original purpose meant to stabilize the structure of the animatronics and keep them from falling apart. But unbeknownst to all at the time, it also has the property of trapping souls if too much of it is concentrated in one location. The earliest animatronics – Spring Bonnie, Fredbear, The Marionette, even the original four, they were all made with this Remnant."

"And that's the reason why they all became possessed," Mike murmured. "Even Spring Bonnie and the Marionette itself, which were never affected by outside forces like Charlie's magic at all."

Nelson nodded. "That is correct. However, only these originals were made with Remnant. When Fredbear's Family Diner started losing money after Charlie's death and the Bite of 1983, Fazbear Inc. stopped ordering animatronics with Remnant to save money, and Emily Robotics discontinued using it entirely soon after. That is why no other animatronics became possessed by other souls, such as the spirits of the killed Night Guards, in future restaurants."

Mike couldn't help but snort despite the gravity of the topic. "So the one time that Fazbear Inc. actually does something right, they do it by fucking accident. Of fucking course." He suddenly realized who he was talking to. "No offense," he added quickly.

Nelson chuckled dryly. "Believe me, Mr. Schmidt, my opinion of Fazbear Inc. is very much the same," he assured him, before turning to Charlie. "When you came across the spirits of the murdered children, your future family, they were already trapped to existence inside the animatronics because William Afton had stuffed their bodies inside those Remnant-encased suits."

" _And that's when I found them…"_ Charlie murmured. _"Found them…and gave them life."_

"What you call giving them life may not actually be the correct way to describe it, at least not entirely," her father's old friend commented, causing both Mike and Charlie to look at him in surprise. "As both Springtrap and Baby proved, the spirits within them would ultimately be able to possess the animatronics anyway. But it took both many years to do so, or at least that was the case for Springtrap. I don't fully understand it myself, but from what I can gather, Charlie, what you did with your magic was drastically accelerate the speed at which the ghosts of the murdered children would be able to take control of their new forms. It would have taken them many more years to reach that point on their own if you hadn't done anything."

Charlie stood there wordlessly for several moments as she processed what Nelson had just told her. Then, she collapsed on her knees and started crying. _"It wasn't my fault…"_ she gasped out, and Mike suddenly realized they were tears of relief rather than sorrow. _"I didn't enslave my friends. I didn't trap them in their own Hell. It wasn't my fault…"_

"Nope," her new father assured her as he stroked the Puppet's head gently, "it looks like at the end of the day, you didn't cause this mess. What did was something beyond anybody's control or knowledge." He looked back at the monitor with the blueprints. "Wait a minute…so William Afton continued to use this soul-binding Remnant even after Fazbear Inc. stopped using it? So he KNEW that he'd be enslaving kids' souls in those Funtime animatronics?" His eyes suddenly blazed with rage, hatred, and disgust. "THAT SON OF A BITCH!" he roared.

Nelson shrugged. "I cannot tell you that," he replied, trying not to show his fear at Mike's sudden fury. "I doubt even Henry knew whether William Afton came to realize what Remnant could actually do and twisted it further to his own malicious purposes."

"Oh I bet he fucking did," Mike spat with venom in his tone. "If I ever see Nightmare again, I'm going to give him a whole new list of tortures _just_ because of this!" he snarled.

"May I ask what you're talking about?" Nelson asked, confused.

Mike forced himself to calm down. "You don't want to know," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Trust me."

Nelson wisely decided not to comment further, and Charlie took this as a good time to change the subject. _"Nelson…"_ she asked after a few seconds of hesitation. _"Did…did my father leave any tapes behind? Anything about what he was doing? I'd…I'd like to hear what he had to say, if you don't mind."_

He smiled at her. "It would be an honor, Charlie. He was your father after all."

"I'd like to take a look around, Nelson, if you don't mind," Mike requested as he looked around the room. "Apart from wanting to give Charlie some time to herself with her father's final words, I'd like to see if there's anything around here that could help me make Charlie and the other kids' lives better back at home."

Nelson shrugged. "Go right ahead," he invited. "Take anything you think might help you. I'm certain that you can put whatever you find to better use than I have."

"Thanks," Mike gratefully replied as he left Charlie and started looking around the house. There wasn't anything in the upper rooms that he found particularly noteworthy, and as he searched the lower rooms he was beginning to think that maybe it would be more of the same. That is, until he entered a small study with a bookshelf inside it. On top of that bookshelf was a picture with an ornate frame protecting it. The picture must have been several years old, for it pictured two young girls standing in front of Fredbear smiling happily at an unseen camera. One of them was a brown-haired girl with brown eyes that Mike assumed had to be Charlie when she was still alive. But he recognized the other girl instantly.

The other girl…was Liz.

Mike's eyes widened as he studied the picture carefully. If he was right, then that meant that at one point before this mess had all started, Charlie and Liz had been close friends. Possibly even best friends. He reached up and took the picture off the bookshelf, before putting it away in a bag he had carried inside. He didn't know what he was going to do with this information and he couldn't dwell on it now, but this was far too important a detail to leave lying around.

After not finding anything else significant, he decided to go back up the stairs and meet up with Nelson and Charlie again. Charlie was sitting alone, listening as Henry's final words reached her eyes. " _I never knew just how much sorrow my death caused my father,"_ she murmured sadly as the tape ended. _"It's a miracle that he managed to stay strong as long as he did, and didn't fall into despair a long time ago."_

"He had the two most important things in his life to keep him sane," Mike replied as he wrapped her in another hug. "His sense of duty…and you."

Charlie reached up and stroked Mike's cheek in thanks as Nelson sat down on the computer and began opening up other files. "What are you looking up, Nelson?" he asked.

"The animatronics that Henry was going to feature in his false pizzeria," the man explained. "Many of them, understandably, were never actually made." He showed them some animatronics that were so cheaply made it was downright ridiculous, then some simpler designs, and finally some of the newest ones. Mike's eyes bulged as he saw the design for one robot with large cymbals, a stretched out mouth and face with black eyes, and eight legs.

"Oh my fucking God!" he exclaimed in horror. "What in the actual fuck is that thing? It looks fucking terrifying!"

"That would be Music Man," Nelson answered, unable to keep the amusement at Mike's reaction out of his voice.

"That is the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my entire life!" Mike declared. "Jesus Christ, at least Nightmare looks badass as well as scary as Hell. But this? This is just fucking creepy! Who the hell thought this design was a good idea?"

"It was never actually made, Mr. Schmidt," Nelson replied.

"Thank fuck for that!" Mike retorted, causing Charlie to burst out laughing at her father's outburst. After she recovered, she gestured for Nelson to continue. The man looked through the files until he finally opened five files. To Mike's surprise, they looked like newer and slightly modified versions of the animatronics that he was familiar with. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, even Golden Freddy.

"These are the Rockstar animatronics," Nelson explained. "The newest versions of the original five animatronics that I'm sure you recognize. And they are unique in that unlike the others…these were the only ones that were actually made."

Mike's and Charlie's jaws dropped again. _"Wh…what?""_ Charlie spluttered. _"I…I vaguely remember seeing these designs but…dad…he actually had them made?"_

"Indeed. Your father was a very careful man, and he had this planned for a long time," Nelson explained. "He had underestimated William Afton's cunning once, and in his eyes, that was what led to your death. He would not make the same mistake again. If he wanted to successfully lure Afton into the fake pizzeria, he would need to give as much truth to his grand lie as possible to make it thoroughly convincing. He would have been suspicious if a new Freddy's pizzeria was announced but no animatronics were being made to support it."

Mike looked over at Charlie. " _Was_ William Afton that cunning?" he asked.

To his surprise, Charlie outright snorted. _"No,"_ she scoffed. _"His death and resurrection as Springtrap made him more violent and bloodthirsty than ever, but it came at the cost of some of his intelligence and cunning. He just rushed straight for the pizzeria, eager to continue his murdering spree. He didn't bother to investigate, or check to see if any facts were off, or anything like that."_

"Even then, from what Henry told me, Afton sensed that something was amiss," Nelson commented, "but as you said, he was too consumed by bloodlust to pay attention to his instincts, and he has paid the eternal price for that stupidity. But going back to the Rockstar animatronics – they were originally created to give as much life to the lie as possible. But since the tragedy ended without them ever being used, Henry now intends them for another purpose entirely."

He looked over at Mike. "If you so wish, Mr. Schmidt, these animatronics can serve as physical bodies for your children to inhabit if they so desire." Mike's eyes widened and Charlie's eyelights flickered in surprise as Nelson continued. "They are not coated in Remnant, for Henry would never come anywhere near the very substance that caused so much pain and suffering in the first place. As such the ghostly children should be able to freely enter and leave these bodies as they please. Although their ability to move around the Earth would still be limited, you and your children may find opportunities and open doors that were previously closed off to you. Henry left them to me in his will along with this house, and although I did not understand his reasoning at the time, I certainly do now. If you want them, they are yours."

Mike thought back to his conversation under the night sky with the ghost kids, how all of them besides Liz had expressed interest in having animatronic bodies as long as they weren't enslaved in them like they had been before. Now that he knew what had trapped them in the first place and that it wasn't a threat anymore, these Rockstar animatronics could very well give his children something that he could tell they wanted, even if they hadn't expressed it too openly.

"What do you think, Charlie?" Mike asked his daughter.

Charlie shrugged. _"I don't see anything wrong with it personally, although I believe that appropriate precautions should be taken if we're going to go through with this."_

"Not going to argue with that," Mike agreed as he turned back to Nelson. "Would you mind holding on to them for just a little bit longer? I don't know where you're currently holding them, but I'd like to wait for the right time before I decide to bring them in."

Nelson shrugged. "That's perfectly all right with me," he replied as he closed the files down. "I will give you my contact information before you leave so that we can continue this topic of discussion later. It should go without saying that you are welcome back here at any time."

" _Thank you, Mr. MacGregor…"_ Charlie thanked him as they made their way back to the entrance hall.

He chuckled. "You're very welcome, Charlie," he said warmly as he took out his phone. He and Mike exchanged contact information, then the man reached out to open the front door.

"WAIT!" Mike suddenly exclaimed. With everything that had been going on, he had completely forgotten to ask one of the most important questions. "Nelson…I forgot to ask…is there any place that still has this Remnant thing?"

Nelson thought for a moment. "Both Emily Robotics and Afton Robotics no longer use it," he answered after several seconds. "I already told you about Emily Robotics, and William Afton never got along well with his board of directors. Afton Robotics stopped using Remnant soon after Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental closed down, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Board of Directors decided to go against William Afton's wishes and stopped using it since they would view it as an unnecessary expense. But that doesn't mean that there isn't some out there. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the only Remnant that's still remaining is in the Scooper at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental."

"That place is still open?" Mike asked incredulously.

"Well, no…" Nelson clarified. "It was closed down a while ago, and the amalgamation of its animatronics certainly hasn't helped matters. But the building itself hasn't been entirely abandoned yet, from what I can recall. If you plan on doing something about the Remnant that's left, I would suggest waiting for a few more months. There are some rumors that Afton Robotics may soon shut down completely, and once they do then the building will be all but abandoned entirely, and give you much more freedom to destroy what is left of the Remnant without being spotted by someone." He shook your head. "It is not worth going to jail and stripping your new children of their newfound lives just to wipe clean a final and obscure stain of the past," he advised.

Mike thought about what he had just been told and knew that Nelson was right. "Then for now I guess we'll have to wait and see," he said as he held out his hand. "Thank you so much, Nelson. You've helped clarify things for both me and Charlie in so many ways."

"It is a pleasure, Mr. Schmidt. Take good care of Charlie and the others," Nelson replied as he knelt down to give Charlie a hug. "They need as much happiness as you can give them."

"I couldn't agree more, my new friend," Mike answered as Nelson opened the door and held it open for them. Charlie and Mike didn't say a word until they were back in the safety of Mike's car and Mike turned on the vehicle to take them home.

" _Thank you for taking me here, dad,"_ Charlie gratefully told him as he started the journey home. _"So many questions now answered, and I can finally be at ease with the new knowledge that I have gathered."_

Mike rubbed his daughter's head affectionately. "You and me both, kiddo," he said with a smile as they drove on. "You and me both."

/

A/N: And there you have it, readers! So many secrets finally uncovered and addressed, as well as my personal interpretation of how they played out in the FNAF verse. I apologize if you may not entirely agree with me in terms of interpreting the hidden lore, I'm simply writing things out in the way that I believe make the most sense. The only things that are (probably) unique to my fic universe is Henry and Charlie working together the whole time to set up the events of FNAF6, the rest of what I've written about the past I could see actually happening with varying degrees of probability. And I genuinely believe that when the Puppet "gave the kids life," she was merely speeding up a process that was already happening anyway because of the Remnant even if she didn't know it.

Remember back in Chapter 15 when I brought up the possibility of Henry creating more animatronics that the ghost kids could one day possess freely without causing the problems that led to the FNAF tragedy in the first place? Here they are, and here's my explanation as to why Henry would even create them to begin with. That does leave only Liz without an animatronic to possess, unless Charlie gives her Lefty or something…I'll think about that one later.

I'm not sure if I'll bring in Nelson again in the future. He was mainly here to help explain Remnant and stuff to Mike and Charlie. He definitely won't be a high priority side character like Melody or the Marshalls, regardless of whether I use him again or not.

Oh, and one last thing before I sign off. Music Man is one of the most fucking terrifying things I've ever seen in this franchise. Fuck the originals, fuck the Puppet, fuck Springtrap. Only the Nightmares and possibly Scrap Baby are as terrifying as that thing, and they were _meant_ to be scary.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!


	37. Chapter 37 - Frights and Delights

A/N: Well, last chapter was certainly a heavy one wasn't it? Lots of new knowledge that Mike and Charlie now have, Henry's last secrets laid bare. Some of them are missing pieces that are now filled in, while others present challenges or opportunities that have yet to be addressed.

However, I think I'll wait a bit before tackling the next big lore chapter. This fic is just as much about the ghost kids' new life as much as it is about their old, and it's generally easier for me to write about things that the ghost kids are doing in the present day than about past lore. Don't worry, though – it will all be addressed in time.

Also, I made a big mistake and confused Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental with Circus Baby's Pizza World. I went through several chapters and fixed my mistake whenever I saw it, but it's entirely possible that I might have missed one. Thank you guys for letting me know through the reviews. There's also another mistake I might have made in that the kids might have been murdered in 1983 instead of 1987, but unlike the CBEAR mistake this one is more ambiguous and there's evidence suggesting both possibilities (FNAF2 implies the murders took place in 1987, FNAF4 suggests they happened in 1983). If I do decide to change the kids to being murdered in 1983 instead of 1987, I'll adjust the appropriate chapters accordingly and make it so that the kids' bodies weren't discovered in the suits until they were moved to the FNAF2 location. Since Fazbear Inc. is the shining pinnacle of corporate incompetence, they probably _would_ somehow miss the decaying bodies in the suits. This one I haven't decided whether I'll change or not.

You might have noticed that one of the ghost kids' names has changed. Apparently, the books have revealed the name Cassidy as one of the ghost children, while keeping the other names. This makes it very possible that Cassidy is the last ghost kid who is possessing Golden Freddy, even if her gravestone is covered in the Gravestone Ending of FNAF6. Since I want to keep this fic as closely adherent to canon as possible and because this detail will bug me endlessly if I don't do it, I have changed Rachel's name to Cassidy's in every chapter. But don't get confused – they are the same character, just with a different name.

TheStrangeZora: That's a _very_ interesting question, and it's one that I have to think about. Any case where Dark!Mike would reappear would be (a) incredibly rare and (b) directed at someone other than the kids, since it takes A LOT to well and truly piss him off. I'll have to think about that one.

Chapter 37 – Frights and Delights

The ghosts sat in stunned silence as Mike finished telling them everything they had discovered at Henry's house. At first, they had reacted with exclamations of awe as Charlie described why she and Mike had left them that night, but with every new surprise they revealed, they became too shocked to do anything but listen.

" _So…that was why…"_ Susie murmured. _"That was the real reason why we were trapped."_

Mike shook his head. "It still sounds like something out of some weird science fantasy/horror movie. But it's the truth, as hard as it is to believe. This remnant…whatever it is…it can bind souls to objects. And from what I remember from the blueprints, the only way to destroy it is with intense heat, like from a fire."

Jeremy gave Charlie an apologetic glance. _"I guess I owe you an apology then,"_ he said sheepishly. _"Sorry for putting the blame on you earlier."_

Charlie shrugged. _"Don't worry about it,"_ she assured him. _"To be honest, I thought the same thing myself until I learned about Remnant."_

Cassidy hugged the Puppet's body. _"We knew you'd find a way to save us,"_ she told her gratefully. _"And you did."_

" _My father and Michael Afton did most of the work,"_ Charlie deflected the praise. _"All I did was give them a little extra help."_

Gabe suddenly noticed that Liz had been silent the entire time. _"Uh…Liz?"_ he prompted. _"You all right there?"_

" _I was just trying to think about if I ever heard about this Remnant stuff before, since dad said it was on the blueprints for the Funtime animatronics,"_ she explained after several seconds of thought. _"But I've never heard of it. When I told Mikey that he wouldn't die, I thought that was because I'd come back to life as Baby. I didn't think there was anything more to it than that."_

"I doubt you would have understood what it was even if you did," Mike commented. "Since the Scooper had Remnant inside it, it must have injected some into Michael and that's why your brother stayed on Earth even after the death of his body." Liz flinched at the details of his murder and instinctively tried to curl in on herself, but a hand on her shoulder from Gabe and an encouraging smile from Fritz perked her up.

" _So what do we do now, now that we know about all this?"_ Gabe asked.

"Right now, there's not much we can do," his father admitted. "I told you all this because you all have a right to know why you were trapped in that nightmare to begin with." He had told them about everything – except the new Rockstar animatronics and the picture of Charlie and Liz he had found. Those were best saved for later. "But it's not like we can really act on this. If I told anybody that there was this random substance that could trap souls in robots, people would laugh at me and/or throw me into the nuthouse. Even if they didn't, there's barely any Remnant left nowadays, at least that we know of."

" _Isn't it obvious?"_ Fritz asked as he got on his feet. _"We go to this Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental place and destroy what's left!"_

Mike raised his hands. "Whoa, calm down for a sec," he interrupted. "I'll admit that I had that idea in mind, but it's too risky to do that right now. Afton Robotics is still operating and still sending people into that building, even if it's closed. If I get caught trying to commit arson right now, I'll get arrested and where would that leave you guys?"

" _We'd follow you to the jail and keep you company!"_ Gabe declared, with the others nodding in agreement.

Their father chuckled affectionately. "Thanks, guys, but that's no way for you to spend your new lives. No," he shook his head, "now's not the right time. The guy Charlie and I visited told us Afton Robotics might be closing down soon, and once they do there won't be anybody coming back to that building anymore. But until then, I can't do anything about it."

The ghosts looked at each other, and Fritz still seemed like he wanted to press the issue. But they knew that Mike was right. It just wasn't safe enough to take action at the moment.

"With that being said, I think it's best that we drop the topic for now and focus more on the present," Mike decided. "I promised you guys that I'd be looking at that list of vacations you came up with, and I'm a man of my word. So let's see it!"

His children's eyes lit up at the prospect, the shadows of the past quickly forgotten. Cassidy floated through the ceiling and returned a few seconds later with the list. _"Here you go, dad!"_

Mike took the sheet of paper and his eyes widened. "Oh, geez, you really had this all planned out!" he exclaimed, earning a couple of laughs from the ghosts. "Okay, let's see…" he read through the paper several times, not showing any expressions apart from the occasional eyebrow or one-word comment.

"All right," he said once he had finished. "A lot of these are pretty cool places. Some of them we'll only be able to go to during the summer or the winter, cause otherwise the weather will suck and it'll kill the fun out of the vacation in the first place. A few of these I think we'd have more fun going with the Marshalls," the ghosts started chittering excitedly at that, "but that depends on their schedule. So it's currently October…oh, crap!" he suddenly exclaimed.

" _What?"_ the ghosts asked, some of them getting worried.

"Halloween's almost here!" Mike explained as he palmed his face. "somehow, I managed to forget about the spookiest holiday despite the fact that I'm living with seven ghost kids."

" _Way to go, dad,"_ Charlie deadpanned as the rest of the ghosts giggled.

"In my defense, it's not like anybody comes trick-or-treating to a mansion that's far away from the rest of town, especially when there's an iron gate blocking the only way in," Mike retorted. "Anyways, do you guys actually know what Halloween is or remember anything about it?"

" _Trick-or-treating?"_ Gabe answered with a raised eyebrow. _"They did have Halloween parties at Freddy's, you know. It's not like we were completely cut off from the rest of civilization, at least while the pizzeria was still open."_

"Huh," Mike wisely decided not to comment on how impressed he was that the ghosts still remembered details about that after more than 30 years of isolation and suffering. "All right, so what do you remember?"

Jeremy thought for a moment. _"Apart from trick-or-treating and Halloween costumes, not much,"_ he replied. _"Are you asking us for the history of the holiday or something?"_

Mike snorted. "Pfffttt…you think I have a big enough attention span to actually give a crap about something like that? Nah, you've basically got all the essentials that actually matter down." His smile faded a bit. "Unfortunately, we have a bit of a problem."

" _What is it, dad?"_ Liz asked.

"The simple fact is that you guys are ghosts," Mike explained with the dry sense of humor that by now was so familiar to all the kids. "And as spooky as Halloween is, having ghosts floating around in plain sight asking other people for candy they can't physically eat is a little _too_ spooky for the general public, if you get what I'm saying."

Everyone's faces fell. _"Oh…"_ Susie mumbled as she and her family realized what Mike was talking about.

"Not to worry, though," Mike continued with a smirk. "Even if you can't actually do any trick-or-treating yourselves, it doesn't mean you can't go along with someone who can."

The children's eyes widened. _"You mean…"_

Mike's smirk grew as he picked up his cell phone. "Let's see how Ryan feels about ramping up the spook factor when the 31st of October rolls around…"

 _Halloween, the Marshalls' House_

"How did you guys even get costumes on?" Meghan asked as she gave the ghosts an utterly baffled look. She, her brother, and the ghosts were all inside their room while Mike chatted with the Marshalls downstairs. Ryan might like the ghosts, but he had still been reluctant to open a mental link between his kids and Mike's and had only agreed to it under the condition that Charlie would sever the link as soon as the night was over. "I mean, ghosts don't change clothes, at least not in any stories I've heard."

Jeremy shrugged. _"It's just something we can do,"_ he replied as he fiddled around with his Batman costume. All the ghosts had on different costumes to celebrate their first holiday – Gabe had on a Harry Potter costume, Fritz had surprised everybody by dressing up as a ninja instead of a pirate, Susie looked like a vampire girl, Cassidy was wearing a fairy princess costume, and Liz was dressed as a witch. Charlie was a bit of a unique case, as she was wearing the black robes of a Grim Reaper over the Marionette's body. The others couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Charlie was the only one with a physical body to enjoy trick-or-treating with, but it quickly faded as they reminded themselves that technically, she was the only soul left who hadn't been freed either. The Marshall kids were also dressed in costume – Meghan was Wonder Woman and Alex was Frankenstein's monster. _"I will admit it took a couple of tries for some of us to get the costumes down correctly, but we got it eventually."_

" _It's cool and fun dressing up like this after so long,"_ Susie commented with a grin, _"even if nobody besides you guys and Dad will be able to see us."_

" _So where and when are we going?"_ Cassidy asked eagerly.

Alex looked at his clock. "Well, it's 6:00 pm right now," he noted. "We're gonna be leaving at around 8:00 pm, I think at that point it'll be dark enough to go out and start trick-or-treating."

" _What are we going to do until then, though?"_ Liz asked.

"Have you guys watched any Dreamworks films, yet?" Alex asked. "Like Kung-Fu Panda?"

" _What's Kung-Fu Panda?"_ Fritz asked.

Both Marshalls' eyes widened comically. "What's Kung-Fu Panda?" Meghan exclaimed. "What's Kung-Fu Panda? Only one of the best animated movie series of all time! They've made 3 movies so far, in a world where so many sequels suck after the first good movie, and ALL of them are amazing!"

" _Is it really that good?"_ Gabe asked curiously. The only animated movies that he and his family had seen were some of the older Disney ones.

"The fact that you haven't seen this movie yet is the scariest thing I've experienced so far this Halloween," Alex answered firmly. He took a DVD out and put it in the player. "Get ready, guys, you're in for a treat."

The ghosts lowered themselves to the ground as the movie started playing and showed them Po's growth from being a bumbling panda to a powerful kung-fu warrior. They were immediately blown away by the introduction showcasing the Dragon Warrior's badassery and spent the first part of the movie laughing at the hilarious antics going on and being awed by the Jade Palace and martial arts skills being showcased. As the movie progressed to Po's training and development, all of them felt both sympathetic at his inner insecurities and impressed by how much he was improving himself. Their confidence in Po's ability to beat the movie's villain, Tai Lung, strengthened with every minute that passed, and they would need that confidence when they were shocked by the secret of the Dragon Scroll and Tai Lung's brutal beatdown of Master Shifu. The final fight between Tai Lung and Po was one that took their breath away, and they watched in awe as Po used everything that he had learned to challenge and battle Tai Lung. All of them cheered as Po defeated Tai Lung with the Wuxi Finger Hold and was finally recognized by the Furious Five and the Valley of Peace as the true Dragon Warrior, signaling the end of the movie.

" _That was a surprisingly deep movie,"_ Charlie commented as her eyelights twinkled appreciatively. _"The secret of the dragon scroll took me completely by surprise."_

" _Not to mention the fact that it was TOTALLY AWESOME!"_ Fritz cheered. _"Po is such a badass!"_

" _I liked the Furious Five too!"_ Cassidy added with a silly grin. _"Especially Viper and Mantis!"_

" _Shifu and Tigress were kind of jerks though, weren't they?"_ Susie pointed out. _"I mean, they got better towards the end now that Tai Lung is dead, but still…"_

Alex shrugged as he took out the movie. "Don't worry guys," he promised, "they definitely will be in the second movie."

" _Man if only we'd seen this movie before we came here,"_ Jeremy lamented. _"I would have LOVED to dress up as one of those kung-fu masters!"_

" _There's always next Halloween,"_ Gabe replied as he got to his feet. _"But speaking of Halloween…"_

"That's right!" Ryan interrupted as he poked his head through the door. "It's 8 o'clock now! Ready to get going?"

"YEP!" everyone chorused as they got to their feet. All the ghosts faded from view, and it was only thanks to the mental link that Alex and Meghan could feel their presences around them now.

"Perfect," he grinned. "Mike and I are ready to go, so let's get to it!"

Alex, Meghan, Charlie, and the ghosts all followed Mike and the Marshall parents out through the door and into the neighborhood. By now, night had fallen, but they could still see several houselights and other groups of kids wandering around the neighborhood. The three adults hung back as the kids approached one of the first houses of the night, one with a jack o'-lantern on its porch. Alex knocked on the door and it opened to reveal a young woman dressed in a devil costume.

"Trick or treat!" Alex, Meghan, and Charlie all yelled cheerfully as the woman laughed.

"I've got just the thing you want!" she answered as she took out some small chocolate bars and handed them to each person. "Have a good night, kids!"

"Bye!" they all waved as she shut the door. "All right, Snickers!" Alex commented as he looked at what she had given them. "One of my favorites!"

"I got Milky Way, I'm cool with that!" Meghan replied.

Charlie took out the chocolate bar she had gotten. _"Since I literally can't eat this, do you want it? If you don't, I'll give it to dad later."_

Alex grinned. "I will happily say yes to more candy!" he laughed as Charlie gave him the bar.

" _I'll make sure Meghan gets the next one,"_ she promised. _"Are you guys doing all right?"_ she asked the other ghosts.

" _We're good!"_ Liz answered back. _"Can't wait to see what kinds of candy you guys get!"_

" _Are you sure you're okay?"_ Charlie pressed worriedly. _"You sure not being able to actually trick-or-treat isn't bothering you?"_

" _We're fine, Charlie,"_ Gabe firmly assured her. _"We've been through a lot worse."_ The way he said that made both Marshalls shudder, and they shared a look of agreement that the subject needed to be changed right now.

"So THAT'S your name?" Meghan decided to ask. "Charlie? Wasn't it Mary?"

"Mary was just a name Dad gave me for a while, and I stuck it with as a joke," Charlie explained as her eyelights twinkled. "Dad didn't realize I had a real name for more than a year." She looked over at Mike and waved at him as he visibly rolled his eyes.

" _These houses aren't going to trick-or-treat themselves, you know,"_ Jeremy commented as he saw another group of trick-or-treaters pass by.

"Yeah, you're right," Alex agreed. "Let's pick up the pace or all the good things will be gone!"

For the next hour or so, the group of friends walked around the neighborhood and various streets, stopping by every house that had a car or had lights on inside. Sometimes, what they found was disappointing, only a single Life Saver or gum. Other times, they hit a nice load of candy or chocolate, possibly even a full bar as the Halloween jackpot. Alex and Meghan were always particularly excited whenever they got one of these, and Charlie started saving those herself to give to Mike later on once the night was done.

To keep the other ghosts from getting bored or jealous, the Marshalls talked to them frequently through their mental link. The ghosts welcomed the conversation, and after a conversation about movies and books the topic soon turned to what the ghosts' new life was like so far.

" _Things are going great!"_ Cassidy exclaimed as they started walking to another street. _"Mike took us to the mall a few weeks ago to pick out some clothes, so that we could practice changing our appearance. That's how we learned how to put on Halloween costumes."_

" _You have no idea how much it sucks to wear the same clothes over and over,"_ Fritz added through his ninja mask. _"Heck, even I get tired of pirate stuff eventually. Also, thank God I don't need to breathe cause otherwise this mask would be killing me."_

"Has your dad taken you out anywhere else?" Meghan asked. "Besides our house and the mall?"

Charlie shook her head. _"Not really,"_ she admitted, saying this part out loud. _"there's only so many places we can go to right now, and the only thing we can really do there is just watch stuff happen."_

"Eh, it'll work out eventually," Alex said confidently. "From what I've seen of your dad and from all the things Dad said about him, he's got his shit together like nobody else."

"Alex!" Stella immediately scolded him. "Language!"

Every single one of the kids burst out laughing at that. "We're about to hit another house," Meghan pointed out as she, Alex, and Charlie approached. Upon ringing the doorbell, the door swung open to reveal a young man wearing a Darth Vader costume. "Trick or treat!" they shouted the now-familiar phrase.

The man grinned. "You guys lucked out, I bought a full box of standard-size M&M packs and you three got the last ones." He handed them one of them each to the kids. As Charlie reached out towards hers, the man's brow suddenly furrowed.

"Those arms…" he murmured. "I could have sworn I've seen them somewhere. That striped pattern and those long fingers? Why are your arms like that?"

Charlie immediately tensed. _"It's a costume within a costume,"_ she explained nervously, hoping that the man would drop the subject.

Unfortunately, he didn't. "Would you mind lifting up your hood?" he asked. "I'm kind of curious to see what your second costume is." By now, Alex and Meghan were exchanging panicked glances. They didn't know what the man's reaction would be when he discovered the living Marionette underneath the Grim Reaper costume, but they doubted that it would be much better than him discovering the existence of the ghosts floating around them. The other ghosts were also freaking out – they were in for a world of trouble once Charlie was revealed, especially if the man recognized the Marionette as being from the Freddy Fazbear franchise.

It was Mike who suddenly saved the day. "Hey!" he shouted as he stepped forward aggressively. "Are you harassing my daughter?"

The man looked up in shock. "Uh…no, sir," he answered, stupefied. Then, he shook his head in exasperation. "God, what is wrong with me?" he muttered. "Asking to look through someone else's costume like that. Jesus, I sound like a freaking stalker…"

"I'll forget this happened if you do," Mike offered tersely, and the man was all too happy to agree. He shut the door behind them and guided the kids back out into the open street.

" _God, that was close one,"_ Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. _"Things could've gotten really bad if people discovered what I was. How did he even recognize the Marionette's arms?"_

Mike shrugged. "Who can say?" he replied as he and the Marshall parents fell back a bit to give their kids some time to themselves. "Maybe it was somebody who used to go to the 1987 Freddy's as a kid."

" _That was one fright we didn't need,"_ Susie said as she fidgeted with her costume a bit.

" _Speaking of frights…"_ Fritz's face slowly spread into a mischievous grin that was all too familiar to the other ghosts.

" _What are you thinking, Fritz?"_ Gabe asked warily.

" _We might not be able to treat, but we still might be able to trick!"_ he eagerly explained. _"We could go around, creeping out a couple of other people just for a little bit of fun!"_

" _This already sounds like it could go horribly wrong,"_ Susie challenged. _"I thought the whole point of us being invisible was NOT to reveal ourselves?"_

" _We wouldn't do anything serious or big!"_ Fritz insisted. _"Just a tiny little prank like whispering in people's ears or something."_ He looked around at found a kid walking around in an Iron Man costume. _"Like that guy over there!"_

Jeremy was about to continue the argument against Fritz, when suddenly his eyes narrowed. _"Something's wrong,"_ he muttered.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

" _Look over there,"_ he pointed at the woods near the houses. _"That man…something about him seems off."_

By now, Meghan had noticed the man in the woods too. "Yeah, you're right," she murmured. "Why is there a man just hiding in the trees like that?"

"He could be just trying to jump-scare the next group of kids that come his way," Alex suggested, but even as the words left his mouth he didn't believe them.

Charlie's eyes flickered as she concentrated on the man. Then, underneath her cloak, they flashed angrily. _"It's much worse than that,"_ she growled. _"He's trying to kidnap the next kid that comes along his way!"_

If Alex and Meghan weren't caught up in their own anger, they would have been disturbed by the aura of rage that the ghosts were emanating. "Son of a bitch," Alex snarled under his breath. "What do we do?"

"Should we tell mom, dad, and Mr. Schmidt?" Meghan asked, clearly worried. They were still talking in the back and so far it seemed they hadn't noticed either the mystery man or anything that was off with the kids.

" _Definitely not!"_ Cassidy answered quietly but frantically. _"If he's got a weapon or something, then our parents could get hurt!"_

Liz's eyes narrowed as an idea suddenly entered her mind. _"I'LL deal with this,"_ she declared. Then, the Marshall kids suddenly felt her presence vanish from next to them.

" _Don't stare at that man for too long,"_ Charlie warned. _"If you get his attention then he'll either come after you or move to a different location."_

With great difficulty, Alex and Meghan managed to turn their gaze away from the potential kidnapper. "I hope your sister's gonna be all right," Alex muttered.

" _Don't you worry,"_ Fritz replied with a grin. _"She's got this locked down."_

/

The would-be kidnapper watched the three kids talk in the distance. For a moment, he'd thought that they'd recognized him for what he was, but once they looked away he relaxed. It was probably just a coincidence. It's not like he could try and kidnap them anyway, there were three of them and their parents were only a few feet away.

Suddenly, he felt a chill in the air around him and shivers tingle down his spine. _"What are you doing?"_ the voice of a young girl whispered into his right ear. The man whirled around, but there was nobody there. The nervousness that he had felt earlier was beginning to evolve into genuine fear. _"Did I catch you off guard?"_ This time, it whispered into his left ear. _"You should have known I would find you,"_ the voice echoed, and this time it had taken on an undercurrent of hostility.

By now, the man was outright panicking as he desperately searched around, trying to find whoever it was that was taunting him. _"You aren't welcome here."_ His eyes suddenly came across a hulking figure buried in the shadows. It looked vaguely like a girl, but it was far larger. And even though he couldn't make out any details in the darkness, there was something about that girl-like thing that felt terribly and inherently wrong.

Green lights suddenly flickered on in the figure's eyes, then flashed brightly. The man screamed as he saw the monstrous clown-like face in front of him. His fear only increased when he realized that, despite the seeming impossibility, he was staring straight at a _ghostly robot._ _"Get, Out,"_ she hissed, and for a second, neither of them moved. Then, Scrap Baby let out a screeching mechanical roar and lunged at him. The man's eyes widened in horror as Baby raised her wicked, razor-sharp claw and swung it towards his neck. He didn't know if the claw was simply intangible like all ghosts were or if it really would kill him despite it belonging to a ghost, and he wasn't going to stick around to find out. He ducked under Scrap Baby's claw and fled out of the trees and down the street, screaming something about demon robot clown ghosts with metal claws. _"And don't come back,"_ Liz thought as she turned back into her human form. Seconds later, she had rejoined her friends.

" _Good work,"_ Charlie said approvingly, and Liz only smiled faintly in return. She would always feel some shame about Scrap Baby, but for the first time since Mike had taken her to the old Freddy's locations, she didn't despise the animatronic's existence like she had used to.

" _From the looks of things, it doesn't like he'll be bothering any kids for a while,"_ Gabe added confidently as they all laughed.

" _Told you she could take care of it,"_ Fritz smirked at Alex, who could hear the smugness in his tone despite not being able to see him now.

"What _did_ you do, exactly?" Meghan asked curiously. "Whatever you did, it terrified the everloving crap out of him."

Liz's smile faded a bit. _"I'd…rather not talk about it,"_ she muttered.

The two Marshalls looked at each other and then shrugged. "All righty then," Meghan said after a few seconds. "Hopefully there aren't anymore kidnappers hiding out in our street. I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on my surroundings after this."

"Yeah, same," Alex agreed. He looked at his watch. "Oh, Jesus, it's already 9:30?" he gasped. "I'm surprised Dad hasn't told us to wrap things up already."

As if on cue, their father's voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Hey, kids?" Ryan called. "It's getting late. Let's wrap things up and head on home."

"Gotcha, dad!" Alex and Meghan both answered back as they turned to look at Charlie. "Are you guys all right with that?"

" _Whatever works for you,"_ Gabe shrugged. _"You're the one who's actually doing the trick-or-treating around here."_

" _Thanks for letting us come with you,"_ Susie smiled as she thanked them. _"This was the most fun I've had in a while!"_

"No problem!" Alex grinned. "It was a blast having you around. Hopefully your dad likes all the candy you got him."

" _You know, I honestly have no idea what kind of candy Dad likes,"_ Jeremy realized. _"Heck, I don't even know what kind of food he likes."_

Charlie opened her bag of candy and peered into it. Even with the ones she'd given to Alex and Meghan, there was still plenty of candy and chocolate left to give to Mike after they got back home. _"Well, we'll find out soon enough."_

 _An Hour Later, back at Mike's House_

"Geez!" Mike whistled as Charlie turned over her bag of candy and presented its contents to him. "That is a LOT of candy! This is gonna take me weeks if not months to go through! Hello, diabetes!"

" _Diabetes?"_ Gabe tilted his head curiously. _"What's that?"_

"A disease that you don't have to worry about and that I've tried my hardest to avoid," Mike explained succinctly as he picked up a Snickers. "So you guys wanted to know what kind of candy I like?" he shrugged. "Truth be told, I honestly don't have a problem with any candy. Or at the very least, if there's a candy that I don't like, I haven't come across it yet. Granted, I stick with brands that I'm familiar with so that might be why, but still." He was about to open the candy bar and eat it but then stopped. "Actually, that's not entirely true," he amended. "There's one candy I don't like. Black licorice. I heard it's an acquired taste, but to me it always tasted like garbage." He picked up another candy piece and his face scrunched as he realized that he had picked up a Black Twizzlers. "Oh God dammit!" he complained as the ghosts burst out laughing.

" _Bad luck, dad!"_ Jeremy commented as Mike deftly tossed the candy into the trash.

"Anyway," the man continued, "I hope you had a lot of fun tonight, even if you couldn't actually go trick-or-treating."

" _We did trick-or-treat, dad! Actually, we tricked AND treated."_ Susie corrected as she smiled at her father, who by now was eating one of the Snickers bars. _"Hanging around with Alex and Meghan and watching Kung-Fu Panda was one of the best treats ever!"_

"Kung-Fu Panda is an amazing movie," he praised once he was done eating. "I'll show you the second and third movies soon. But what was the trick you guys did?"

Fritz grinned and pointed at Liz. _"Actually dad, that was all Liz. Your time to shine, sis!"_

Liz gave him a thumbs up as she floated closer to her father. _"Well let me tell you, dad…"_ she began as Mike leaned back into his couch. The way she was smiling right now, he knew he was in for quite the story.

/

A/N: And that's it for this chapter! Figured a Halloween chapter was in order since the story was happening in late October. One that was mostly light and friendly with just a tinge of darkness. I was not waiting 5-6 months til Halloween actually came around in order for another chapter to happen, lol.

Liz was NOT actually going to kill the would-be kidnapper with Scrap Baby's claw, she only intended to scare him off. She can still be invisible and/or intangible even as Scrap Baby, it's just that when she DOES choose to interact with the physical world, her "physical strength" is higher than the rest of the ghosts. And using the form of one of FNAF's most terrifying animatronics is a great way to scare the everloving crap out of someone, especially when you add being a ghost to the equation.

Oh, and final note: Kung-Fu Panda is an absolutely amazing movie and one of my favorite animated movies ever, possibly even my most favorite animated movie. It manages to avoid the increasingly common pitfall of Sequelitis and I would highly recommend watching all three movies.

It's my birthday on Sunday, so any favs/follows/reviews would make for great birthday presents! :D Nah I'm just kidding, hope you guys enjoyed!


	38. Chapter 38 - Misc Family Moments 1

A/N: A/N: Thanks for all the birthday wishes guys! I had a great time! I was originally gonna wait until late Thursday or Friday like I normally do, but it turns out I had NOTHING to do in the past few days that interested me, so I ended up writing an early chapter instead! (remember when I sometimes posted two times per week? Heh heh heh...sigh...)

Just in case you didn't see the update on this last chapter, some new information has heavily implied that the name of the ghost child in Golden Freddy is named Cassidy, so I've gone through all the chapters and replaced the name Rachel with Cassidy. They're still the same character, though. Just so you don't get confused.

I was originally gonna write a Thanksgiving chapter, but my muse just wasn't singing and to be honest I just wasn't feeling it. So instead, have a couple of miscellaneous moments with the family! There's no set genre for any of them – they could be funny, sad, heartwarming, even philosophical if I really feel like it. These are the kinds of chapters I'm going to write if I'm suffering from Writer's Block or if I don't have the time to write longer or more plot-relevant/plot advancement chapters. Even though they will have minimal to no plot advancement, I hope you enjoy them regardless!

Still on the fence over whether the next chapter will be in late November or December.

Rebiele: I'm not entirely sure, but for now the answer is no. Liz can only turn into Scrap Baby.

Blooper: I'm sorry to hear about your childhood. I hope you're doing better now. And thank you for your kind and detailed reviews on my fic!

Chapter 38 – Misc. Family Moments 1

Impromptu Alarm Clock

Cassidy looked impatiently at the clock on her laptop. _"Where is dad?"_ she asked the other ghosts.

Fritz shrugged as he sent a PM to Alex. _"Still asleep, probably,"_ he answered.

" _He was going to read the last Harry Potter book to us today!"_ she complained. _"He promised he'd do it as soon as he woke up!"_

" _Well, he's probably just sleeping in a bit,"_ Jeremy replied. _"Nothing wrong with that."_

" _It's 10:30 AM, though,"_ Cassidy pointed out. _"I wouldn't mind waiting a bit to give him some time to sleep in, but two and a half hours?"_

" _Cassidy does have a point,"_ Susie admitted. _"Especially when he outright promised to do something for us."_

The sound of Pop Goes the Weasel interrupted their conversation and Charlie floated into the living room. _"Well,"_ Charlie reported, sounding rather annoyed, _"the only response he gave when I asked him to wake up was, and I quote, I can't be fucked to get up right now. Which is the exact same answer he gave me two hours ago."_

" _That's…not a good reason at all,"_ Gabe commented dryly.

" _Hey guys,"_ Liz's voice called out tiredly as she floated into the living room. _"What's up?"_

" _Dad promised to read Harry Potter 7 to us but he just won't wake up!"_ Cassidy explained with a frustrated sigh. _"He's such a good reader, and I was so looking forward to seeing how Harry finds the Horcruxes and beats Voldemort!"_

" _Is his alarm clock broken or something?"_ Liz questioned.

Charlie was about to respond, but she suddenly went still before saying anything. A calculating glint suddenly entered her eyelights, and all the ghosts except Liz immediately stopped what they were doing.

" _That look…"_ Gabe muttered. _"Oh God..."_

" _What?"_ Liz asked blankly. _"What look? What's going on?"_

" _Hey, Liz!"_ Charlie suddenly floated up to her and greeted her in a sickeningly sweet voice that even the orange-haired girl could tell was bad news. _"How're you doing? You are JUST the person I wanted to talk to. Would you mind doing a teeny, tiny favor for me?"_

Liz looked around at the other ghosts, but the looks on their faces made it very clear that they were in no position to help her. _"Uh…"_

" _Great!"_ Charlie continued as though he hadn't heard her as she wrapped an arm around Liz's shoulder. _"Let me tell you what I need you to do."_

/

" _Daddy?"_

"Zzzz…hnrgh…hnrgh…go away…"

" _Daddy…"_ Liz called at him again. _"Can I ask you something?"_

"Hnrrgghh…what…"

" _I'm trying a new look, dad. Could you please tell me what you think?"_

"Urrrggghhh…fine…" Mike blearily rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them.

Scrap Baby's face stared right back at him.

For several seconds, there was utter silence. Then…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Mike nearly leaped out of the bed as Charlie and the other ghosts entered the room and everyone, even Liz, collapsed into laughter. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

Charlie was the first to recover from her fit of mirth. _"You promised my brothers and sisters you'd read the last Harry Potter book this morning,"_ she reminded him. _"And besides,"_ she added smugly, _"consider it payback for changing my music box tune to heavy metal."_

Mike groaned and palmed his face. "All right, all right, I'm up," he grumbled as he got to his feet. "I'll be down in a second." The ghosts started chattering excitedly as they left the room one at a time. Soon, only Charlie was left. "Oh, and Charlie?"

" _Yes, dad?"_ she replied in a tone that oozed fake innocence.

"Next time just use a regular alarm clock, please."

Fritz the "Chef"

" _What exactly are you doing, Fritz?"_ Jeremy asked as he watched his brother take out various types of food from the refrigerator.

" _I'm gonna make lunch for dad!"_ Fritz declared proudly as he started cracking open some eggs. _"Figured if the girls could make something for him, I can do it too!"_

The former Bonnie inhabitant gave him an unimpressed look. _"Yeah, but they actually have experience with this sort of thing,"_ he challenged. _"Susie was the only one out of all of us who actually went into the kitchen to make food when she wasn't doing…you know."_

Fritz shrugged and gave his brother a confident grin. _"Oh come on, man, how hard can it be?"_

 _Ten Minutes Later…_

" _Fritz, that is way too much soy sauce to put into a single pan."_

" _It's just a little extra sauce, Jeremy, it's no big deal."_

" _I'm pretty sure you're supposed to peel the potato first before you start cooking it."_

" _It'll be fine, Jeremy."_

" _Why the hell did you pour raw rice into the freaking pan, Fritz? Even I can tell that's not right!"_

" _Look, I've got this, Jeremy. It'll all turn out just fine when I finish up."_

" _Is that_ _ **fish bones and pork grease**_ _inside the pan?"_

" _For the love of God, Jeremy, shut up!"_

 _Five Minutes Later…_

Mike stared at the contents of the pan along with the rest of the ghost kids, Fritz standing sheepishly next to his "creation." The "meal" that he had tried to create was a greenish-brown sludge with bits of fish bones, scales, and bits of grease floating at the top. Whatever food Fritz had started with to make his meal attempt was completely unrecognizable, save for the parts that no sane person would ever want to eat.

"Well, Fritz…" Mike began after he had finally recovered his wits. "This is…this is, uh…"

" _A complete disaster,"_ Gabe finished. He usually tried to be nice to his siblings, but with a failure this colossal there was just no way to sugarcoat the truth.

Cassidy inched towards the pan and sniffed it out of some morbid curiosity. Almost instantly, she began to retch in disgust. _"This smells worse than our bodies did after we died!"_ she complained.

" _I vote we ban Fritz from the kitchen until he learns how to make things that aren't total garbage,"_ Susie suggested with much less gentleness than she usually displayed towards her siblings. Cooking was one of her passions even after her death and resurrection as Chica, and seeing Fritz's abomination of a meal was outright insulting to her.

" _Sorry Fritz, but I have to agree with Susie,"_ Liz admitted. _"This is just…not okay."_

" _Aww come on, guys…"_

Charlie took up the pan of sludge in her hand and gave tilted it towards Fritz to give him a closer look. _"Would YOU eat this?"_ she asked in a flat tone.

Fritz crossed his arms and pouted. _"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine…"_

New Tunes for an Old Box

" _All right, you know what, I've had it!"_ Susie suddenly declared as she tossed her game controller aside.

" _What the…?"_ Fritz spluttered. Susie had always been a rather quiet girl and she would've been one of the last people he expected to lose her temper like this. _"What's blown your fuse?"_

" _I can't take it anymore!"_ she pointed at Charlie's music box. _"If I have to hear Grandfather's Clock go off one more time I'm going to explode!"_

Jeremy was about to speak, but Susie cut him off. _"Don't you feel the same way?"_ she ranted. _"Don't you get tired of hearing that music play over and over again? Every single time Charlie goes to sleep in that box, it's always the same freaking tune!"_

" _Well, that tune was designed to keep the Marionette pacified,"_ Gabe tried to rationalize it. _"It had to keep playing while the music box was wound up, otherwise Charlie would have killed a lot more people than she actually had."_

Susie shook her head. _"I'm not accepting that as an excuse, Gabe. That might have been true back then, but Charlie's dad got rid of the mechanism so there's literally no reason why she needs to keep listening to it!"_

" _As much as I don't want to do anything to annoy Charlie, I have to admit that Susie has a good point,"_ Liz admitted. _"There's so many different songs that box could play, some of them even remade to sound like a music box. It would be nice to listen to something different once in a while."_

" _What's that about my music box?"_ Charlie asked groggily as she opened the lids and peered out, having just woken up from a nap.

" _Can we please change your music box tune to something different?"_ Susie pleaded after she forced herself to calm down. _"Not everyone in this house likes listening to Grandfather's Clock when you're taking a nap, you know."_

" _Couldn't we just move the music box downstairs?"_ Charlie countered.

" _And what if someone is using the TV or video game consoles downstairs?"_ Susie challenged. _"Look, we're not asking you to change it to something crazy like heavy metal or something like that."_

" _Good,"_ Charlie folded her arms petulantly. _"I don't need to have my nonexistent ears destroyed every time I try to climb into my box."_

 _Just…ANYTHING different,"_ the former Chica inhabitant finished. _"You seriously can't be telling me that Grandfather's Clock is the ONLY thing you want to listen to. Besides, depending on what songs you pick, we might actually enjoy listening to that music box play. Just, pick something different, please, before I go insane."_

Charlie groaned. _"All right, fine,"_ she gave in. _"Bring dad in and we'll see what he can do. But I swear to God, if he changes it to heavy metal again I'm going to play Grandfather's Clock at max volume for an entire week."_

 _A few moments later…_

" _Promise me you won't change my music box tune to something loud and obnoxious,"_ Charlie glared straight into Mike's eyes. _"I still haven't forgotten that one time."_

Mike lifted his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right, I promise I won't change your music box tune into anything loud and obnoxious," he grumbled. "I still say that was a good prank though."

" _For you, maybe,"_ Charlie muttered, although the stifled laughs from all the other ghosts made it clear that her father wasn't the only one who had liked his little trick. _"Just get on with it, please."_

Mike nodded and took a closer look at the music box's mechanisms. "Well, let's see what other jingles we can add to this trinket." Charlie and the other ghosts watched as he took out his laptop and began scanning through his iTunes. It took him only a few minutes to find three other songs that he liked and upload them into the music box."

"The joys of modern technology," he commented once he was done. "The old mechanism for this thing is so old it's a useless hunk of junk, but these days it's so easy to remake the old with the tools of the new."

" _Is that what you did back at the place you used to work at?"_ Liz asked curiously.

Mike chuckled. "I did all sorts of shit at Eisensteel, Liz," he replied as he got up. "All right, guys! I've picked a few tunes for Charlie to listen to that won't piss the rest us off with their sheer repetitiveness."

" _Only a few?"_ Cassidy asked.

"I didn't really think we'd be adding that many tunes to this thing so I only designed it to have only a few songs at most," Mike explained. "Anyway, let's see what you guys think."

He clicked a button, and the music box tune began to play a song different from Grandfather's Clock. Gabe's eyes widened as he recognized it. _"Hey!"_ he exclaimed. _"That's the Toreador March! It's the exact same tune I used to play when the power at the pizzeria ran out and…"_ he trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"How DO you do that anyway?" Mike asked. "I've always been curious how that worked, since it's tied to you and not Freddy the animatronic."

Gabe shrugged. _"I dunno, dad. I always just walked up and…"_ his eyes started glowing and the Toreador March began to play again, this time from the ghost.

"Huh, kind of a neat party trick. You should show that to the Marshalls or Melody sometime," Mike commented as he clicked on the button again. This time, none of the ghosts had heard the tune before, but many of them felt soothed and calmed by hearing it play.

 **[[A/N: It's the tune that plays at the end of FNAF 2 when you finish Night 5, Night 6, or Custom Night.]]**

" _It sounds relaxing,"_ Susie offered her input. _"I like it!"_

"Yeah, I kind of agree with that actually," Mike replied. "Granted, I didn't have any…uh, _experiences_ with this tune, unlike the one I just played." Gabe cringed and looked away. "But honestly, minus the whole Freddy correlation, I honestly don't mind the Toreador March tune all that much at all."

" _What's the last one?"_ Jeremy asked. Mike pressed the button one more time and the final tune played out.

 **[[A/N: Imagine FNAF 3's Good Ending theme, either a music box version or the normal theme itself. You know the one.]]**

Unlike the other songs, the ghosts remained silent for several moments after the theme ended. _"That…that was…"_ Gabe finally broke the voice.

" _So…peaceful…"_ Fritz finished for him, his voice unnaturally quiet and wistful. _"It sounded like freedom…freedom…and hope…"_

" _I can't remember the last time I heard something this beautiful,"_ Susie murmured, her earlier annoyance completely gone.

Charlie looked up at Mike. _"Where did you hear this, dad?"_

"It was something my mom once sung to me," Mike answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "Something that helped me go to sleep when I was young. I never found out what it was called, and it took me years to find it again after her death. If this is how you feel about it, I'm glad I could share it with you." He gently closed the lid and wordlessly left the room, buried in his thoughts and memories.

The ghosts stared silently at each other for several seconds. Then, Charlie reached into the music box and played the tune again. Maybe it was because the Marionette was no longer bound by programming, or maybe it was because she was trying to open her emotions up to her friends, however slowly. But there was something about Mike's final chosen song that gave her tranquility and peace far more than Grandfather's Clock ever could.

The Plans of God

 **[[A/N: Warning – the following short will contain Christian themes.]]**

" _Dad? Can I talk to you for a minute?"_

Mike looked up from the book he was reading. "Sure, Charlie, come on in."

The Puppet gave him a grateful nod as she closed the door behind her. She looked at the book Mike was reading and her eyelights lit up in surprise. _"Is that…the Bible?"_ she asked.

Mike bookmarked the page he was reading and closed the book shut. "It is," he confirmed. "I was technically a Christian from a young age since my parents and Oskar both were, but I never really gave a lot of thought to faith or spirituality until you guys came along." He chuckled dryly. "Between you guys and Nightmare, you've basically confirmed the existence of God, Heaven, and Hell. Kind of hard _not_ to think about spiritual stuff after that."

" _It's kind of an odd coincidence that you were reading it, actually,"_ Charlie commented. _"I actually wanted to ask you a question about God."_

"Oh?" Mike looked at her in surprise. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask this, but sure. What did you want to ask?"

Charlie looked around her quickly to make sure that none of the ghosts were eavesdropping, but she needn't have worried. Private father-to-child meetings weren't common, mainly because Mike almost never had a reason to divulge information exclusively, and even if he did the ghost kids were naturally curious and would often congregate in an area anyway. But there seemed to be an unspoken rule among the ghost kids that if Charlie wanted to privately talk to her father, none of them would ever intrude or eavesdrop in any way.

" _To be honest, dad…something about God has always bothered me,"_ Charlie confessed. _"God is supposed to be good, and for the most part everything He's done has fit that. He gave my friends a second chance to redeem themselves when He could have damned them to Hell instead, He brought all of us to you to create a family together, and He brought Liz to us when she needed that kind of family. Even your survival in Freddy's and the lottery ticket you had could almost be considered miraculous. I'm so thankful for all of this, and yet…"_

Mike leaned forward. "I'm listening."

" _Why did we have to go through all the tragedy that we did in the first place?"_ Charlie asked. _"Why did we have to be murdered at a young age, and why were we forced into our cursed existence in the first place? How could God let William Afton's evil happen?"_ She shook her head and gave a frustrated sigh. _"That's what I don't get."_

Mike opened his mouth and shut it again repeatedly. He had gotten to where he now was in life because of his ability to quickly come up with solutions to problems, and yet Charlie's question had completely thrown him off guard.

"I don't know," Mike admitted after several seconds of silent thought. "Heck, I don't think anybody could, at least not right away." He looked at the Bible laying on the desk again, then back at her. "Give me a day to think about this," he offered. "I may not have an answer for you now, but that doesn't mean I can't come up with one later."

" _Take your time, dad,"_ Charlie interrupted gently as she put her hand on his. _"I knew this wasn't going to be an easy question. You challenged a demon and won, I'm sure you can come up with the answer."_

Mike smiled back at her. "I'll do my best," he promised as the Puppet got up and left the room. He spent the rest of the day pondering that question, occasionally responding to the ghost kids but otherwise spending the day in silence. It wasn't until the next morning that Mike finally found an answer, and it wasn't until several hours afterwards that he felt fully prepared to give it to Charlie. As the rest of the kids left to play video games like they so often did, Mike beckoned to Charlie to follow him to the study so that they could continue where they had left off.

"I thought long and hard about what you asked me yesterday," Mike got straight to the point. "And there was only one answer that I could think of that makes any sort of sense."

" _That's better than what I could come up with,"_ Charlie answered as she sat down on the couch.

"Okay…" Mike took a deep breath before continuing. "I think…that the reason why God forced you through all of this…was to prepare you for something incredibly important that you'll be doing at some point in the future. Something you'd only be able to do as ghosts."

" _I…don't get it,"_ Charlie tilted her head.

"Well, it's generally accepted that souls don't normally stick around Earth after they die," Mike explained. "As a rule, they're forced to head straight to the afterlife and be judged pretty much immediately after death. But you guys are an exception to that rule. All the sins you committed were after your death, but you also felt remorse for those crimes too at some point. The normal rules of life and death don't apply to you, which means that God didn't have to follow those rules either. It was entirely up to Him where He wanted to send you, and He chose to send you here. Let's take away all the years of suffering for a second. As ghosts, you have some huge advantages compared to a normal, living person. You don't have to worry about death, you don't have to worry about pain unless something like Nightmare comes along, you can move wherever you want, you all have supernatural powers, the list goes on. In short, you're all capable of doing things that a regular person can only dream of, and I think that God wants you to do something big in the future with those abilities."

" _But…the most important thing we could possibly do. Isn't that…taking care of you?"_ Charlie asked after a few moments of hesitation. _"Being your family?"_

Mike shook his head. "I…honestly don't think so," he answered. "Don't get me wrong," he added quickly. "The days since you've come here have been the happiest in my entire life and I can't imagine life without you anymore, but it's not like my life would have been completely ruined if you hadn't come here. From an outsider's perspective, I'm doing incredibly well for myself. I have more money than most people could dream of having and a mansion for a home, and I have a small but dependable network of friends that I can rely on. Even without you, I would've…I don't know if I'd be happy, but I'd have enjoyed a comfortable style of living with very little to complain about overall."

Charlie slowly nodded as she realized what Mike was getting at. _"So…do you know what that future thing is?"_

Mike shrugged. "I don't have the faintest idea, Charlie. That's the thing with the future. You can try to predict it, you can try to influence it, but you have no idea what's gonna happen in the end. The closest thing I can give to a guess is that it's either doing a major act of good or stopping a major act of evil. That's all I can tell you."

" _So that explains why we're here as ghosts…"_ Charlie mused, _"but that doesn't explain why we had to suffer in those suits for years."_

Mike sighed. "Yeah, that was the harder question for me too," he admitted. "One possibility is because God _couldn't_ free you back when you were in the suits. Five of you were filled with murderous, vengeful rage for a long time. Even you were for a while. God can do a lot of things, but He can't or won't mess with free will. If He brought you to the afterlife while you were still murderous and hateful, He'd probably have to send you all to Hell. He couldn't do anything to free you until _after_ you started feeling remorse."

" _So He made us go through years of suffering to save us from an eternity of torment?"_ Charlie asked. _"Okay, that makes at least a little sense…but that still doesn't explain why He couldn't just free us immediately after that point, or why I or Liz had to go through what we did."_

Her father shrugged. "I can't answer to Liz or your first question, but you wanted to protect them no matter what, didn't you?" he replied. "But yeah, I'm not completely satisfied with that answer either. "I think a better answer goes back to what I said earlier about you and the rest of the kids' future."

He leaned back in his chair and took a drink of water before continuing. "It's one thing to be able to do something. It's another thing to have the personality and character to actually do it. Back when you were killing the night guards, did you have any reason besides wanting revenge on Afton?"

" _Yes,"_ Charlie answered firmly. _"We didn't want any other kid to suffer what we'd been through. I know we were wrong and that our logic doesn't make any sense looking back, but we did honestly believe that we were protecting the children who come to Fazbear's pizzeria by killing the guards."_

"Would any of you have felt that way if you hadn't been killed by Afton?"

Charlie shrugged. _"I doubt it, since nothing would have happened to…"_ her eye lights flashed in shock. _"OH."_

"It might have been twisted by your desire for revenge, but you all gained some positive characteristics because of what you went through," Mike explained. "Determination, resourcefulness, a desire to protect people you care about from harm, even a stronger understanding of justice and right once you broke through your vengeful feelings. Put these together, and you have the real makings of a hero in the works."

" _We haven't really done anything to deserve being called a hero,"_ Charlie muttered.

"Maybe not, but you can start," Mike said encouragingly. "Thanks to your experiences, every one of you has the characteristics to be heroes, along with the desire to do the right thing as part of your redemption. And unlike most people, you don't have limitations that will stop you because you're ghosts with supernatural powers."

" _And Liz?"_

"After being freed from Scrap Baby's and Afton's influence, the only difference between Liz and the rest of you is that her reasons for wanting to be better are different. But you and I both know that she's just as dedicated to doing the right thing now as anybody else in this family."

" _So you're saying that God made us go through those years of agony so that we could grow to one day become true heroes and do something really heroic as ghosts at some point in the future?"_ Charlie repeated. _"I'm still not sure how I feel about that."_

"Neither am I," Mike admitted, "but I can say this for sure. He didn't make you all suffer for no reason. And if I'm right, if that moment I talked about comes and you pull it off, all those years of pain and dread might be worth it in the end." He thought about Oskar and the lottery ticket he had found. "It was for me," he added to himself.

Charlie got up and floated over to her dad. _"I still might not understand completely, but I feel a lot better about this than I did before I talked to you,"_ she said as she wrapped her arms around her father in a hug. _"Thanks for taking the time to answer my question."_

"No problem, Charlie," Mike returned the hug. "I'm glad I could help." As Charlie let go of Mike and left the room, his expression turned pensive and he looked back at the Bible on his desk. "But if I am right, then I can't help but wonder…what does that future hold?"

/

A/N: Well this chapter was certainly all over the place, wasn't it? Two dumb blurbs, one blurb that starts dumb but ends with some sentimentality at the end, and a long philosophical discussion about God with a free helping of Mike-Charlie bonding that came out of nowhere. The first word is _miscellaneous_ for a reason, lol.

I don't intend to ever show God directly in this fic, but I do want to make it clear that He IS meant to be benevolent force. I think I've managed to portray that well for the most part, but I never addressed the biggest hurdle in the way of that theme: the fact that all the ghost kids had to go through their nightmare of pain and suffering in the first place. The last "short" was my attempt to take on that issue and provide an explanation as to why a good God would allow evil like William Afton's to happen in the first place. The answers Mike gave were the only ones that made any sense to me, and even then those answers are incomplete in nature and will very likely remain incomplete until whatever "future event" he talked about rolls around.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!


	39. Chapter 39 - Winter Wonders

A/N: Hey guys! I'm going to have a lot more going on in my summer vacation from late June to early July and I can't guarantee that I'll have time to write chapters. Maybe I'll be able to keep my regular update schedule of (at least) 1 chapter a week, maybe I won't be able to write for the next couple of weeks at all.

I have a couple of big plot advancement / lore exploration ideas that I'm juggling with, but I want to make sure that (a) I have the time to write them in the first place and (b) when I DO write them, I give them the time and thought that they deserve. I'm going to use this idea here instead since it won't require multiple chapters that could potentially be interrupted by my summer schedule. Hopefully you guys have fun with it regardless 😊

Guest: I do acknowledge that the books are an entirely different continuity from the games, but at the same time they do share a lot of elements, and I think it's entirely possible that the name of Golden Freddy's ghost could be one of those. Also, I didn't really think about the Mary-Charlie transition, since it's relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

Jacko: Yeah, there's no easy answer to this question, that's for sure.

Chapter 39 – Winter Wonders

" _Dad! Dad!"_ Cassidy grabbed at Mike and began trying to shake him. _"Wake up!"_

"What's up, Cass?" the man murmured sleepily.

" _It snowed!"_ the ghost girl pointed at the nearby window. _"It snowed last night! Look!"_

Mike's brain was still recovering from sleep and didn't properly process her words. "Say that again?"

" _Cass is right!"_ Jeremy phased through the wall in the room, a silly grin on his face. _"I can't believe it! It's actually snowing!"_

"Wait, what?" Mike shot out of bed and joined his two kids at the window. His eyes widened as he took in the surrounding landscape, which was covered in a white coat of snow. "What the crap?" he gaped. "It _never_ snows here!"

Cassidy laughed. _"I can't remember the last time I saw snow!"_

"Not just a weak little flurry, either!" Mike commented, shocked at what he was seeing. "Holy crap. I've NEVER seen snow this heavy in the forty plus years I've lived here. Hell, I've barely ever seen snow at all!" He shook his head in amazement. "Snowfall in Southern Utah, who would've fucking thought."

" _Can we go out and play in the snow, dad?"_ Jeremy asked eagerly.

"Get all the kids down in the living room and we'll take things from there," Mike instructed. Both Cassidy and Jeremy acknowledged the order and left to gather the rest of the family. Mike quickly freshened up and climbed down the stairs to the living room, where the rest of the ghosts were already waiting.

"So…" Mike began as he sat down, "there were always one of two things that I did on winter-y days like this, depending on the level of snow, my mood, and how healthy I was feeling at the time. The first thing was just sit around in my house, wrapped up in my blankets like a couch potato, and basically watch TV and video games all day."

He was interrupted by several boos. _"That's boring!"_ Gabe complained. _"We've been doing that for months!"_

" _Yeah, dad!"_ Liz added with a frown. _"That sounds like such a waste!"_

" _Boooooo!"_ Fritz made a thumbs-down gesture. _"Boooo!'_

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Mike agreed. "If I was sick or heavy snow was still falling I'd have an excuse for that, but it seems to have stopped during the night and I'm just fine right now. So hunkering inside the house would just be more of the fucking same. Which leaves option number 2, which I think you guys will like a lot more." The kids leaned forward eagerly. "We go outside and have some wintery fun. Snowmen, snowball fights, sledding, all that fun stuff. What do you guys think?"

" _LET'S DO IT!"_ the ghosts shouted.

"Thought you'd say that," Mike smirked. "Let me just get some winter gear on and then we can go out and have some fun." The ghosts cheered as Mike got up to change. When he came back down, he was wearing a heavy brown winter coat and black winter pants that covered the entirety of his body between the two of them. "All right, I haven't done this in a while, so let's take things a bit easy."

" _Sure thing, dad!"_ Susie replied as they made their way to the kitchen and the door leading out to the backyard. She eagerly slid it open…and was immediately blasted by a huge wave of icy cold air. _"Eeeeeeeeek!"_ she shrieked as she slammed the door shut. _"It's cold!"_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I didn't think you'd actually have to deal with the issue of weather as ghosts."

" _Well, we're still wearing clothes, aren't we?"_ Jeremy pointed out. _"And while we might not be harmed by very high or low temperatures, that doesn't mean we can't feel them."_

"Fair enough," Mike agreed, then he sighed. "All right, let me get some of my spare winter clothes out and you can do your little transformation thingy from there." He palmed his face. "Almost half a year with these kids and I still have no fucking idea how ghosts work," he muttered. A few minutes later, the kids had all "dressed" themselves in various winter clothes of different sizes and colors. Mike still didn't know how these ghostly clothes would help insulate his kids against the weather, but when Susie opened the door a second time she was much less drastically affected by the cold. Mike put on some snow boots and stumbled out the door, his children following close behind.

" _It's sooooo pretty…"_ Susie gushed.

" _It's like that night when we saw the sky together,"_ Gabe added with a wistful smile.

" _I could just lie down in this forever,"_ Liz murmured.

" _It would almost be a shame to ruin the look,"_ Fritz commented. _"Too bad we're gonna have to if we want have any fun in this."_

"Not that I'm an expert at this, but I think the snow's the right consistency at least," Mike tested it experimentally with a few stomps. "Good for making snowmen and snowball fights. I'm not sure if I'd ride on it for sledding if I was a living person, but you guys are ghosts so getting hurt won't be an issue. So…what do you guys want to do first?"

" _Make a snowman!"_ Cassidy immediately exclaimed.

" _Screw that, I want to have a snowball fight!"_ Fritz countered.

" _Why can't we go sledding first?"_ Jeremy challenged.

"You guys do realize you don't have to do all this at the same time," Mike interrupted. "It's not like the house where there's just one TV."

The ghosts looked at each other sheepishly as they realized their dad was right. _"All right, then,"_ Charlie addressed her friends. _"What do you guys want to do first?"_

 _A few minutes later…_

" _Urrggghhh, this is actually really hard!"_ Gabe grumbled as he tried to roll a snowball large enough to make the base of a snowman out of. Even though Mike had told him that the snow was the right consistency for making a snowman, it kept falling apart before he could make a snow ball of the right size.

" _Don't give up!"_ Cassidy encouraged him as she rolled a somewhat smaller snowball. Unlike Gabe's attempts, this one actually stuck together the way she wanted it to and would make an excellent upper body for the snowman. _"You can do it!"_

Gabe grunted as he gave it one last shot. To his surprise and relief, he finally managed to create a snowball large enough that _didn't_ crumble apart a few seconds after he had made it. _"Oh, thank God!"_ he declared. _"Finally it worked out! Took way too damn long…"_

" _See?"_ Cassidy giggled. _"If I could do it, so could you!"_

Gabe shrugged as he finally pushed the snowball up to where Cassidy's smaller one was waiting. _"Ready?"_ he asked. When his sister nodded in confirmation, they lifted the smaller snowball together and placed it on top of the large one he had created. With the two big ones out of the way, it was a simple matter for them to create a small snowball head and plop it on top of the upper body ball, creating a distinct snowman shape. Gabe and Cassidy grinned at each other as they studied their handiwork.

" _Alright, got the other things ready?"_ Gabe asked. Cassidy nodded and picked up a couple of buttons, raisins, and two branches. She gave half of them to her brother and they started placing buttons and raisins on the snowman. Gabe placed several buttons on the snowman's bellies in a vertical line while Cassidy put two buttons for eyes and raisins on the snowman's face to give him a smile. Once they were done creating the details of the snowman, Gabe took the two branches his sister had given him and pushed them into either side of their creation's body to give him the semblance of arms.

" _And now, for the final touch!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. She took the carrot and carefully inserted it onto the snowman's face, while Gabe bestowed the top hat onto the snowman's head. _"We're done!"_

The two of them floated back a few inches to properly study their creation. _"You know…"_ Gabe finally said after a few seconds. _"Considering that this is our first try and the first time we've ever even seen snow…all in all, I don't think we did a half bad job here!"_

" _Yeah!"_ Cassidy agreed as she held her brother's hand. _"I don't think we could have done much better than this!"_

" _Maybe we could get Charlie to give this snowman life too?"_ the former Freddy inhabitant joked.

" _Oh, God no! Especially not if it turns out like that one Calvin and Hobbes comic I stumbled across in Dad's library,"_ Cassidy shuddered. _"That would be a disaster."_ She suddenly looked around and noticed that Mike and Charlie were nowhere to be found. _"Speaking of which, where are Dad and Charlie?"_ she asked.

" _They're out in the front,"_ Gabe explained. _"Dad's gonna try and shovel some snow out of the driveway."_

Cassidy started at his answer. _"Just the two of them?"_ she asked, concern in her voice. _"Are they gonna be okay taking care of all that snow?"_

Gabe shrugged. _"Eh, it's not like Dad's weak or an old man,"_ he replied. _"I'm sure they'll be fine."_

 _Meanwhile at the Front…_

"Oh, you have got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Mike's shout of frustration echoed into the gray sky. The entire driveway had been covered by inches of thick snow, which was already bad enough. But the real problem was that a huge chunk of that snow had fallen off the roof of his workshop…right in front of the only door. "Just look at this mess!"

Charlie pat her father's shoulder sympathetically. _"Sorry, dad. Guess everyone gets hit with bad luck eventually. What do you want us to do? Do you want me to get the others to help you snow shovel?"_

Mike shook his head. "Nah," he replied. "I'm not going to ruin their fun. The way I see it, I've got two choices." He picked up his phone and quickly checked the weather. The forecast for tomorrow was supposed to be sunny, but given how snow had fallen today he had serious doubts about the accuracy of that prediction. "Either wait for a few days and hope the snow melts by then, or just get to work clearing all this shit out." He groaned and buried his face in his hand. "Except both options suck ass."

Charlie sighed. _"I know this doesn't help you at all, but the sooner you get started the sooner it'll all get cleared out."_

Mike's eyes suddenly caught a hulking shape of a snow plow truck coming up the driveway. "Actually, you know what. Fuck this." He waddled over to the snow plow truck as Charlie hid in the shadows of the house to avoid being seen in detail. She watched Mike talk to the driver, and her eyelights flickered in shock as Mike suddenly swung the gate open and waddled back to Charlie as the snow plow started digging away the snow in front of the house.

" _What did you just…?"_ Charlie asked blankly.

"I offered the guy five hundred dollars to clean out the road in front of my house and all the snow in front of the garage," Mike explained with a satisfied smirk. "200 now and 300 on completion."

" _Must be a nice feeling when five hundred dollars is your definition of chump change,"_ Charlie deadpanned.

Mike's smirk grew as he watched the plow do its job. "This is gonna make me sound like such an asshole, but I'll say it anyway. God, I love being rich."

 _Beyond the Backyard…_

" _Ready to try this out, Liz?"_ Jeremy asked as he plopped the plastic sled on the top of a hill just beyond Mike's backyard wall. He and Liz had decided to test out Fritz's "short-range" anchoring to see if they could follow the movement of a sled down the hill and essentially "ride it." Both kids were eager to carry out the experiment because the implications spread far beyond a simple sleigh ride if they managed to succeed.

" _We won't get anywhere until we try,"_ she replied. _"Let me test it at this length, and…"_ she got on the sled (relatively speaking) and gave it a push forward. The two ghosts gave disappointed sighs as the sled slid out from under her and down the hill. It wasn't until seconds later that Liz began to feel the tug of the anchor pull at her soul, and she quickly severed it so that she wasn't dragged down the hill along with the sled against her will. _"Dang it…not close enough,"_ she muttered.

" _Let me give it a shot,"_ Jeremy replied. Liz nodded at him and began moving down the hill to recollect her sled as he tried to give it a go. His attempt to anchor himself to the sled was more successful than Liz's since there was less time between the sled's movement and his, but it was still an overall failure in terms of getting the effects they wanted to achieve.

" _No luck, huh?"_ Liz asked sympathetically once she was back at the top. _"It's been so long since we've been in dad's car that I've kind of forgotten how to anchor myself properly."_

" _Maybe we're overthinking this,"_ Jeremy realized. _"I mean, anchoring ourselves to the car has been working out pretty well for us, right? Maybe all we need to do is just the same thing, only a little tighter on the range since the sled's smaller."_

Liz raised an eyebrow. _"Can't be that simple, can it?"_ she asked. Nevertheless, she took her brother's advice and anchored herself in the way that he had suggested. Once she was on top of the sled, she gave the back a push like she had done before. To her surprise and delight, she and the sled began to move at the same time as each other and, more importantly, the _same speed_. Liz screamed in joy as she slid down the hill as effectively as any ghost possibly could, exulting in the exhilaration of a sleigh ride for the first time in living memory. _"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"_ The sled stopped at the bottom of the hill and she rushed back up the hill, eager to start a second ride.

Jeremy grinned as she saw her approach with a huge smile on her face. _"Didn't I tell you?"_ he asked triumphantly. _"Sometimes, the simple solution is all it takes to solve the problem."_ He got on his own sled and pushed himself off the same way Liz had done, and the girl couldn't help but laugh as she heard his excited shouts echo as he slid down the hill. _"That was so exciting!"_ he declared as he floated back up the hill with his sled. _"I forgot just how much fun snow can be!"_

" _We've only got a part of the year to enjoy this,"_ Liz replied. _"Better make the most of it while can."_ She suddenly gave him a challenging look. _"Now the real question is…who's going to reach the bottom of the hill first between the two of us?"_

" _Are you challenging me to a race?"_ Jeremy asked as he met her gaze.

She smirked in response. _"What do you think, Jeremy?"_

" _No way you're going to beat me!"_ he declared. The two of them positioned themselves on their respective sleds and anchored themselves. _"Ready?"_

" _Three…two…one…"_

The two of them pushed themselves off the hill and the race began. _"WHEEEEEEEEEEE!"_

 _Back in the Backyard..._

" _Think this will be enough?"_ Susie asked as she made the finishing touches on her snow mound. Fritz eyed it critically for a few seconds before shaking his head.

" _Needs to be a little higher,"_ he decided. _"Right now you can barely duck under the top. Even a drunken monkey could throw a snowball over this."_

" _This is hard!"_ Susie complained as she started piling more snow onto the makeshift barrier. _"Now I see why Gabe was complaining so much while he was trying to make that snowman body."_

" _And dad said that this was the right kind of snow for this kind of thing,"_ Fritz commented as he started building up his own snow barrier. _"Just imagine how much of a pain this would be if it WASN'T the right kind of snow."_

" _Don't even think about it,"_ Susie shuddered as she and Fritz got back to work on their mounds. The two of them had decided to prepare defenses for the upcoming snowball fight they wanted to have, and both wanted to make sure that the mounds were just high enough that they could block snowballs effectively without being downright impenetrable. It wasn't after a few minutes that they were both satisfied with the work that they had done.

" _All right, I think we're…"_ she was suddenly interrupted as she caught something white in the corner of her eye. Realizing what it was, she ducked just in time for a snowball to come sailing past her head. _"WHAT THE HELL?"_ she shrieked.

Fritz grinned cockily as the remains of the snowball he had thrown fell from his hand. _"Almost gotcha, Sus!"_ he called out.

" _That wasn't fair!"_ the ghost girl complained. _"We weren't supposed to throw snowballs at each other until we both agreed we were ready!"_

The former Foxy inhabitant laughed. _"Come on, Sus. You know me. I couldn't resist getting in a cheap shot first. It's what I do! And besides,"_ he smirked, _"the look on your face was hilarious!"_

Susie's eyes blackened in dark voids and a surprisingly dark grin stretched across her own lips. _"Well, if THAT'S the way you want to play…"_ Her hands moved with surprising speed and now it was Fritz's turn to dodge a snowball aimed straight at his head.

" _I'm gonna hit you first!"_ he declared as he ducked behind the barrier he had made, while his sister did the same. For the next couple of seconds, the two of them tossed snowballs at each other, throwing a volley back and forth while successfully evading snowballs that either crashed into the barrier mounds or sailed uselessly past them in the open air. Susie laughed as she ducked a snowball with a trajectory that was painfully obvious even to a kid.

" _Ha!"_ she taunted as the snowball flew harmlessly next to her. _"Come on, Fritz, that was…"_

WHOOSH!

A snowball sailed right at her, too fast for her to dodge in time. Fritz had used the first snowball as a diversion to catch Susie off guard, and his plan had worked perfectly. The former Chica inhabitant could only watch as it flew through her body and into the snow beneath. Both she and Fritz stared at the ground where the snowball had landed.

" _Oh, right…"_ Fritz finally muttered after several seconds. _"We're ghosts. So that means…"_

"… _we can't actually get hit by snowballs,"_ Susie finished for him. She looked up at her brother. _"But you know what?"_ she grinned. _"Who cares? The fight was what really mattered. You might have gotten me once, but don't think you're gonna win again! Best two out of three!"_

Fritz smirked. _"Think my victory was a fluke, eh? I'll show you luck had nothing to do with it!"_ he bent down to pick up another snowball, only to have to duck behind the fort as Susie through a snowball where he had been standing seconds earlier. _"You're on!"_

/

Mike watched contentedly from a chair in his patio as he watched the ghost kids play out in the snow. As the minutes passed, they began to alternate what they were doing so that everyone had a chance to fully enjoy the unique activities that winter had to offer. Eventually, Gabe suggested that they all have a massive snowball fight together, 3v3, with Charlie as the ref. It was this fight that Mike was now witnessing.

" _Jeremy!"_ the Marionette called out to him. _"That snowball hit you, and it's your third time. That's it for you!"_

" _Aww come on, Charlie!"_ he complained. _"I didn't feel anything!"_

Charlie had to resist the urge to palm her face. _"Of course you can't, Jeremy, you're a ghost. Doesn't change the fact that the snowball flew right through your arm. You're out."_

Jeremy groaned but conceded defeat by dropping his snowball. By now, two members of each team had been knocked out, and it was down to Liz against Gabe.

" _Kick his ass, Liz!"_ Fritz cheered. _"Show him who's boss!"_

" _Don't you dare, Gabe!"_ Jeremy shot back. _"We need to win this!"_

The two opponents eyed each other warily as they tried to anticipate when the next snowballs would fly. Both had already been "hit" twice, meaning that whoever got the next hit would secure victory for his or her team.

Liz threw the snowball that was still in her hand, but Gabe saw the attack coming and dodged it easily. He then tried to trick Liz by faking a throw twice before tossing his snowball properly, but Liz was able to see through it and ducked behind her team's mound to avoid defeat. In the meantime, both teams' players that had already been knocked out rapidly started making more snowballs so that the survivors could start firing again as quickly as possible.

" _Ready for your secret attack, Liz?"_ Cassidy asked. _"I can't believe we didn't come up with this a lot earlier."_

" _Got caught up in the moment, I guess,"_ Liz replied. _"Hope this works,"_

" _You got this!"_ he told her encouragingly as he pat her own the shoulder. Giving him a smile in return, she got up and threw two snowballs at once, one aimed straight at Gabe and one to the side at an area where she predicted he'd dodge to.

Only to realize that Gabe had had the exact same idea and thrown his own two snowballs at the exact same time. The two of them were taken completely by surprise and their minds were thrown for a loop. Liz was too stunned to react at all and Gabe's snowball flew right through her, while Gabe had gathered his wits just enough to try and dodge…except he had moved right in the area Liz where Liz had predicted. Everyone could only stare as the snowballs passed through their ethereal forms, still processing what had just happened.

" _It's a tie!"_ Charlie finally declared as she raised the Puppet's long, spindly arms.

" _That was unexpected,"_ Gabe said appreciatively as he floated through the barrier and over to Liz. _"Good game, eh?"_

Liz smiled back at him and shook his hand. _"Yeah, good game,"_ she answered. _"We definitely need to do a rematch later."_

"Looks like you guys were having a good time," Mike commented as he got up from his chair.

" _Heck yeah we did!"_ Fritz declared, his happiness mirrored on all the ghosts' faces. _"That was so much fun! I think winter might be my favorite season now!"_

"Eh, every season has got its ups and downs," Mike replied. "If you have the resources and know what you want to do with the time you have, summer can easily be even better than winter. But there's definitely a lot of things that you can only do in the winter cause of the snow and all that."

" _Did you like our snowman?"_ Cassidy asked excitedly as she pointed at the snowman she and Gabe had earlier.

Mike gave her a thumbs up in approval. "A lot better than anything I ever made, that's for sure." His gaze moved over to Jeremy and Liz. "How'd that whole anchoring thing work out for you?"

" _It worked great!"_ Jeremy answered. _"And it was surprisingly simple to pull off too! All we needed to do was anchor ourselves like we do to your car and then tighten the range a bit, and we were sledding almost like living kids!"_

"Maybe you'll be able to ride roller coasters and things like that after all," his father smiled. "Of course, we won't be able to test that until we ACTUALLY go to an amusement park, but at least it seems like you're making good progress."

" _So what should we do now, dad?"_ Liz wondered. _"As fun as this was, I kind of need a break after all the stuff we did."_

Mike thought for a moment. "You guys feeling cold at all?" he asked. "I know you aren't all that affected by temperature, but you have been out here in a while."

" _It is getting kind of cold,"_ Susie admitted. _"I could use the warm, cozy comforts of home right about now."_

"Which I have plenty of," Mike gestured towards the house. "How about we all gather in the living room under a blanket and watch the next two Kung-Fu Panda movies together in a row?"

" _Uh…"_ Jeremy interrupted. " _We can't wear a blanket, we're ghosts,"_

"Maybe not, but I can spread a blanket over the sofa, keep it propped up with my body, and you guys can huddle under the open space," their father pointed out with a grin. "Why don't you guys set up everything while I make a cup of hot chocolate for myself?"

The kids all nodded in affirmation of his directive and rushed into the house, eager to start the second part of their fun wintery day. "Tis the season to be jolly, after all," Mike thought with a smile as he closed the backdoor behind him. "If they're having this much fun now, then I can't wait to see what Christmas has in store for us."

/

A/N: And the kids get yet another piece of their lost childhood returned to them. It might not be a huge plot advancement chapter, but who doesn't love feeling some warmth and fuzziness at seeing the ghost kids laugh and play together without a care in the world? I decided to pair the kids differently than how I normally do, that way it didn't seem like they were hanging out with some of their family constantly at the exclusion of others.

But as fun as it is to write about the ghost kids' new lives and how they're enjoying the present and the future, I think three chapters in a row of that is plenty. It's time we move on to bigger things, and I think now's as good a time as any to implement one of the big ideas that I've been having in my head for a very long time now. Which one, you might be wondering? The only hint I'll give you is that there have been hints in the past leading up to it.

But that's all I'll say for now. Hope you guys enjoyed, and I hope you have a wonderful summer!


	40. Chapter 40 - The First Christmas

A/N: Hey guys! This is probably going to be the last chapter for a while, since my schedule is incredibly busy (to the point that I won't even have computer access for a full week) and then I'm off to Korea afterwards. This actually works out incredibly well for me, because to be honest, I kind of need a break from all this writing. I don't want to burn out while writing this, after all, especially when I still have quite a few ideas that I think you'll really like saved up for the future.

Anyways, it's Christmas time! Even with the limited options they might have, the kids will do everything they can to make their first Christmas one of their best. And they won't have to do it alone. This will be the last cutesy chapter before we move on to the big guns again.

Chapter 40 – The First Christmas

Mike couldn't remember the last time he had truly celebrated Christmas in his own home. It wasn't that he spent the Yuletide alone and without friends – most years, he had spent the holidays over at one of his friends' places, or on rare occasions hosted a party for his buddies from Eisensteel. But with nobody permanently staying at his house, there had never been a good reason to take the time to set up Christmas decorations when nobody would see them except for him.

It was amazing just how much could change in a few short months. Now, the frame of his rooftop was adorned with Christmas lights, there was a Christmas tree in his living room covered with decorative ornaments and lights with a golden star on top…and he had a full family of seven children to share in the festivities.

As the alarm clock hit 7 AM, Mike slammed it to silence and threw the covers off his bed. It wasn't often that he woke up this early nowadays, but he was more than willing to sacrifice one or two hours off his usual bedtime to make sure that his first family's Christmas was as ideal as possible. He crept past the kids' bedrooms and down the stairs, moving as silently as possible. Hopefully, he'd be able to make a nice cup of coffee to prepare himself for…

" _MERRY CHRISTMAS!"_

The collective shout of seven joyful ghosts instantly snapped him out of his thoughts. The children he had thought were sound asleep had in fact woken up even earlier than he had, ready to celebrate their first holidays together. "Oh, right…" Mike thought once he had snapped out of his confusion. "Kids always wake up earlier than their parents on Christmas."

He hid his bewilderment with a grin. "Merry Christmas, kids!" he declared as he stepped into the room and sat down in front of the tree. "You guys are getting your main Christmas presents later, but what I have under the tree is something that I think will start the day off nicely!"

The kids looked under the tree to find seven envelopes under the tree. Each of them took one and tore open the top, eager to see what was underneath.

" _An iTunes gift card!"_ Gabe exclaimed as he took out the gift card that lay inside. He turned the card over and his eyes widened. _"For 500 dollars!"_

"Yep!" Mike grinned. "You guys have had your laptops for a while now, and I'm sure each of you have different tastes in music, movies, whatever. You've been listening and watching media together as a family, but sooner or later you're gonna want to follow your own interests. 500 dollars each will give you plenty to work with."

The ghosts all rushed towards Mike and buried him a hug. _"You're the best, dad!"_

" _Thanks so much, dad!"_

" _I can't wait to test this baby out!"_

" _Best gift ever!"_

Nearly drowned out by the clamoring of thanks, Mike managed to calm the kids down only after several seconds. "Geez, if you're already this excited then I can't even imagine how you guys are gonna react to the second set of presents."

" _Can we have a hint?"_ Cassidy was all but jumping up and down in the air at the thought of getting another round of Christmas presents that was apparently even better than what they had already gotten.

Mike shook his head and smirked. "Nope. I want to keep you guys in suspense for a while." He got up and gestured for the kids to follow him to the dining hall, where a single large red and green stocking had been set up over the fireplace. "Normally parents put candy and chocolate in stockings, but since that doesn't really work for you guys I figured we'd start the morning with one activity out of many instead. There's one for each of you."

The ghosts reached inside the stocking and each pulled out what looked like… _"Are these…lottery tickets?"_ Susie asked curiously as she looked at the ornate Christmas-themed card in her hand.

"That's right!" Mike grinned. "It was a lottery ticket that turned my life from a complete mess into a story of success." He took out seven pennies and handed one each to the children. "I doubt that we'll have a repeat performance of that luck today, but who knows? Maybe one of you might get lucky."

The ghosts started scratching away at their tickets. Fritz was the fastest one out of them all, the most eager to see his prize…and the first to be disappointed. _"Aww…"_ he complained. _"This card's worthless!"_

Mike took one look at the card and then tossed it in the trash. "Yep, no dice there," he confirmed. "Everybody else?"

Cassidy, Jeremy, and Liz, and Susie all shook their heads as they tossed away their pieces of junk. As for Gabe and Charlie…

" _Holy crap! I actually won something!"_ Gabe exclaimed as he pointed at part of the card _"See? 10 dollars!"_

Mike nodded approvingly. "Hey, not bad!" he commented. "Considering how hard it is to so much as break even on lottery scratchcards, that is definitely a win."

Charlie's eyelights twinkled. _"I can do one better,"_ she confidently declared. As all eyes turned to her, she slowly unveiled her prize. One hundred dollars.

"And we have a winner!" Mike declared as the rest of the kids congratulated their sister for her luck. "Soon as I have time I'll be sure to cash this in at a convenience store later. Guess lottery luck runs in the family."

The ghosts giggled. _"Technically, that wasn't YOUR lottery ticket to begin with, dad,"_ Liz pointed out.

"Having somebody GIVE you a jackpot lottery ticket is probably even luckier than finding it by yourself to begin with," Mike countered, to which she only shrugged in response. "Anyway, that was a quick freshener to start the day. The next I have planned is something rather more Christmas-y." He and Charlie went into the kitchen and came out with three trays, each with the basic framework of a gingerbread house on them. "It's time for a gingerbread house making contest!" he declared as Charlie went back inside the kitchen to get toppings. "You guys are gonna be working in pairs while Charlie supervises. I want to see who can make the most creative, most decorative, the tastiest gingerbread house I've ever seen. The winning team gets to decide which movie we watch this morning."

" _I'm working with Liz!"_ Fritz immediately shouted as he moved next to her. _"We're gonna blow this competition out of the water!"_

" _Not if Gabe and I kick your ass first!"_ Jeremy retorted.

" _Excuse me!"_ Susie interrupted. _"Cassidy and I have been doing arts and crafts stuff long before any of you started caring about it. If anybody wins this, it's gonna be us!"_

Charlie rolled her eyes as the kids started arguing and eyeing their gingerbread houses competitively, already picturing the masterpieces they were going to make for their dad. As they got started, Mike's cell phone suddenly rang. Mike raised a finger to excuse himself and moved over to the next room before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mike!" Melody's voice called from the phone. "Merry Christmas!"

Mike's eyes lit up as he realized who it was. "Oh hey, Melody!" he answered back. "Merry Christmas to you too! How's your day been so far? I got the kids 500 dollars each on iTunes and they're making gingerbread houses right now."

"Ooh, sounds like fun!" she replied. "I haven't made gingerbread houses since I was a kid! And 500 dollars each? Putting that lottery money to good use, I see!"

Mike laughed, but something about Melody's tone felt off. "Everything all right, Melody?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah!" she answered a little too quickly. "Everything's just fine! Why do you ask?"

"Melody…"

Melody was silent for several seconds. "All right, Mike, you saw right through me," she reluctantly admitted. "My family was supposed to visit for Christmas, but their place got hit by a brutal snowstorm yesterday. Nobody got hurt, thank God, but there's no way they can make it here in time. In fact, if the weather's as bad as I heard, I don't think they'll even be able to get here by New Year's."

Mike winced. "I'm sorry to hear that, Melody," he murmured sympathetically. "Is there anyone else you can spend your Christmas with?"

"Unfortunately, it's too late," Melody answered sadly. "Eisensteel decided to hold its Christmas party out of state this year, and it's too far for me to drive there in time. And almost everyone I know is spending Christmas out of the state, if not out of the country." She sighed. "Guess I'm spending Christmas alone this year."

Mike's mind subconsciously flashed back to every Christmas he'd "spent alone." Not just the few years when he hadn't spent his holidays with his buddies from Eisensteel or college, but also the ones when his only company had been an abusive father who ignored his presence if he was lucky or the unfeeling shadows of the city alleyways. "No you're not, Melody," he declared. "I think it would be a great idea if you spent Christmas with us."

"Wait, WHAT?" Melody exclaimed, clearly shocked. "I can't do that, Mike!"

"Why not?"

"You have a family now, Mike!" Melody insisted. "You should be spending time with them! Not me!"

"The kids have been spending time with me and, barring a few exceptions, ONLY me for the past six months, Melody," Mike calmly replied. "I think this would be a nice change of pace for them."

"But…"

"Melody, if I have to drive over to your house and drag you here myself, I will."

Melody sighed again, but Mike could hear the smile in her voice. "All right, Mike, I'll be over there in a few hours. Thanks for inviting me."

Mike smiled back. "My pleasure, Mel. The gate will be open for you. Trust me, the kids'll love to see you again." As he hung up, Charlie poked her head through the doorway.

" _They're done, Mike,"_ she told him. _"Ready to judge?"_

"Yep! Just got done with the call!" Mike replied as he returned to the dining room. For kids who had never done this before, all three gingerbread houses looked incredibly delicious. Gabe and Jeremy had made a relatively classic design, with frosting on the roof and door frames and gumdrops all over the roof and sides. Fritz and Liz had done one better, adding candy canes next to the door and windows on the front and sides. But Susie and Cassidy's was by far the most creative of the bunch. Not only did they have the same innovations that Fritz and Liz had, but…

"Wait a minute!" Mike stared at their house. "Is this meant to be _Freddy's_?"

" _Yeah!"_ Susie grinned. _"It took us a while to find something that would make for a good Freddy head on the top, so we used some gingerbread pieces and put some chocolate pieces on them!"_

" _And look over there!"_ Cassidy pointed at the walls next to the gingerbread house. Each side of the door had four Sour Patch Kids next to it – one orange, yellow, purple, and red each. _"It's Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy!"_ The pair of girls had placed the four "animatronics" on multiple places throughout the gingerbread house, trying their best to recreate the spirit of the pizzeria before it had been tainted by William Afton's evil.

" _Wow,"_ Gabe whistled. _"I think you win."_

" _Yeah, much as I hate to admit it, this one's all yours,"_ Fritz conceded.

"Well, glad we're all on the same page," Mike commented. "When everyone does a good job, you look for the best. So, Susie and Cassidy…what do you want to see for our morning Christmas movie?"

Susie turned to look at Cassidy. _"There was a movie that Meghan talked about earlier. What was it called, Cass?"_

Cass thought for a moment. _"I think it was called…the Incredibles?"_ she suggested.

Mike grinned. "Ooh, that is a good one! And I think this would be a good time to introduce you to a whole new genre of fiction."

The ghosts looked up excitedly at him. _"What kind of genre, dad?"_

"Superhero movies," Mike explained. "There's so many more worlds of fiction out there beyond what I've already showed you. And even though Incredibles is off the beaten track when it comes to superhero movies, I think it's a great starter for all you guys." He got up from his chair and beckoned to the kids to follow him. "Come on, kiddos. The movie came out in 2004 and it's still better than a lot of movies that came after it. You're in for a treat."

 _A few hours later…_

"I hope the kids are okay with having me around," Melody thought as she drove up to Mike's house. "Hopefully the stuff I brought will make things better if they think I'm intruding."

She got out of the car and nervously walked over to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she hit the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door swung over to reveal a grinning Mike. "Glad you could make it, Melody!" he greeted her as he gestured for her to come in. "You came at a great time, we just got done with watching the Incredibles."

" _Dad, who are you talking to?"_ a voice that Melody recognized as Susie's asked. The ghost girl peered around the corner and her eyes widened when she saw the woman at the front door. _"Miss Nguyen?"_ she gasped.

Melody smiled at her. "Please, call me Melody."

Susie jerked her back inside. _"Guys, Melody's here!"_ she exclaimed. Immediately there was a flurry of activity as all the ghosts dropped what they were doing to greet the new arrival.

" _Holy crap, I wasn't expecting this!"_ Gabe exclaimed.

" _Great to see you again!"_ Liz happily greeted her.

" _Didn't know you'd be coming!"_ Cassidy added as her eyes twinkled.

"Yeah, Mike invited me over to spend the day with you guys," Melody quickly explained, not wanting to sour the ghost kids' happy mood with her own unfortunate story. "So…Incredibles, huh? Mike starting to get you into superhero stuff?"

Jeremy grinned. _"Dad was right, it was a great movie! I'm still not sure whether I like it more than Kung Fu Panda, though."_

Melody shrugged. "Different styles, different genres. Can't really compare the two and fairly say one is better than the other. Though I'm pretty sure everyone I know likes them both. Gotta say, though, my favorite part is and always will be NO CAPES!"

Everyone burst out laughing at Melody's sudden impression of Edna. _"No offense, but that didn't sound like her at all!"_ Fritz jokingly criticized.

"Well no kidding, the person who voice-acted her was a guy," Melody commented dryly. "But yeah, all those superheroes out there wearing capes and it's this movie out of all of them that points out how bad of an idea that actually is."

"To be fair," Mike countered, having been silent up until now, "plot armor and the quality of being cool throw the practical problems of wearing capes right out of the window in fictional universes. And besides, some heroes do have legitimate reasons for wearing capes. Like Doctor Strange."

"Speaking of Doctor Strange," Melody gave him a stern look. "If you're going to show these kids superhero movies, you better start with the MCU. They're the only modern superhero movies nowadays that are actually any good."

"Pfft, you think I'm going to ruin their first superhero experience with DC's live-action crap?" Mike snorted. "Fuck no, I'm sticking with Marvel like any man of good taste would."

Charlie tilted her head. _"What are you two talking about?"_ she asked quizzically. _"Marvel? DC? Wha…?"_

"Don't worry about it," Mike brushed her question aside. "Question is, what do you think we should do now?"

"I have an idea," Melody smiled. "You know how you put up some Christmas lights around your house?"

" _Yeah?"_ Liz nodded.

"Well, there are some people in this town who go really, REALLY over the top when it comes to their Christmas decorations, and I think you'll be blown away by just how pretty they look. I know I just got here, but how do you guys think about going for a drive?"

Gabe grinned. _"I think that's a great idea!"_

" _Would be nice to get out of the house on Christmas!"_ Susie added.

"Great!" Mike opened the front door. "I was starting to run out of ideas on what to do for Christmas anyway." He and Melody walked out the door, talking animatedly about which MCU movie they liked the most as the ghosts followed. Charlie quickly pulled Melody to the side and, with her position, set up the mental link so that she could converse with the ghosts without attracting unwanted attention. After she was done, Charlie, Gabe, Fritz, and Liz got inside Mike's car, while Jeremy, Susie, and Cassidy got into Melody's.

"I still can't believe there's a bunch of ghost kids riding with me in my car," Melody shook her head as she drove out into the open road. "This is so surreal."

" _You're taking it better than Dad did when we first showed up at his house,"_ Jeremy joked. _"And we weren't even trying to scare him at first!"_ Melody shrugged without saying anything in response, but the ghosts could see the faint smirk on her face.

" _So what are you working on right now?"_ Cassidy asked curiously. _"You mentioned some big project last time you were at our house. It was the reason why you were in Mike's workshop, wasn't it?"_

"Yeah," Melody answered. "I'm technically not supposed to tell you guys, company secrets and all. But…" she winked, and the ghosts leaned forward eagerly. "We're trying to create robots that can act as closely to humans as possible. Maybe not a full blown artificial human body, exactly, but robots that can maybe one day do things like smell, taste, even outright eat food."

Gasps of shock echoed from the three ghosts in the car. _"That sounds awesome!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"Why would dad retire when your company was working on something this big?"_

Melody shook her head. "It was only a small side project when Mike left the company," she explained. "It didn't really become a big thing until afterwards. Besides, if Mike did take on this project, he'd still be spending his days working at the company instead taking of you guys. This project has been a top priority for more than a year now. I doubt he'd be able to take care of you guys at all."

The ghosts flinched at the idea of anyone besides Mike being their father. _"Maybe it is for the best then,"_ Jeremy admitted. He looked out the window and his jaw dropped again. _"Oh my God!"_ he exclaimed. _"Is that…"_

"Yep!" Melody grinned. "We're here!" She and Mike got out of their respective cars while the ghosts quickly turned invisible. They had stopped in front of a house that was all but buried in different colored lights. Unlike their own house, which only had lights lining the frames of the roof and door, the lights on this particular house had been arranged in specific Christmas-themed shapes and patterns.

" _I see three reindeer pulling a sled!"_ Gabe exclaimed once he had oriented himself to all the bright lights.

" _There's a Santa head with a hat over there!"_ Susie pointed at the other side of the house. _"How did the owners even arrange all those lights like that?"_

" _That snowflake on the left window looks so pretty!"_ Cassidy gushed at a snowflake that had been made from blue and white lights.

" _My favorite one is that Christmas tree with the presents underneath it!"_ Jeremy pointed to a Christmas tree that covered almost the entire wall of the house.

"It isn't just the lights on the house that make this so pretty," Melody commented. "So many trees surrounding this house and the owners took the time to wrap lights around every single one of them. And look over there." She pointed to several large plastic candy canes and peppermint lights that lined the walkway leading up the house. "It makes you really think that you're walking up to Santa's workshop in the North Pole."

" _Man, our setup is so lame compared to what these guys did,"_ Fritz shook his head, before suddenly turning to his father. _"Hey dad, why don't we try doing this to our house next Christmas?"_

" _Yeah, dad!"_ Liz eagerly agreed. _"I think it would be a lot of fun!"_

Mike shook his head. "There's a couple of problems with what you're suggesting, guys," he pointed out. "First off, we'd have to get a LOT of Christmas lights for this. And unlike whoever set these lights up, we wouldn't know where to begin with how to arrange them into shapes and sizes. Granted, that alone wouldn't be any issue apart from the amount of time and energy you're willing to put into this. But there's bigger problems."

" _What bigger problems?"_ Gabe tiled his head.

"This is a massive, MASSIVE fire hazard," Mike explained. "If you even have one faulty wire, this whole house could go up in flames. Heck, just having this many wires and plugs could cause a fire even if everything is working correctly. Maybe I'm just being too pragmatic, but I wouldn't want to risk my house, any people inside it, and everything I own burning down to the ground just to set something up that would last a few days." Everyone shuddered as they remembered the fires that had burned down Fazbear's Fright and the trap pizzeria. Enough time might have passed to blur out the details except for Charlie and Liz, but being surrounded by a scorching inferno was a memory that would haunt them for a long time.

" _It's not worth it then,"_ Liz sighed. _"I'm not going to do anything that puts dad in danger."_

Fritz wasn't ready to give up the argument yet, though. _"Aww, it can't be that bad, can it?"_ he pressed on. _"What are the odds of that ever happening?"_

"A neighbor of mine tried to do this a few years ago and his house burned down," Melody answered, the mirth fading from her eyes. "He was lucky that nobody got hurt."

Fritz cringed at that. _"Okay, yeah, never mind,"_ he backtracked.

"Tell you what, though," Mike offered. "Next Christmas, we'll travel to New York City or some other place that specifically sets up beautiful decorations for tourists to enjoy when Christmas comes. You guys will be blown away by some of the things that people do to celebrate the holidays. What do you guys say?"

" _Sounds like a deal, dad!"_ Gabe happily accepted, and the rest of the kids quickly agreed with him. Everyone returned to the cars and they drove back to Mike's house. Once they had arrived back home, the kids decided to go out to the backyard and show Melody the fun things they did whenever snow fell from the heavens. Mike had been taken quickly by surprise when Melody let loose her playful side and threw a snowball at his back, leading to another 4v4 snowball fight with Melody leading the girls (except for Charlie) and Mike leading the guys. Ironically, the two people there who could actually get hit by snowballs were the ones who did the best job dodging them, and soon it was down to just Mike and Melody. Melody threw two snowballs from her hands, just like Gabe and Liz had done for their final attack, but Mike ducked under the snow mound to dodge both. He then got back up and threw a single snowball from his hand.

"You're kidding me, right?" Melody deadpanned. "That was nowhere near…"

SPLAT!

Melody's sentence was cut short as the snowball she thought was a complete miss smacked her in the shoulder. Mike's snowball had subtly changed trajectory in the air, a trick shot that nobody had seen coming until too late.

" _Dad wins!"_ Charlie declared as Mike was mobbed by the ghost boys on his team.

" _Aww heck yeah, dad!"_ Fritz cheered. _"You rock!"_

" _Of course we won, we have dad on our side!"_ Jeremy said smugly.

"How did you even _do_ that?" a stunned Melody asked. "I don't think I've ever seen a trick snowball before!"

Mike smirked. "I learned a couple of tricks over the years," he blithely commented.

Melody rolled her eyes. "You're just full of surprises aren't you, Mike?"

The man's smirk only grew. "Let's be real, you wouldn't like me nearly as much if I wasn't."

"That's true," the woman admitted as she tried to hide a smile of her own. "So what should we do now?"

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you mention that you brought the kids gifts or something?" he asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Oh, you're right! Hey, guys!" she called out to them. "How would you like to see the present I got you?"

The kids' eyes lit up. _"You got us a present too?"_ Susie squealed.

"Of course I did, it wouldn't be right for me to join in your Christmas unless I brought a present with me," the woman grinned. "I think it'll be a great teamwork exercise that you'll enjoy." She gestured for the kids to follow her through the gate linking the backyard to the front of the house. Once they had all followed her, Melody walked over to her car and showed the ghosts the Harry Potter LEGO sets she had gotten them.

"Would've been nice to do this with Alex and Meghan," he commented. "Unfortunately, the Marshalls are out of town for Christmas and it wouldn't be right to impose on them anyway."

 _"Don't worry dad, we're loving Christmas as it is!"_ Jeremy assured him.

Mike gave the boy a grateful smile as the ghosts got to work on creating their very own Hogwarts in the basement. In the meantime, Melody started taking out food from Mike's fridge that the man had labeled for a Christmas dinner and got to work making meals for the two of them. It took the ghosts a couple of minutes to figure out how LEGOs worked, but once they got the hang of it, it took them only two hours to finish not just the main Hogwarts set, but also the smaller structures that Melody had gotten them as well. Melody was surprised with how quickly they got it done, and she and the kids spent the next hour cooking a Christmas meal for her and Mike.

"You're kidding me!" Melody laughed as she finished making the mashed potatoes. "Nobody can make food that bad!"

" _It looked like something straight out of a toxic waste dump!"_ Susie giggled as Fritz gave them both an annoyed look.

" _It was NOT that bad!"_ he complained petulantly.

" _Yes, it was,"_ Charlie deadpanned. _"I could smell it and my senses are dulled because I'm in an animatronic body."_

Fritz sighed. _"All right, I admit it. I might need to use a cookbook if I want to try this again. Happy?"_

" _It's a start,"_ Cassidy muttered.

Liz started feeling bad for Fritz and decided to change the subject. _"So when are you guys gonna eat dinner? That meal smells really good!"_ she added wistfully.

Melody winked. "As soon as he's done with round 2 of your presents," she told them.

"Which would be right about now!" everyone turned to see Mike standing at the entrance to the kitchen. "And man, am I starving!" He and Melody set up the food in the dining hall while the ghosts watched, and the two of them sat down next to each other and started eating the dinner Melody had prepared. It actually looked quite similar to the Thanksgiving meal that Mike had prepared last month, except with ham replacing turkey.

"This ham is absolutely delicious, Mel!" Mike praised as he took a bite out of the gravy-drenched ham. "You've really outdone yourself!"

Melody shrugged. "Eh, I basically just oven-ed it for a couple of hours. Not really all that hard, just time-consuming."

"Well, thanks for having the patience to make such an amazing meal!" he praised as he scooped some mashed potatoes onto his plate and started eating.

" _We helped too!"_ Cassidy pointed out excitedly.

"I know, I saw!" Mike gave her a thumbs-up. "You all did a great job!" Then his smile faded a bit. "I wish you guys could enjoy this like the two of us could, though…"

Jeremy shrugged. _"It's something we can handle just fine, dad. The two of you should just enjoy yourselves. Who knows when you'll be able to hang out like this again?"_

Mike conceded the point and continued eating his meal alongside Melody. In between bites, the two of them talked about what their daily lives were now like. Mike and the ghosts gave Melody a picture of how the family spent their days, and Melody was thoroughly impressed at how strong their relationship was, especially with the conflict in the past and the lack of consistent father figures in Mike's life. Conversely, Mike had been faintly aware of Melody's project when he had left, but he had no idea that Eisensteel had decided to pursue it so thoroughly and both he and the ghosts who hadn't been in Melody's car were shocked at how far the project had progressed.

" _My dad actually considered making an artificial human body one day,"_ Charlie commented. _"It was one of the projects he had planned for the future once Fredbear's Family Diner kicked off and established itself as a successful business."_ She sighed sadly. _"Unfortunately, we all know how that worked out…"_

"Your father sounds like he was a technological genius," Melody complimented in an attempt to comfort her. "Hopefully something of his work will live on."

" _Hopefully…"_ Charlie agreed. Nobody noticed the slight twinkle that flashed in Mike's eye for the briefest of moments at those words, and the two adults soon finished their meal after a few brief exchanges in conversation.

"So…" Melody said as she and Mike finished. "What exactly is Part 2 of your Christmas presents, Mike?"

The man grinned and got up from the table. "Come with me over to the living room, kiddos." Once they were all in the familiar room, the kids' eyes widened to see that seven gift boxes now filled the space under the Christmas tree where they had previously found the gift cards. "One for each of you, just like before."

The kids scrambled to get their presents and eagerly ripped open the boxes. Gabe gasped as he took out what was inside. _"This is..."_

"A smartphone!" Mike declared with a chuckle. "The important piece of technology aside from a computer that pretty much everyone owns. You guys handled laptops quite well, so I figured you deserved these too. You may not be able to do quite as much on a smartphone as you can with a laptop, but it's a lot more convenient and less bulky to us. Besides," he winked, "since it's a lot easier to hide phones acting by themselves than it is for laptops, you have something you can do in the car now!"

Melody had to stifle a laugh as the ghost kids all but bumrushed their father in a group hug. _"WE LOVE YOU DAD!"_ they all exclaimed as one. _"BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!"_

Mike smiled at them all and returned the hug. "Love you too, kiddos." The eight of them stayed together for several moments, Melody watching with a respectful silence until at long last, they broke their embrace.

"We still have a couple of hours left before the day ends!" Melody declared once she felt comfortable speaking. "Why don't we spend the next couple of minutes singing some Christmas Carols?"

The kids' faces lit up at the idea, and Fritz even started to form a mischievous idea in his head about getting Mike and Melody to sing a duet together. But before anybody could say or do anything, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Melody gave Mike a puzzled look. "Uh, Mike?" she questioned. "Were you expecting somebody today?"

Mike shook his head, looking equally confused. "Not at all," he replied uncertainly. "Heck, I even outright locked the gate after I let you in, Mel."

Charlie gave a wary glance in the direction of the door. _"I'll take care of it,"_ she decided. The two adults and other six ghosts watched silently as she entered the hallway and floated towards the front door, "Pop Goes the Weasel" playing faintly in the background. Nobody made a sound as they heard the Marionette girl slowly swing the front door open.

Then, a shout suddenly echoed throughout the house. A shout filled with shock, joy, bewilderment...and a word that not a single person had expected to hear.

 _"DAD?"_

/

A/N: Heh heh heh...cliffhangers are the best, aren't they?

And that's the Christmas chapter for you! I was definitely going to bring either the Marshalls or Melody into this chapter, and since I've already used the Marshalls so many times and haven't used Melody at all yet apart from her intro chapter, I figured that she deserved to have some time in the limelight too.

After four chapters of fun and lighthearted fluff, I figured that now was the time to go back to the serious, dramatic, lore-exploration aspect of this fic. And I think that it is no exaggeration to say that the next plot arc may very well be the most important in the entire fic. This is a major plot arc that I've had planned from the very beginning, and it might be just as long as the Nightmare arc if not even longer.

As I mentioned before, there is a good chance that I won't be able to post often during the first half of July (and I will DEFINITELY not be able to post next week) due to my busy schedule. I'm sorry about that, but it is time off that I need for multiple reasons, and I hope you guys are having a good summer too. When I pick up again, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	41. Chapter 41 - Visitors from Beyond

A/N: Hey guys! Got a little time before I head off to Korea.

I saw the Ultimate Custom Night was released during my first busy week and OH MY GOD, it inspired me so much that I finished this entire chapter within the course of a day. The implications of the UCN are astounding, and not just because my interpretation of the Nightmares as demons of Hell might ACTUALLY BE LEGIT. And before we begin this plot arc, I do want to talk about the UCN.

There are currently two prevailing theories about the true nature of the UCN. The first is that the UCN is William Afton's personal Hell and he is being tortured by the animatronics he created again and again for all eternity. The second is that Michael Afton is in Purgatory of some kind, and that the One You Should Not Have Killed is the Bite Victim of 1983. I prefer the first version because it's such a fitting fate for the asshole of a Purple Guy, and I have a couple of issues with the second one. For starters, I adamantly REFUSE to believe that Michael Afton is in Hell after he spent his entire life atoning for the accidental death of his brother. But even more than that, the theory makes the Bite Victim into a hypocrite and an asshole who becomes far worse than his brother ever was, destroying his status as one of the few unambiguously innocent characters in FNAF. Being angry at your own death when it happens is perfectly understandable, but if BV wants to torture his brother's afterlife _30 years after it happened_ when it was an accident and he spent his ENTIRE LIFE atoning for it, then frankly he doesn't deserve to go to Heaven.

Besides, I can't use the "Michael Afton in UCN" theory for _MNGF_. I do acknowledge its merits, however, and I think supporters of it will find the chapter after this one very much to their liking. But the first one, oh ho ho ho…the first one…

I was originally going to leave the topic of William Afton and his damnation to rest with the conclusion of Nightmare's arc in Chapter 26. But after the UCN's release…

 _ **Those plans have now changed.**_

Not only will the Ultimate Custom Night influence the arc that I'm about to write, an arc that I've had planned for MONTHS, but I've also come up with an idea for an entirely new plot arc further down the road. And this future arc may very well be **the darkest arc in the entire fanfic.** Darker than Mike's shitty past, darker than Nightmare's attack on the family, darker than some of the stuff in the next few chapters. And it will answer questions like who "the one who you should not have killed" is if we go by the William Afton in Hell interpretation of the UCN. But that's for later. We must focus on the now.

I could talk on and on about the UCN but this is approaching an entire page in Word. So I'll just leave two of my characters to make some quick thoughts about this. I won't say who they are, but I'm sure you'll figure it out 😊

 **AN IRONIC HELL…HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…I CAN WORK WITH THIS.**

 **And so can I.**

Guest: FNAF is not a game in this universe. So the FNAF cameo in _Flee the Complex_ would probably either not exist or replace it with something different.

Kai and DinoGirl: I haven't seen Jurassic World or Incredibles 2 yet :/ I heard good things about both, though.

Chapter 41 – Visitors from Beyond

" _DAD!"_ Charlie shouted as she rushed at her father's ghost. Henry barely had any time to react as the Mariontette leapt at him and wrapped him in a tight hug, just like she had done back in her dream. Only this time, every single moment of it was real. And even though the Puppet's body should have flown through the ghost like any solid object would, she was able to complete the hug like she would if she had hugged Mike instead. _"H…how? Aren't you supposed to be in Heaven, dad? How did you get here?"_

Henry chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm. _"It is true that those who have passed on are not allowed to return…under normal circumstances,"_ he explained. _"However, God has been kind enough to grant us permission to visit you on Christmas. A favor that I will be forever grateful for."_

" _Me too, dad,"_ Charlie buried her head in Henry's ethereal chest. _"This just made Christmas perfect."_

The man looked up at the rest of the ghosts. _"I never had the chance to say this to you yet, but I am truly sorry for everything that happened to you because of the nightmare that William Afton created. You have suffered for so long, but I am truly thankful that you have found a happy ending even if you have not passed on to Paradise yet."_

Gabe pointed at Mike. _"It's all because of him, Mr…"_

" _Call me Henry, please,"_ the man gently interrupted. He turned his attention to Mike and smiled warmly at him, before walking over to him as Charlie let go. _"I cannot tell you how happy I am to meet my daughter's new guardian face to face,"_ he greeted him before offering his hand to Mike. The man shook it firmly, and if Henry was surprised at the fact that Mike could feel a ghost's hand he hid his confusion well. _"These kids…they've been forced through more pain and suffering than any person should ever have to experience in an entire lifetime. A place that was meant to be one of joy, safety, and happiness was twisted into a horrific monstrosity because of William Afton's depravity and my own ignorance. Five children, my baby girl, even William Afton's own daughter, all of them were dragged into a decades-long tragedy that should never have happened. Michael Afton, Charlie, and I…we all did our part to finally end the nightmare. But you…you are the one who has healed them from it. You have given them all a second chance at life …and in that chance they have found hope, peace, joy, a path to atonement. Even without the light of Heaven to wash away their sorrows, they have found life again, long after they breathed their last. And for that, I cannot thank you enough. You will always be the greatest of heroes to me."_

As the ghosts cheered at Henry's words, Mike shrugged. "All I did was the right thing," he replied. "I don't really have an excuse not to if I know what the right thing is and I'm capable of doing it."

Henry's smile took on a sardonic quality. _"You'd be surprised how rare of a quality that can be,"_ he answered. _"Especially when it demands responsibility."_

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," Mike chuckled. "I learned that long before the ghost kids ever entered into my life."

" _A lesson that has resonated with truth throughout our lives,"_ Henry agreed with a sad chuckle. His gaze suddenly turned to Melody, who up until this point had been trying her best to look inconspicuous. _"And who might you be?"_ he asked curiously.

"Just a friend of Mike," she answered quickly. "And I'm thinking that now might be a good time for me to leave." She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew that it was far bigger than it seemed and that she had no place in it.

Judging by the look on Mike's face, she could tell that he thought the same, no matter how much he hated to admit it. "I'm thinking you might be right," he reluctantly agreed. "I'll come with you back to your house."

" _Nonsense!"_ A new voice interrupted. Mike's head snapped up as another ghost appeared at the doorway. One that he was _very_ familiar with, even if the others weren't.

"OSKAR?" Mike spluttered.

The old war hero chuckled. _"You didn't think I wouldn't take the time to visit my son in all but blood if Henry would visit his daughter, did you? Anyways, it wouldn't be right to cast your friend out of your house on Christmas when you were so kind to invite her."_ He raised his hand and gestured towards the basement door. _"Come. Let us move downstairs to the basement. We can leave Henry alone with your children for the time being. If I recall correctly, he wished to spend some time to speak with them."_

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Mike agreed. He turned to Melody and beckoned her to follow him, and the two engineers followed Oskar down into the basement. As their footsteps faded, Henry turned back to the ghostly children.

" _So, how has your Christmas been so far?"_ he asked as Charlie led him and the others to the living room.

" _Amazing!"_ Cassidy proclaimed. _"We got some of the coolest presents ever and did a lot of fun stuff with Mike and Melody!"_

" _I honestly don't care that we couldn't go out to someplace cool,"_ Susie added. _"Dad did the best that he possibly could with what options he had."_

" _I am very glad to hear that,"_ Henry smiled. As he floated forward, he ended up moving right in front of Liz. The girl instinctively shrank back and let out a whimper, nervousness and shame in her eyes as she remembered that this was the man who had dedicated his final moments to opposing the evil that she and her father had tried to commit.

" _I'm sorry…"_ she breathed out, her voice barely above a whisper.

The man knelt down to look her in the eyes and stroked her hair gently. _"It wasn't your fault,"_ he told her soothingly. _"You were never to blame for what your father tried to twist you into. That one dark moment has passed, and it will not return."_

" _If…if you say so…"_ she murmured. Henry gave her an encouraging smile and got up before sitting down on the couch that Mike usually used.

" _I can imagine that you all have some questions for me,"_ he gestured towards the ghost kids, who had sat down on various places in the room. _"Anything you ask, I will try my best to answer. That will be my gift to you."_

The ghost kids were silent for a moment as they tried to think of questions for the man who had ended the Freddy Fazbear nightmare. Then, Susie asked the first question. _"What's Heaven like?"_ she asked.

A wistful look entered Henry's eyes as his lips stretched into the purest, brightest smile. _"It is so many things,"_ he murmured. _"A golden kingdom, a vibrant paradise…but there is so much more to it than that. Peace…laughter…joy…warmth…everything that you could ever hope for in an eternal resting place."_ The ghosts' eyes turned misty as they imagined what Heaven looked like. _"One day, it will be yours to enjoy. One day…but not now. There is still much left for you to do before you can take your place in the Kingdom of Light."_

" _We know,"_ Gabe answered solemnly. _"God made it clear that until Mike dies, we stick with him from beginning to end. But…is there anything more than we can do? Nightmare told us that we barely did anything to show that really have changed for the better."_

" _Just because he's a demon and an asshole doesn't mean he's wrong,"_ Fritz admitted. _"Up until now it's been more Dad taking care of us instead of the other way. Even I can see that."_

Henry's eyes darkened at the mention of Nightmare, but he tried to hide it with an encouraging smile. _"Opportunities will come, children,"_ he promised. _"Maybe not now, maybe not for a while. Just look for them, and you will find them."_

Charlie's eyelights flickered. _"I saw your eyes, dad,"_ she pointed out. _"When Gabe mentioned Nightmare…you know something about him, don't you?"_

Her father sighed. _"Yes…"_ he admitted. _"I do know about him. A demon lord of great power who relishes in preying on the fears and black truths that humans dread, he and his brethren have adopted nightmarish forms of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics because they represent the corruption of innocence and the destruction of purity. He has had his sights on William Afton for a very long time, and longed to claim a soul of such wickedness and depravity for his own,"_ Henry shook his head and gave a humorless chuckle. _"I should hate him for being a wicked monster himself, and yet we are united in our desire to see William Afton pay for everything he has done. And I can see the slightest slivers of morality and honor in him, where I can see none in my former friend."_

Liz finally found it in herself to speak. _"Why…why were we attacked then?"_ she asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

" _You already know part of the answer to that,"_ Henry answered. _"William Afton tried to use his one demonic wager to destroy the happiness that you and your new family tried so hard to restore. But though Nightmare and William Afton were the ones directly behind that attack, Heaven did permit it to happen."_

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ everyone exclaimed. _"WHY would Heaven let Nightmare attack our family?"_ Jeremy asked angrily. _"Why would God let that happen?"_

" _Because you needed to be tested,"_ Henry explained calmly. _"It is all too easy to stand by your friends and loved ones when the light shines upon your life, and the good times are upon you with no trials or tribulations to disturb your peace. But would you stay loyal to your new father if the light faded? If a challenge to the bonds you have formed, whether it take the form of a monstrous demon or a dark truth that was only just revealed, rose to threaten your happiness? Love is only genuine if it stands strong in both the good times and the bad."_

He looked at each of the ghosts' eyes. _"Though he did not know that you possessed the animatronics at the time, and I am certain that he would have acted differently if he had been aware of the truth, Mike Schmidt did technically contribute to your pain by setting the animatronics to zero, allowing William Afton to dismantle them much more easily. If you were truly regretful of crimes and followed the path to redemption, then you would understand that he was doing what he believed to be the right thing and forgive him."_

" _Forgive what?"_ Gabe protested, and the rest of the ghosts started nodding in agreement as he continued. _"It was our fault in the first place for killing so many innocent Night Guards! The only reason why Dad did that to begin with because he wanted to keep other people like him safe! He didn't do anything wrong!"_

Henry ruffled his hair with pride in his eyes. _"That realization is what allowed you all to pass God's test with flying colors. And your family is now all but unbreakable because of it. I cannot promise that there will not be any difficult times ahead. That is the nature of life on Earth, whether you are a living human or a ghost whose fate is tied to one. But no matter what comes your way, you will always have each other to endure and conquer what may come."_

The ghosts looked at each other and smiled knowingly as Henry straightened himself in his chair. _"I have to say, interacting with physical furniture is quite bizarre,"_ he commented, earning laughter from the kids. _"I can feel myself sitting on something if I concentrate hard enough, and yet I still feel disconnected from the world around me."_

" _Yeah, it was weird at first,"_ Cassidy replied. _"You get used to it after a while."_

Henry nodded and looked over at his daughter. _"I've heard that you and Mike went out to visit Nelson."_ he told her. _"We always do our best to keep track of those we love, but we cannot see or know everything all the time. So I must ask you, did you find the answers that you sought?"_

Charlie's eyelights flickered contentedly. _"Yeah, dad. And I'm ready to put the past behind me now."_

" _I'm glad to hear that, baby girl,"_ he replied as he got up from the couch. _"And I think putting the past behind us would be an excellent idea. I must admit, I am quite curious to see what your new life in this house is like. Would you mind showing me around, all of you?"_

" _Sure thing!"_ Charlie and the rest of the ghosts got up into the air. _"Although we probably shouldn't go to the basement, it'd be rude for us to interrupt whatever Mike, Melody, and Oskar are doing."_

Henry made a gesture of agreement as he followed the ghosts around. The creator of the Fazbear franchise couldn't help but be impressed by how surprisingly simple Mike's home was despite living in a mansion with millions of dollars at his disposal. Clearly, Mike had not fallen to the lures of greed and decadence that had ensnared and tainted all too many men with wealth. As Charlie and the other ghosts guided her father up the stairs to see their bedrooms, Henry found himself right next to Liz. The girl looked conflicted, as though she was debating whether to speak to him or not.

Henry saw the struggle in her eyes. _"You don't have anything to fear from me, Elizabeth…"_ he began.

" _It's Liz, now…"_ Liz quietly corrected. _"Liz Schmidt."_

Henry nodded. _"My sincerest apologies. You don't have anything to fear from me, Liz. Whatever question you wish to ask me, I will answer."_

His assurance was the small push that Liz needed. _"Mr. Henry…do you know anything about…about Mikey?"_ she looked up at the man pleadingly. _"Or Eric? Do you know where my brothers are? What happened to them after…everything ended?"_

" _I have indeed seen them,"_ Henry confirmed, and Liz perked up slightly as she finally realized she was about to get the answers that she had sought. _"Both of them have been granted admittance to Heaven, though unlike most souls in Paradise they are not entirely content with where they are. Your younger brother Eric is a unique and frankly odd case in that he sometimes vanishes from the Kingdom of God. I do not know where he goes off to, but since he always returns after a short while I am not too worried."_

" _And M-Mikey?"_

A knowing look entered his eyes and he was about to answer, when they suddenly heard the doorbell ring and footsteps come up the stairs from the basement. "Another one?" Mike's confused voice echoed in the hallway. "Who the heck could that be?" He reached the front door and pulled it open, revealing the ghostly figure of a man with bushy brown hair and blue eyes. Mike had never seen him before and yet there was something about him that seemed him incredibly familiar. "Uh…who might you be?" Mike asked, puzzled.

Before the stranger could answer, Henry was suddenly right next to Mike, the ghostly man's features lit up with recognition and delight. _"You're finally here!"_ he declared, and Mike's unease faded – whoever this man was, Henry clearly held him in high regard. _"I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't come here at all."_ He turned to Mike. _"This man here has dedicated his entire life to undoing the nightmare that his father created. Mr. Schmidt, I'd like you to meet Michael Afton."_

Mike's eyes widened in surprise. "So YOU'RE Michael Afton!" he exclaimed. "I knew there was something about you that I recognized." He held out his hand. "I'm Mike Schmidt," he introduced himself. "I'm the one who's been taking care of the ghost kids for the past couple of months."

" _It's a pleasure to meet you,"_ Michael returned the greeting. _"I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Schmidt. I've been waiting to come here for a long time, but I could not do so until the Heavenly Father gave His blessing on Christmas."_

Mike's lips twitched. He already knew the true reason why Michael Afton had come to his home, and though the man was doing his best to be polite, he could tell that Michael wanted to reunite with one person in particular as soon as possible. "I can tell what you want and I won't waste any more of your time. Hey guys!" he called up the stairs. "I'd like you to meet the man who helped save you all from the Purple Guy!"

The ghosts floated down the stairs to see who Mike was talking about. Fritz's eyes widened in horror and outrage as he saw Michael. _"That's the Purple Guy!"_ he shouted.

Michael smacked his face with his palm. _"Damn my father and my similar appearance to him,"_ he growled.

" _This is not William Afton, Fritz,"_ Henry scolded gently but firmly. _"This is Michael Afton, his son. He was the one who spent years trying to discover the true nature of the tragedy and end his father's evil."_

" _Oh,"_ Fritz had the grace to look sheepish. _"Sorry about that."_

Michael waved it off. _"This is not the first time I've been mistaken for my monster of a father,"_ he replied. _"And I am certain that it won't be the last."_ As he lifted his hand from his face, his eyes suddenly caught the one ghost who had been hanging towards the top of the stairs. A girl with orange hair and green eyes that he couldn't have possibly have forgotten. The stoic expression on his face instantly melted into recognition and amazement. _"Lizzie?"_ he asked, and for a moment his voice sounded far younger than it had been seconds before.

Liz stood utterly still, not making a sound or movement. As her eyes met her brother's, memories that she had tried so hard to suppress suddenly came flooding back to her. Memories of seeing him in the Scooping Room when she had been about to kill him as Ennard, memories of trying to brutally murder him as Scrap Baby before Henry's false pizzeria came crashing down around them.

And then, like a poison seeping into an open wound, Nightmare's condemnation from that cursed night rose from the shadows of the past and clawed at her soul.

" **YOU SPAT ALL OVER HIS NAME,"** the demon's voice hissed in her mind.

" **YOU TURNED HIS GIFT INTO AN ABOMINATION, SQUANDERED THE FREEDOM HE GAVE YOU!"**

" **FOR SOMEONE WHO CLAIMED TO LOVE AND CHERISH YOUR BROTHER AS YOU DID, YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE FIRST THING ABOUT HIM OR WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO."**

" **YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THE FREEDOM HE GAVE YOU. YOU DIDN'T DESERVE** _ **HIM**_ **."**

And then a final denunciation, a combination of her brother's hate-filled voice from her tainted dream and Nightmare's monstrous tone: _**"YOU ARE NOT MY SISTER!"**_

Liz let out a strangled cry of despair and horror as she turned around and fled up the stairs, away from the brother she couldn't face. _"Lizzie!"_ Michael called out to her with a voice filled with confusion and shock, but it was no use. Liz fled past the stunned forms of the other ghost children and down the hallway, struggling to hold back her tears as she fled to the sanctuary of her bedroom. The only thing that the ghost kids could hear afterwards were her broken sobs deep within.

Michael looked desperately at Henry and Mike. _"What just happened?"_ he asked frantically, his stoic façade shattered as he tried to understand his sister's sudden fear and sorrow.

Mike sighed. "Nightmare attacked our family once, trying to fulfill a wager that your father made." A low hiss of pure hatred escaped from Michael's lips, but he said nothing and instead gestured for Mike to continue. "He tried to break apart our family by revealing dark truths about each other. I don't know why, but Nightmare went after Liz the hardest. She didn't know about what she'd done to you, and Nightmare revealed everything in the worst way possible. I remember what he said to her as clear as day even though it happened months ago, and I think seeing you triggered all those terrible memories."

" _We were also attacked in our dreams by Nightmare before he showed himself to us,"_ Charlie added. _"To this day I don't exactly know what Liz's nightmare was, but I'm willing to bet it had something to do with you."_

" _I'll go get Liz once she calms down…"_ Fritz offered.

"N _O,"_ Mike and Henry both countered. The two looked at each other, and Henry wordlessly beckoned for Mike to explain. "We can't help her now,"he told him in a tone that the ghosts had only rarely heard him use before. It was a tone that was filled with authority, one that demanded complete respect and would accept no argument. "There is only one person here who can."

" _This is something that Michael has to do alone,"_ Henry agreed. _"Liz needs him to forgive her before she can forgive herself."_ He looked straight into Michael's eyes. _"Go to her. She needs you."_

Michael nodded in acknowledgment and floated up the stairs after his sister. He followed the sounds of muffled crying until he was right outside the door. Focusing his essence, he knocked on the door once. When no answer came, he slowly phased his way through and into the room that Liz now called her own.

Liz had buried her head deep within the bed, tears of black ichor flowing freely down her face. _"I can't do it!"_ she mumbled, not realizing that her brother could hear every word. _"I can't…I can't face him…not after everything I did to him. I thought I was ready, I thought that by doing the right thing for once I could get over my guilt. But I can't! I can't…I can't…"_

" _Lizzie…"_ Michael put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and the girl jolted as realized her brother was there. _"Lizzie…"_

" _I'M SORRY!"_ she interrupted with a wail as she buried her head in his chest. _"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY I KILLED YOU! I'M SORRY I MADE YOU INTO A LIVING CORPSE! I'M SORRY I ALMOST TURNED INTO A MURDERER LIKE_ _ **HIM**_ _AND TRIED TO KILL YOU OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY…"_ her voice collapsed into broken sobs. _"I'm sorry that you had to have me for a sister…"_ she finished with a whimper.

Michael didn't say or do anything for several moments. Then, he slowly wrapped his arms around Liz and held her tightly to his body. Tears were flowing out his eyes too as he buried his head in his sister's shoulder. _"I never once held any of that against you, Lizzie,"_ he finally whispered into her ear. _"If I have any hatred in my heart, it is for the father who betrayed us both, but never you. I love you now just as much as I loved you before this whole mess started. Nothing about that has changed."_

" _B…but how?"_ Liz cried out. _"I m-murdered you. I b-betrayed you and everything y-you stood for. H-how can you still l-love me after e-everything I've done?"_

Michael sighed and sat down on the bed, patting the space next to him for Liz to join him. _"I could give you so many reasons,"_ he began. _"That it wasn't your fault, that you didn't know what was going on…but I'm sure you've heard all of these before. If I told you the same thing, it wouldn't help you at all, even if it is true. I need to tell you something different. Something that will convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that that I still love you from the bottom of my heart."_

He took a deep breath. _"Lizzie…it's time that I told you the truth about something terrible that happened a long time ago. Everyone looks up to me as the hero who ended our father's evil, but I know the truth. I am no hero."_ To Liz's shock, a look of pain and regret disturbingly similar to her own appeared on his face. _"Everything I did to stop father, every time I took the Night Guard position, every time I took the Night Guard position to discover the truth and try to set his victims free…it was not heroism. It was atonement. Atonement for a terrible wrong that I committed years ago, even before your death at the hands of Baby."_

Liz gave her brother a baffled look. _"Atonement?"_ she repeated. _"What could you have possibly done, Mikey?"_

Michael sighed. _"It's time I told you the truth about what happened in 1983, Lizzie. Do you know that Eric died that year?"_

Her sister thought for a moment, then shuddered as the memories returned. _"Yeah…"_ she murmured. _"But I don't know any of the details."_

" _The truth is, Lizzie, he was killed by one of the animatronics. And it wasn't just an accident."_

Liz glanced up at her brother in confusion. _"What are you talking abou…"_ her voice trailed off as she realized, to her shock, that tears were flowing out of Michael's eyes.

" _I was so, so cruel to Eric, back when he was still alive,"_ he confessed. _"Almost every day I made his life a living Hell, hiding in different places everywhere in our house and scaring him when I didn't think he was expecting it. And as his birthday drew ever closer, I only got worse."_ His voice wavered. _"I…I locked him in the goddamn security closet at Fredbear's Family Diner, for God's sake! What the hell made me think that was a good idea?"_

" _Mikey…"_ Liz wasn't sure she wanted to hear anymore. _"You don't have to…"_

" _No,"_ Michael's voice was firm. _"I'm going to tell you the truth. I owe it to you…and I owe it to him."_ He took several deep breaths to try and calm himself. _"When his birthday finally came, I trapped him with some of my friends. We were all wearing the pizzeria's damn mascots, making a sick joke even more twisted. He was crying, begging for us to let him go. But we just picked up, and I remember…I told my friends it would be fun to lift up Eric and drag him over to Fredbear. I…I shoved his head into Fredbear's mouth, thinking that it would be a good idea to_ _ **give him a kiss**_ _."_

Liz's eyes widened in horror as she finally realized what Michael was saying. _"Oh my God…"_

Michael shook his head, thoroughly disgusted at how despicable his past self had been. _"And then, while we were all laughing, Fredbear's jaws…they closed on…they…they closed on…"_ he burst into tears and buried his face into his hands. _"I killed him!"_ he almost shouted in despair. _"I killed my brother! Oh, it might have_ _ **technically**_ _been an accident, but I'm the only reason Eric ended up that way in the first place!"_

Liz stared silently as she watched her brother weep. She hadn't once imagined that Michael had been the reason why Eric had died all those years ago. Now it all made sense…why Michael's personality had suddenly changed so dramatically after his death, why he had worked so hard to undo their former father's evil when he could have just walked away from it all.

" _No matter how bad you think you might have been, Lizzie, you were never, EVER as bad as me,"_ Michael said fervently once he had recovered. _"I could never hate you for what you did to me, because I did the EXACT SAME THING to Eric. And I don't have any good excuses, like you do. I wasn't trapped alone inside the body of an animatronic for years, driven insane without anybody to talk to. I didn't have my soul corrupted by tainted programming or being exposed to father's wickedness. No…all that malice, all that sadism and cruelty...that was mine and mine alone. I had blackened my soul with an unspeakable crime when I was barely a teenager, and the only thing I could think of doing afterwards was to try and make up for a murder that should never have happened."_

Liz leaned into her brother's arm. _"You did make up for it, Mikey,"_ she murmured to comfort him. _"You stopped father. You stopped me. You saved everyone who needed to be saved. And you were forgiven in the end. Just like the rest of us were when Charlie's father burned the last pizzeria down."_

Michael shook his head. _"My crime might not have been unforgivable, when the long road of my life finally ended. But it WAS inexcusable. And in the days that followed, Nightmare made that very, VERY clear."_

Liz instantly jolted from Michael's arm and she looked at him in horror. _"You've…you've met Nightmare before?"_ she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The sick feeling in her core solidified at her brother's words. _"You are not the first Afton that Nightmare has tormented, Lizzie. You are not even the second. He crushed my soul with the weight of my sins long before the tragedy of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria started proper. And unlike you, I deserved every single moment of the torment that Nightmare unleashed upon me. I knew that back then, and I know it now."_

Before Liz could say anything, Michael looked down and straight into her eyes. _"I'm not going to call you lucky, Lizzie. You should never have had to cross paths with him in the first place, or suffer so cruelly at his hands. But his attack was not nearly as devastating as it could have been. He came by himself, his only attack on you besides his words was a punch that you could easily heal from, and you had a whole new family to support you and pull you through. NONE of those applied to me, Lizzie."_

" _No…"_ was all Liz could breath out as she realized the implications.

" _I was completely alone when the demon trapped me in my own special nightmare, a temporary Hell for a soul that was not damned yet but was on its way to becoming so,"_ Michael shuddered as he recalled those terrible days of punishment. _"In that cursed dream, Nightmare was free to bring down the full force of his wrath upon my head, killing me over and over again in ways that would make father look merciful in comparison, only for me to respawn so he could continue the vicious cycle. And he didn't come alone. He wanted to see me suffer first from a distance before he came after me personally, and to that end he unleashed his unholy brethren upon me. Fellow demons who had taken on nightmarish forms of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics that you are so familiar with."_

" _How many?"_ Liz's voice was barely above a terrified whisper. _"How many did Nightmare send after you?"_

Michael looked straight into his sister's eyes again, and Liz saw a broken, tormented gaze would haunt her for the rest of eternity. _**"All of them."**_

/

A/N: Well, I think I dropped a couple of bombshells here and there. How many of you were expecting Michael Afton to appear, and for the reunion with his sister to happen at long last? And how many of you were expecting the **Nightmares** to return? I promised you lore exploration, and I am here to give you lore exploration. _Five Nights at Freddy's 4_ included, in more aspects than one. And with that shall come a fresh heaping of darkness.

There's a theory that was once fringe, but is becoming increasingly popular, that Michael Afton was the protagonist of _FNAF4_ rather than the Bite Victim. He was the one who was attacked by the Nightmares instead of the Bite Victim, those horrifying creatures being manifestations of the Older Brother's guilt towards the death of his brother.

Now add in MY interpretation of the Nightmares and their modus operandi from Nightmare's past arc, and you shall soon see…Michael Afton will not be getting his punishment in the Ultimate Custom Night after FNAF6. He will be getting his punishment **NOW.**

So let's take _Five Nights at Freddy's 4_ , which I personally believe to be scariest game in the entire series… **AND SEE HOW MUCH WORSE I CAN MAKE IT. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!**


	42. Chapter 42 - A Brother's Despair

A/N: Before we begin, I'd like to talk about the Ultimate Custom Night some more. I've seen arguments for both the "William Afton in Hell" and "Michael Afton in Purgatory" theories, and I freely acknowledge that there is evidence to support both (though I'm more convinced by the William Afton in Hell theory).

But there's one argument for the Michael theory that just makes me shake my head and facepalm, because it speaks to a complete lack of imagination and understanding of what an Ironic Hell is.

The presence of two Springtraps in the UCN **DOES NOT DISPROVE** the "William Afton in Hell" theory. On the contrary, it actually **SUPPORTS** William Afton being in Hell, though it might not seem like it at first. For starters, this is Hell, a supernatural kingdom of torment. The normal rules of logic and reality do not apply – the fact that there are two Springtraps and Babies to begin with already throws the laws of reality out of the fucking window. Secondly, most of the animatronics represent William Afton's victims, that is true. But think about what Springtrap actually is. He is the Purple Man after being trapped in the Spring Bonnie suit and bleeding to death after being brutally ripped apart. And after William Afton was resurrected as Springtrap, what did he accomplish?

Absolutely **nothing**.

He didn't manage to kill a SINGLE person after becoming Springtrap (as far as we know), and even when he came back to the FNAF6 Pizzeria with a corrupted Scrap Baby, it was a trap the entire time and the only thing he accomplished was the destruction of the nightmare that he created in the first place. He tried to continue his legacy of tragedy and terror as Springtrap, but all he accomplished was the complete obliteration of himself and everything he tried to do.

Springtrap and Scraptrap in the UCN are not actually William Afton, the damned soul. Like all the other UCN animatronics, they are representations, two of his many demons come to torment him. They are representations of William Afton's failures, taunting him about how he didn't accomplish a damn thing after his first death. And they are representations of Afton's inner evil, forcing him to confront the monster that he has become as they tear him apart endlessly. For bonus points, Scraptrap only ever keeps saying "I Always Come Back," mocking William Afton about how he thought he was immortal on Earth, and how he is finally immortal in Hell, just so he can be tormented endlessly. Have you ever heard the phrase "you are your own worst enemy?" The Springtraps are a literal expression of this phrase x2 for William Afton in Hell.

I hope this explains why the presence of two Springtraps in the UCN makes sense and even supports the "William Afton's Hell" theory once you stop thinking about them literally and instead think about them in a metaphorical and symbolic sense.

But speaking of Michael in Purgatory…it's time for the Nightmares to introduce their own special Hell to Michael. Did you think Nightmare was being cruel to the family before? You haven't seen ANYTHING yet.

Jacko: The problem is that there are also death lines that are even LESS applicable to Michael Afton than the one you chose for William Afton. For example, Marionette's line: "I don't fear you. Not anymore." There is absolutely NO evidence suggesting that Charlie and Michael ever knew each other when they were still alive in ANY of the games, and Scott wouldn't suddenly just throw this in now with NO buildup to it at all. Besides, Charlie never had a reason to fear Michael in the first place – it's unlikely she ever knew him to begin with, and if their first encounter was in FNAF2, she didn't fear him then, she just straight out attacked him if the music box turned off. But Charlie DEFINITELY had reason to fear William Afton, cause you know, he killed her as a kid. It isn't just Marionette, either. Nightmarionne calls himself "a fearful reflection of what you created" – Michael had absolutely nothing to do with the Puppet's Creation, but William's murder of Charlie is what created the Puppet in the first place. And Nightmare calls himself a manifestation of the player's wickedness – Michael Afton isn't wicked, and only one person throughout the entire franchise is consistently portrayed as wicked throughout the games: William Afton. Heck, even Elizabeth Afton is treated sympathetically and Scrap Baby's intentions of continuing her father's murdering spree are far eviler than what the Big Brother ever did.

But the biggest line that points to William Afton is Orville's: "He tried to release you, he tried to release us, but I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to hold you here, I'm going to keep you here, no matter how many times they burn us." The Us is clearly the murdered children, and the He could either be Henry or Michael. But the THEY is the key word – there were only ever two people involved in the burning of pizzerias – Henry and Michael. This means that Orville can't be talking to Michael, leaving William as the only candidate.

I've given a lot of thought about the "I don't hate you" line from the Marionette that you brought, and I don't think it automatically disqualifies the William Afton in Hell theory. Instead, I think when she says that she means one of two things: 1) she's being sarcastic and mocking him. In this case, her thought process when she says that to William isn't "Hey, I forgive you, we're all good now," but more like "Yeah, suuuuuure I forgive you, ha ha lol, yeah no, go fuck yourself." William strikes me as the kind of person who would mock and be sadistic towards his victims (which seems to be in character for him based on his FNAF6 lines), so the Marionette is now giving some of his own medicine back to him. Or 2) Charlie is considered by Henry to be a kind and sweet girl, and as sa result it isn't all that hard for me to believe that she is the ONLY one of William Afton's victims willing to forgive him, or at the very least let go of her hatred so that she can rest in peace. At the same time, however, Afton's OTHER victims are much more vindictive and spiteful to him, and she's staying behind to watch over them cause it's in her nature to watch over the children. But while she might not despise William Afton anymore, that doesn't mean that she won't enjoy getting a free shot on him if he fucks up with the Music Box.

Regardless of whether the UCN is William Afton's Hell or Michael Afton's Purgatory, the background music of the OMC scene is William screaming at Henry or Michael, either cursing them or begging them for help. He's almost certainly in Hell, whether the nature of that Hell is the UCN or not.

Also, please be aware that I wrote this chapter and this arc BEFORE I learned about the tidbits in the Logbook. So this means that in my story, the events of FNAF4 take place soon after the Bite of 1983 happens, as opposed to around the time of FNAF1 like the Logbook suggests.

Warning: Violence and Blood. Cause Nightmares.

Chapter 42 – A Brother's Despair

" _When they started to torment me in my dreams, they trapped me in Eric's old bedroom, recreating the house that we used to live in as kids,"_ Michael began his tale as Liz climbed onto her brother's lap as though she was listening to him tell a bedtime story, just like in the days of old. _"The first night, they didn't actually do much to attack me. They barely advanced at all, and whenever I shined my flashlight down the hallways, they always retreated from the far corners and out of sight. And every so often, a little monstrosity in the form of a Freddy plushie showed up on my bed, but when I shined my light upon it, it quickly disappeared."_ Michael's eyes glazed over at the distant memory. _"That night wasn't about trying to kill me. It was about trying to bring out my fear, to intensify my terror of the monsters that I knew lurked in the shadows but couldn't do anything about. I was so relieved when 6 AM hit and I could wake up. I thought that maybe it was just a bad dream, that I could forget about the whole thing,"_ he chuckled bitterly. _"Oh, how wrong I was."_

Liz gripped her brother's arm tightly, clearly afraid of whatever horror he was about to reveal. _"They came for you the next night, didn't they?"_

The grim expression of Michael's face confirmed her fears. _"The second night I had these horrific dreams, the Nightmares made their presence known to me fully. If I had any hope that they had simply been fleeting figments of my imagination, they thoroughly proved me wrong. Even though I didn't understand what those creatures were or what was going on at the time, I instinctively understood that when they caught me, I would be in for an agonizing, horrible death."_

" _That sounds just like Nightmare,"_ Liz muttered.

Michael sighed. _"If only the Nightmares were so merciful. You've met Nightmare before, Lizzie. You know how he works, how he goes after his prey. You and I both know that it isn't just what the Nightmares_ _ **do**_ _to you that makes them so terrifying."_

He looked straight into Liz's eyes. _"It is what they_ _ **say.**_ _"_

 **Night 2**

The terrified teen swung his flashlight frantically at the closet and the doors. The monsters that he had barely caught a glimpse of last night, the horrific abominations that had taken on the forms of the animatronics from Fredbear's Family Diner, were now surrounding him at all sides. The demonic versions of Bonnie and Chica blocked the left and right doors of the bedroom, while the grotesque parodies of Foxy and Freddy peered out of the closet and loomed over him from the bed respectively. They had him completely cornered, and there would be no escaping whatever horrific fate they had planned for him.

" **WELL, WELL, WELL…"** Nightmare Bonnie sneered at him from the left door. **"WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? A LITTLE BRAT WHO HAS BLACKENED HIS SOUL WITH THE DEATH OF ONE HE SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED AND LOVED?"**

" **INDEED,"** Nightmare Chica bared her razor-sharp teeth in a predatory grin. **"AND AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE, TOO! BARELY THIRTEEN AND HE IS ALREADY GUILTY OF FRATRICIDE. IF THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF HIS SINS, THE WICKEDNESS IN HIS SOUL WILL MAKE FOR SUCH A DELIGHTFUL FEAST WHEN WE GET OUR CLAWS ON HIM IN THE WORLD BEYOND!"**

Michael shrank back from the Nightmares, holding his hands out in front of him in a futile gesture to ward them off. "I…I…I'm not a murderer!" he desperately stuttered. Even as he said them he knew his words were empty, and the mocking laughter of all four Nightmares showed that they knew it too.

" **NOT A MURDERER, YOU SAY?"** Nightmare Foxy asked as he began verbally tearing Michael's defense to shreds. **"THEN TELL ME THIS, MICHAEL AFTON…WHY DOES YOUR BROTHER LIE MOTIONLESS IN A HOSPITAL BED EVEN NOW, FEEBLY CLINGING TO LIFE AS HIS LIFEBLOOD SPILLS OUT ONTO THE GROUND? IT WAS YOUR ACTIONS, YOUR CRUELTY, THAT REDUCED HIM TO THIS."**

"It was an accident!" Michael tried to explain even as Nightmare Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy left their positions and advanced towards him. "I…I didn't mean for that to happen!"

" **AN ACCIDENT?"** Nightmare Freddy scornfully repeated from behind him. **"WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU LIFTED YOUR BROTHER AND SHOVED HIS HEAD INTO AN ANIMATRONIC WITH MOVING JAWS? AT BEST, YOU'RE AN IMBECILE. BUT YOU'RE GUILTY OF FAR MORE THAN THAT, AREN'T YOU?"**

"W…what?" Before he could say anything more, Michael started to hear something in the distance. A cold chill crept down his spine as he realized what it was.

" _No, no, no!"_ his little brother's voice echoed from the shadows, saying the exact same words he had spoken at the party just before the prank that had destroyed his life.

" _It's hilarious,"_ Michael heard his own voice taunt his brother, and he felt physically ill at just how cruel and monstrous his voice was. _"Why don't we help him get a closer look? He will love it!"_ He remembered Eric's fearful, tear-stricken face, remembered how he had begged for mercy and for him to stop.

And he remembered not caring about any of his feelings.

" **YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED,"** Nightmare Bonnie pointed out, as if he could hear his thoughts. **"YOU COULD HAVE STAYED YOUR HAND. YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE."**

" **BUT YOU DIDN'T,"** Nightmare Chica added with a vicious grin. **"YOU ONLY LAUGHED AT HIS MISERY AND SEALED HIS FATE."**

" **ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?"** Nightmare Foxy taunted. **"YOU WANTED HIM TO STOP CRYING SO MUCH, DIDN'T YOU?"** He broke out in a menacing laugh. **"CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS, MICHAEL AFTON. YOUR BROTHER WILL** _ **NEVER CRY AGAIN**_ **!"**

"No, no, no!" Michael whimpered. "He'll wake up! He'll come back! I know he will! I know he…oh, my God…oh, my God! I…I…"

Before he could even finish his thoughts, the voices from the past rose up to mock him again.

" _No, please!"_ his brother begged, and Michael wished more than anything that he could undo the events of that terrible day. _"No, I don't want to go!"_

" _Come on guys,"_ his own voice replied, dripping with malice. _"Let's give this little man a lift! He wants to get up close and personal!"_

" **HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND,"** Nightmare Freddy growled, and now he was glaring directly down at the cowering teenager. **"IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY. WHY WAS HIS BROTHER TORMENTING HIM LIKE THIS? WHY DID HIS BROTHER HATE HIM SO MUCH?"**

"I…I didn't…I didn't hate…" Michael feebly spluttered, tears pouring out of his eyes.

" **IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIS HAPPIEST DAY,"** the animatronic demon ruthlessly continued his condemnation, **"CHERISHED AND CELEBRATED BY HIS FAMILY ABOVE ALL ELSE. INSTEAD, THAT DAY AND THE DAYS LEADING UP TO IT WERE A NEVERENDING NIGHTMARE. ALL BECAUSE OF** _ **YOU.**_ **"**

As if to punctuate Nightmare Freddy's words, Michael's voice permeated the room like a poisonous miasma. _"You heard the little man! He wants to get even closer! Ha ha ha! I think the little man said he wants to give Fredbear a big kiss! One! Two! Three!"_ A sickening crunch echoed throughout the dream, and what little of Michael's composure was left shattered completely. The teenager collapsed onto the floor, wailing uncontrollably in horror and remorse at the brother he had all but destroyed and the monster he had become.

" **HE CALLED OUT FOR HELP,"** Nightmare Bonnie hissed. **"HE CALLED OUT FOR SOMEONE,** _ **ANYONE**_ **TO SAVE HIM."**

" **BUT NOBODY CAME…"** Nightmare Chica cackled. **"NOBODY CAME…TO SAVE HIM FROM YOU."**

A sharp, agonizing pain suddenly erupted in Michael's throat as he felt a hook tear into it and jerk his head upward, straight into wicked, burning eyes of Nightmare Foxy. **"AND NOBODY WILL COME…"** he snarled viciously, **"…TO SAVE YOU FROM** _ **US!"**_

With a fluid, sweeping motion, Nightmare Foxy tore his hook out of Michael's throat and swung it across his neck, slashing it open from the left to right. The teenager could only gurgle unintelligibly as blood splattered across the floor and his lifeblood began to pour out onto the ground. As one, the four Nightmares roared with laughter as he fell face-down onto the ground and the pain overwhelmed him. "I deserve this," was Michael's last thought as the world around him faded into black. "I deserve every bit of this."

Present Day…

" _When I came back to life in that dream, the Nightmares were there again,"_ Michael's voice trembled as he remembered those horrible moments. _"They told me that they would never let me go from the Hell that they had created for me unless I could win a game of survival against them, each night, for an entire week. But that didn't even matter, not at first…"_

" _Why…why not?"_ Liz stuttered. Had the Nightmares violated their rules before they had even forced Michael into their twisted little game?

The despairing expression on his face shocked her to the core. _"Because I let them torture me,"_ he confessed. _"I let them get their hands on me. I let them kill me and tear me to pieces over and over in that nightmare."_

" _WHAT?"_ his sister nearly shrieked. _"Why would you LET that happen to you?"_

She recoiled at the empty look in his eyes, but the dread it sparked in her was nothing compared to his answer. _"Because it was the only way I could think of to show Eric that I was sorry for what I did to him."_

 **Night 2, 100 Deaths Later…**

Michael sat at the foot of Eric's bed in the dream world, just as he had done throughout the entirety of this accursed night. His hands instinctively went up to his stomach – it had been Nightmare Freddy who had killed him last time. The demonic bear animatronic had torn open his stomach and ripped out his inner organs, showing them to him one at a time even as he writhed on the floor in agony.

"I wonder…I wonder who's going to get me this time?" he mumbled to himself as he looked around the four places the Nightmares always started from. He couldn't see them, not yet, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time before they got their hands on him again. He looked down at the Fredbear plush that sat on the foot of the bed next to him, and tears filled his eyes again as he remembered how Eric had always loved that particular plushie even though he was terrified of the animatronic that it was based off of.

"I'm sorry, Eric…" his voice wavered. "I know…I know there's nothing I can do to take back what I did. I'll understand if you hate me forever. But please…please know that if nothing else, I AM sorry for what I did to you. And if it takes me getting killed a thousand, a million times by these monsters to prove that…then I'm ready. I'm ready to make up for it…with as much pain and blood that you want me to give."

He put down the Fredbear plushie and heard the familiar mocking laughter in the right corridor – it seemed that Nightmare Chica was the one who was going to be the one this time around. As he wearily braced himself for yet another death, he suddenly heard a new voice whisper in the bedroom.

" _Mikey…"_

Michael jolted up in shock. That voice, could it be…

" _Mikey!"_

"Eric?" the teenager was too shocked to do anything but whisper. "Is that you?"

" _Don't give up, Mikey!"_ Eric's voice, if it even was his brother's voice to begin with, urged him. _"Don't give up!"_

"Wh…what?" Michael asked desperately. "What are you…"

" _Fight back!"_ the voice shouted in his mind. _"FIGHT BACK!"_

All his thoughts of despair and hopelessness were forced away from his mind, replaced only with the overwhelming need to do what his brother wanted him to. With a cry, Michael charged at the right door before Nightmare Chica could force her way into the room. With a shout, he pulled at the doorknob and slammed the door shut, right in front of her face.

" **WHAT'S THIS?"** Nightmare Chica asked in surprise. Michael had expected to hear rage at being defied, but instead she let out an almost eager laugh that disturbed him far more. **"IT SEEMS THIS LITTLE WHELP HAS SUDDENLY GROWN A SPINE!"**

" **INDEED,"** Nightmare Bonnie chuckled menacingly from behind the door on the other side. **"PERHAPS HE ISN'T SUCH A PATHETIC WEAKLING AFTER ALL!"**

"I WILL get out of here!" Michael declared, trying to sound braver than he actually felt. "I WILL escape this Nightmare!"

" **YOU WANT TO ESCAPE?"** Nightmare Freddy's voice hissed from the bed. Even as Michael's flashlight shined on him, three demonic plush-like versions of him crawled out of the holes on his body. **"YOU WANT TO BE FREE FROM THE HELL YOU CREATED FOR YOURSELF?"** The larger bear animatronic vanished, leaving behind only the three Freddles that quickly vanished under the bed.

" **THEN** _ **SURVIVE."**_

Present Day…

" _I didn't know if it really was Eric who told me to fight back that night,"_ Michael told Liz, who was utterly engrossed in the story that he was telling her and giving him her full attention. _"But all I could think about at that moment was how I didn't want to fail my brother again. I didn't want to fail Eric like I'd failed him for the entirety of his life. If Eric wanted me to fight back, then I would play the Nightmares' twisted game for his sake. Apart from the many deaths that I suffered in that Hell, that was the only offer of repentance I could give him."_

" _He wouldn't have wanted you to suffer,"_ Liz tried to assure him. _"That wasn't the kind of person he was."_

Michael lifted an eyebrow. _"People can change when terrible things happen to them,"_ he pointed out. _"Even Charlie, a sweet, kind girl who loved to hold people close to her to comfort them, succumbed to the black haze of vengeance and rage, even if it was for a much shorter time than the others. But even if Eric did want me to suffer for what I'd done to him, he didn't need to do anything. The Nightmares took care of all that and more."_

Liz shook her head sadly. Between William Afton and herself, there were already enough monsters in their family, and she couldn't bear the idea of either of her brothers falling to the darkness along with the two of them. _"What game did the Nightmares force you to play?"_ she asked, wanting to change the subject.

" _As Nightmare Freddy told me, the name of the game was to survive,"_ Michael explained, sounding relieved that he could talk about something that wasn't Eric despite the grisly topic. _"Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica would approach the left and right doors, trying to get in my room. If I shined my flashlight on them while they were at the far corners, they would retreat. However, if I shined the flashlight while they were directly behind the doors, then they would kill me. Nightmare Foxy would also run back and forth between the two hallways, but unlike the others, if he got into my room he wouldn't kill me immediately, but instead hide in my closet. I had to shine my flashlight on him to keep him at bay within that closet, otherwise he would kill me."_

" _Remember those Freddles that I talked about earlier?"_ When Liz nodded, he continued. _"They would appear on the bed as time passed, one at a time. I had to make sure to shine my flashlight on the bed every so often to drive them away, or else they would summon Nightmare Freddy and he would kill me instantly. With these rules, I had to survive every night from 12 AM to 6 AM, and if they got their hands on me then I would have to start over after a brutal and gruesome death. They swore that they would never let me go unless I completed those nights, and though I don't know if they were telling the truth for certain, I can tell you that I never woke up unless I succeeded."_

" _I'm sorry, Mikey…"_ Liz murmured as she leaned into her brother's arms.

" _Don't be,"_ Michael replied, his expression making it clear that he didn't want any sympathy for himself. _"I deserved every moment of my suffering. And whenever the faintest thought that maybe I was being too hard on myself materialized in my mind, the Nightmares made sure to crush that fleeting hope as thoroughly as possible."_

 **Night 4**

Michael frantically rushed over to the left door and listened carefully at the crack. He could hear Nightmare Bonnie breathing in the darkness, and quickly shut the door to block him out. He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the demon walk away down the corridor and returned back to the main room. But his relief wouldn't last long.

" **IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT,"** he could hear Nightmare Chica hiss from further down the right hall. He rushed over to the right door to try and block her off, but the accusation had already fractured his composure.

" **YOU CRUSHED YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE BEFORE IT COULD EVEN BEGIN,"** Nightmare Foxy spat from the closet, causing Michael to panic and flash his light down the right hallway without checking for breathing first. Luckily, Nightmare Chica had only been at the far corner of the hallway and she retreated, though Michael knew that he might not be so lucky next time.

" **YOU TURNED HIS HAPPIEST DAY INTO HIS LAST DAY,"** Nightmare Bonnie snarled, causing Michael's heart to sink even further – not just because the demon animatronic was already making another assault on his bedroom so quickly, but also because the Nightmares were once again throwing the weight of his sins in front of him, shattering his concentration in the process.

" **HIS BLOOD WILL STAIN YOUR HANDS UNTIL THE END OF TIME,"** Nightmare Freddy's voice growled from the direction of the Freddles, and as Michael instinctively looked at his hands he swore he could see them being covered with his brother's blood. **"NO MATTER HOW WELL YOU AVOID US, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO HIDE FROM YOUR SINS."**

"I know," Michael thought despairingly. "I'll always be the sick bastard who killed his own brother for a joke."

His thoughts were suddenly broken by a plea for help in the distance. _"Mikey!"_ the voice screamed. _"They have me, Mikey! It hurts, it hurts so much! Please, help me Mikey!"_

"ERIC!" Michael screamed back. All thoughts were cast aside as he rushed to the left door and swung it open. "I'm coming, Eric! I won't let them hurt you!" He took his flashlight and shined it into the corridor…

…straight into the waiting face of Nightmare Bonnie. **"GOT YOU!"** the demon cackled as he lunged forward, grabbing Michael and piercing his shoulders with his sharp, brutal claws. **"DID YOU FORGET? THIS IS YOUR DOOM AND YOUR DOOM ALONE! YOUR BROTHER ISN'T HERE, AND HE CERTAINLY WOULDN'T WASTE HIS TIME ON A WRETCH LIKE YOU!"** Michael could only watch in horror and struggle fruitlessly as Nightmare Bonnie reached around his throat and squeezed, simultaneously crushing it and skewering it at the same time. **"IT'S SO MUCH MORE FUN TO STRANGLE THE LIFE OUT OF YOU WHEN YOU TRY TO FIGHT BACK."**

And as the black haze of death clouded his eyes like it had so many times before, the teen could hear Nightmare Bonnie taunt him one final time. **"WHAT A GIFT OUR BROTHER HAS GIVEN US TO RELISH. A LIVING VICTIM…WHO** _ **CANNOT PERISH!"**_

Present Day…

" _They actually_ _ **imitated**_ _Eric's voice just to try and get to you?"_ Liz gasped in horror and revulsion.

" _A trick that was as effective as it was cruel,"_ Michael had to grudgingly admit. _"They tried to pull it on me a few more times afterwards, but I had learned that it was nothing but a lie very quickly, and as much as it tore at my heart to ignore the false pleas for help, I knew that I had no choice if I wanted to survive. The only small comfort was that they soon gave up using it, though by that point I knew that they had something worse in store for me."_

Liz put a hand on her brother's arm. _"It's okay, Mikey,"_ she tried to comfort him. _"That's all in the past now. The Nightmares can't hurt you anymore. Not now."_

Michael sighed and stroked his sister's hair. _"I know, Lizzie. And as terrifying as it all was, I WAS making progress. I slowly but surely got used to the demons' attacks and could figure out strategies to block them all efficiently and survive. But then, on the fifth night, everything changed."_

" _They sent a new Nightmare after you, didn't they?"_ Liz asked.

Michael nodded grimly. _"There is a hierarchy to the Nightmares, Lizzie. An order to their otherwise savage nature. The four animatronics I had been tormented by up until that point – Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, Chica, they were merely the weakest and least powerful of their kind. And they would not let their prey slip out so easily. Once they realized I was starting to beat them, they brought forth a new Nightmare. One that was not just more powerful, vicious, and cunning compared to the others, but one that represented my sins and regrets far more effectively than the rest ever could."_

 **Night 5**

Michael waited anxiously as he sat at the foot of the bed. Every night before this, the four Nightmares had greeted him with their mocking laughter and promises of death. But now they had vanished from sight, nowhere to be found. Had they finally decided to leave him alone?

" **LOOKING FOR MY KIN?"** a new voice hissed from the shadows. **"THEY HAVE BEEN RELIEVED FROM OUR HUNT FOR THIS PARTICULAR NIGHT. BUT I ASSURE YOU, WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU WILL BEG FOR THEM TO COME BACK!"**

Michael screamed in horror as a new Nightmare animatronic appeared in front of him. It was even larger than the other Nightmares, a golden bear-like monstrosity wearing a purple hat and bowtie. Even if its many demonic features weren't enough to terrify Michael, simply seeing the animatronic that he had killed his brother with was enough to break apart his mental state in a way that the other animatronics could not.

" **I MUST THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS HOSPITALITY,"** Nightmare Fredbear mockingly thanked him. **"YOUR BROTHER'S HEAD MADE FOR SUCH A DELIGHTFUL FEAST!"** At this, the teen lowered his face and buried it into his hands, trying and failing to hold back tears as he was once again reminded of his unspeakable crime.

Nightmare Fredbear sneered, his expression utterly devoid of sympathy or mercy. **"YOU WEEP FOR HIM NOW,"** the demon ruthlessly snarled his condemnation. **"BUT WHERE WAS THIS LOVE, THIS COMPASSION, WHEN HE WAS STILL ALIVE? TELL ME, MICHAEL AFTON. IN THE DAYS, WEEKS, EVEN MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE DAY HIS FATE WAS SEALED, DID YOU SHOW HIM EVEN A SINGLE ACT OF KINDNESS? DID YOU EVEN ONCE ALLOW HIM TO FEEL SOMETHING OTHER THAN FEAR AND YOUR MALICE CRUSHING HIS SPIRIT?"**

"I…I…I…" Michael stuttered out. He tried desperately to think of any moment when he had been kind and loving to Eric, _but he couldn't find one._ All that he could think about were the many times he had bullied and tormented his brother. Nightmare Fredbear was right – his sins reached far beyond just that cursed birthday and the days leading up to it.

As if he could hear his thoughts, Nightmare Fredbear's mouth twisted into an unholy sneer. **"YOU NEVER SAW A BROTHER, DID YOU?"** his next words tore into the teen's soul. **"ALL YOU EVER SAW WAS A WEAKLING UNWORTHY TO BREATHE THE SAME AIR AS YOU!"**

"That's not what I think of Eric!" Michael shouted, blinking away tears. "He's my brother! He's someone I should have…I should have cared for from…from the beginning…" his voice trailed off. "He deserved someone better than…than me…" he finished quietly.

" **HOW RIGHT YOU ARE,"** Nightmare Fredbear agreed, his voice dripping with acid. **"HE DESERVED BETTER THAN SCUM LIKE YOU. THE RUINATION OF HIS BIRTHDAY WAS MERELY THE CULMINATION OF COUNTLESS DAYS FILLED WITH YOUR WICKEDNESS AND HIS FEAR. AND YOU MUST LIVE WITH THIS TRUTH FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY."**

The teen didn't say anything, for what was there to say? There was no hiding from the truth that Nightmare Fredbear was forcing upon him, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

" **IT'S QUITE FASCINATING HOW CRUEL THE WORLD REALLY IS, ISN'T IT?"** the demon tilted his head, speaking almost pensively. **"THE MORE YOU HATE SOMEONE, THE MORE YOU DESPISE THEIR EXISTENCE WITH EVERY FIBER OF YOUR BEING, THE EASIER IT IS TO TEAR THEIR LIFE FROM THEM AND LEAVE ONLY A LIFELESS CORPSE BEHIND. BUT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU CHERISH AND CARE FOR THOSE YOU LOVE, YOU CANNOT BRING THEM BACK FROM THE DEAD, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY."**

Nightmare Fredbear's blood-red gaze suddenly snapped down onto Michael, and he knew that yet another agonizing death would soon be upon him. **"BUT THE LAWS OF THE WORLD DON'T APPLY HERE, DO THEY?"** he questioned as his mouth stretched into a terrifying grin. **"AFTER ALL, WE CAN PUT YOU BACK TOGETHER, AND THEN TEAR YOU APART AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!"**

The golden demon animatronic let out a terrifying laugh as he rushed towards Michael with much greater speed than the teen had expected from him. Michael scrambled back, but it was no use. Nightmare Fredbear reached out and grabbed him by his shirt, his claws tearing into fabric and skin as he lifted the teen up… _straight towards his jaws._

" **LET US SEE HOW MANY TIMES I CAN TEAR YOU APART. HEH HEH HEH HEH…HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"** Michael screamed as Nightmare Fredbear forced his head into his mouth. The last thing he remembered seeing was two rows of razor sharp fangs before the demon slammed his jaws shut. Then, with a sickening CRUNCH, his head exploded in unbearable agony, and the world around him vanished in blurs of bloody red.

Present Day…

" _I have to hand it to the Nightmare Fredbear…"_ Michael chuckled weakly. _"He might have been a cruel, tortuous fiend just like all the others, but when it comes to poetic justice he's an expert at it like nobody else. I crushed Eric's head inside of Fredbear's jaws, so it was only fair that a demonic version of him do the same to me."_

Liz whimpered as the mental image of a yellow version of Nightmare crushing her brother's head in his jaws appeared in her head. _"You really weren't joking earlier,"_ she murmured. _"Nightmare really WAS merciful to us compared to what he did to you."_

Michael grimaced. _"Nightmare hadn't even shown up yet,"_ he commented. _"At this point, I was only dealing with his subordinates and his second in command. Before Nightmare Fredbear arrived, I could almost say I understood how to play around the Nightmares' game and give myself a decent chance at survival after my fair share of failures. But once Nightmare Fredbear arrived, he changed the game entirely. The other Nightmares only fulfilled one role at a time, but he took on the role of all of them. He constantly switched between hallways, forcing me to run back and forth between the doors to try and close them shut before he got his hands on me and killed me. And sometimes he would even appear in either the closet or the bed, and the only way I could know was his laughter, mocking me throughout the night."_

He wrapped his arms around Liz and hugged her. _"I haven't told this story to a single person, Lizzie, not even to Henry. I didn't want to weigh down someone's happiness in Heaven by sharing the knowledge of my sins. But I feel comfortable sharing this with you, Lizzie. Because I can use my story to show you that I love you and forgive you, confessing my sins and my nightmares will lift your spirit up instead of dragging it down, at least in the long run."_

Lizzie gently returned the hug. _"I'll always be here for you, Mikey,"_ she promised as she closed her eyes. _"After everything I did, it's the least I can do for you."_ The two of them sat there on the bed together, content in their silent embrace for several moments. Then, Liz's eyes snapped opened as she realized something. _"Wait a minute…you said that Nightmare hadn't even shown up YET. Does that mean…"_

" _Yes…"_ Michael sighed, grimly confirming her worst fears. _"Nightmare did come after me personally, though not at that point. He didn't appear the night Nightmare Fredbear attacked, nor even the night after. On the sixth night of my tortured dreams, every Nightmare that I had ever encountered came after me, more aggressive and determined to see me suffer than they had been in the past. They did not say a single word during the entire night, which was fine by me, and instead focused entirely on hunting me down and killing me. At 4 AM, Nightmare Fredbear took their place, and that transition disoriented me enough to kill me a few times. But I made it through the night well enough, and I dared to hope that, soon, my suffering would end."_ He shook his head and let out a bitter, sardonic laugh. _"It's frankly amazing just how much of an idiot I was…"_

 **Night 7**

When Michael appeared in the same place that he always did, he knew that something was different. Nothing outwardly about the bedroom had changed, but he could feel it. An aura of menace and despair that hadn't been present before, even with Nightmare Fredbear. "I know you're there!" he called out to the darkness. "The others…they always said something to me and killed me in some messed up way before moving on to the game. If you're going to do the same, just get it over with already."

For several seconds, there was no answer. Then…

" **EAGER TO DIE SO QUICKLY, ARE YOU?"** a guttural, bestial voice echoed all around him. **"PATIENCE. I HAVE MUCH THAT I WISH TO SAY TO YOU FIRST BEFORE WE BEGIN THE FINAL STAGE OF OUR LITTLE GAME."** A new animatronic-like demon appeared in front of Michael, and instantly the teenager felt himself shrink before his burning red eyes. Physically, the creature didn't look much different from Nightmare Fredbear – a black version with a yellow-colored hat and bowtie, instead of purple. But _this_ demon exuded power and malice, far more than any of the others before him. Michael instinctively understood that the monster that now stood before him was the lord and master of the Nightmares, the true orchestrator of his week of corrupted nights, and the cruelest of them all.

" **WE'VE HAD QUITE A LOT OF FUN OVER THE PAST WEEK, HAVEN'T WE?"** Nightmare asked, his tone almost conversational. That only put Michael more on edge – whatever politeness the demon expressed was almost certainly fake. **"MY LOYAL SUBJECTS HAVE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED TEARING YOU TO PIECES AND HUNTING YOU DOWN IN YOUR DREAMS."**

Unholy laughter echoed from the shadows all around the bedroom – apparently, the Nightmares agreed with their master's words. **"I'VE BEEN QUITE GENEROUS TO THEM, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED,"** Nightmare tilted his head thoughtfully. **"ALWAYS GIVING THEM THE FIRST SHARE OF OUR VICTIMS AND TOLERATING THEIR NONSENSE WHEN I WOULD HAVE BUTCHERED OUTSIDERS FOR SAYING THE SAME. THERE IS A REASON WHY NONE OF THEM HAVE CHALLENGED MY RULE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS."**

Michael blinked his eyes and looked at Nightmare blankly. Why was the demon lord talking about a topic that seemed completely irrelevant to him?

" **IF A DEMON AND A MONSTER LIKE ME, ONE DEFINED BY EVIL AND WICKEDNESS, CAN SHOW KINDNESS AND CHARITY TO HIS FAMILY, THEN SURELY IT WOULD BE A SIMPLE MATTER FOR A HUMAN TO LOVE AND CARE FOR HIS BROTHER. AND YET…"**

Nightmare's eyes glared down upon Michael with a blazing red glow, and suddenly the point he was trying to make became horribly, horribly clear to the teenager.

" **I HAVE ONLY EVER STRUCK DOWN A FELLOW NIGHTMARE WHEN THEY DARE TO BETRAY ME. BUT WHAT IS YOUR JUSTIFICATION, MICHAEL AFTON?"** Nightmare ruthlessly interrogated. **"WHAT SIN, WHAT GRIEVANCE DID YOUR BROTHER COMMIT AGAINST YOU TO JUSTIFY TORMENTING HIS EVERY LIVING MOMENT AND ENDING HIS LIFE BY CRUSHING HIS HEAD IN FREDBEAR'S JAWS?"**

Michael stayed silent. He knew that there was nothing that he could say that would justify what he had done. Even if he could rationalize the Bite as an accident, he couldn't say the same for the rest of his actions.

" **THE ONLY CRIME YOUR BROTHER EVER DID WAS TO BE HIMSELF,"** Nightmare answered the question for him. **"HE HAD NO CONTROL OVER HIS OWN NATURE, CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINED HIM FROM THE BEGINNING. YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HIS ANCHOR OF COURAGE, HELPING HIM TO OVERCOME HIS FEARS THROUGH LOVE AND SUPPORT. INSTEAD, YOU SAW HIS LACK OF BRAVERY AS A WEAKNESS AND A SIGN OF INFERIORITY, AND YOU PUNISHED HIM FOR IT ALL THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE."**

The demon lord advanced towards him, and Michael instinctively flinched as he waited for a brutal death to come. But it seemed that Nightmare wasn't done speaking yet, for he made no move to grab him. **"A DEMON WHO TREATS HIS FAMILY WITH RESPECT, AND A HUMAN WHO TORMENTED AND KILLED HIS OWN KIN. LET ME ASK YOU THIS, MICHAEL AFTON."** He stared straight into the teen's eyes. **"WHO IS TRULY THE BETTER PERSON BETWEEN US? WHO IS THE TRUE MONSTER HERE?"**

Michael's heart sank to his stomach as he realized just how low he had sunk. The unholy creature wasn't just attacking his mind or body anymore. He was challenging him for moral superiority, and Michael _couldn't deny_ that challenge. Not after everything he had done to Eric.

" **I CAN SMELL YOUR FEAR, LITTLE BRAT,"** Nightmare sneered. **"I FELT IT SLOWLY DWINDLE AS THE NIGHTS PASSED, YET NOW IT IS STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE. PERHAPS IT IS MY APPEARANCE THAT FRIGHTENS YOU? SOMETHING ABOUT ME THAT STRIKES FEAR INTO YOUR HEART IN WAYS THAT THE OTHERS COULD NOT?"** The demon's mouth stretched into a menacing grin. **"OR MAYBE…IT IS THE** _ **TRUTH**_ **THAT YOU FEAR. THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW FAR YOU HAVE FALLEN, AND HOW BLACK YOUR SOUL HAS BECOME."**

Nightmare reached out with his claw, but instead of grabbing Michael's head, he pulled the teen's chin up until he was staring directly into the demon's blood-red eyes. **"YOUR INNERMOST THOUGHTS ARE LAID BARE BEFORE ME. YOU** _ **WANT**_ **TO SUFFER. EVEN AS YOU SCURRY IN THE DARK, FLEEING FROM THE FANGS AND CLAWS OF ME AND MY KIN, YOU** _ **WANT**_ **US TO CATCH YOU AND PROLONG YOUR AGONY. BECAUSE THE SHEDDING OF YOUR BLOOD IS THE ONLY JUSTICE YOU CAN GIVE TO YOUR BROTHER."**

At last, he grabbed Michael's neck and lifted him into the air, just like Nightmare Fredbear had done. **"WELL THEN…ALLOW ME TO GRANT YOU YOUR WISH."** Nightmare raised his hand, then suddenly slashed his claws across Michael's face and neck with a savagery even greater than that of his kin. Michael screamed as his head and throat exploded into agony and blood splattered out, but Nightmare was far from done. Even as he flailed in the air, Nightmare used his other hand and impaled Michael's stomach with his claws, before shoving the teen's head into his jaws and crushing it with his fangs, just as Nightmare Fredbear had done. Michael screamed in agony and terror, not just because Nightmare's brutality far exceeded that of the other demons, but also because unlike every other time, he couldn't feel himself fading away. The gaping wounds in his face, head, throat, and stomach were pouring blood and intensifying in agony with every growing second. Nightmare was prolonging his life, holding him by a thread just so that he could suffer even longer.

With a cruel laugh, Nightmare shoved Michael away from him and his mutilated body stumbled backward, toppling to the floor. The demon lord glared down at the broken teen and raised his massive foot, ready to stomp on the boy's chest.

" **YOU WILL NOT BE SPARED,"** he growled. **"YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED. YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF."** And even through the haze of red that was consuming his vision, Michael could have sworn that underneath the familiar cruelty and malice, he could see the same contempt and disgust that he felt towards himself in Nightmare's gaze.

Then, the demon stomped his foot downward, shattering organs and bone, and the rest of Michael's world exploded in pain before finally fading to black.

Present Day…

" _So cruel…"_ Liz blinked away tears of fear at the horrific image her brother was describing. _"Why was Nightmare so cruel to you?"_

" _I hope it was cruelty, Lizzie…"_ Michael replied grimly. _"I hope cruelty and brutality was all it was."_

" _WHY?"_ his sister exclaimed. _"Why would you WANT that?"_

" _Because the alternative is so much more horrifying,"_ Michael shuddered, _"at least it is to me. What does it say about me as a person, if I committed an act so evil that even a demon is disgusted by it? What does it say about me as a human being, if a creature borne of evil can look me in the eye and say, without any hypocrisy, "I'm better than you as a person?""_ A pained look crossed his face. _"I've seen the Nightmares act, Lizzie. How well they coordinate with each other, how they look up to Nightmare. For all his wickedness, Nightmare treats his kin with far more respect than I ever gave to Eric, and in his own twisted way, he spoke on Eric's behalf when nobody else did,"_ He shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. _"I failed so fundamentally as a brother to Eric that a literal demon could do a better job at it than I could."_

" _That's not true, Mikey!"_ Liz countered, trying to reverse the incredibly negative portrayal that her brother had of himself. _"You were a good brother! At least you were to me!"_

Michael shook his head. _"If that were true, Eric would still be alive and I would never have let you die. My entire life is nothing but a history of fuck ups and trying to correct them."_

Despite everything, Liz's lips stretched into a humorless smile. _"Then I guess we have even more in common than we thought,"_ she commented wryly.

Her brother gave a weak chuckle, then sighed. _"Those last two nights…they were the hardest of all. Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica, Nightmare Freddy, Nightmare Foxy…they moved so quickly in their attacks that I could have sworn that they were cheating. It would seem like I had fended off one of them at the doors, closet, or bed, only for them to advance back seconds later. And at 4 AM, Nightmare took their place. And his attacks…"_ Michael shuddered before continuing, _"his attacks were by far the most brutal. Every time I lost to him, he would kill me in a different way. Sometimes, he would kill me exactly in the way I described. Other times, he would rip my limbs off one by one or stab both of my eyes out with his claws and then tear my head in half, skull, brains, and all. The only thing I could look forward to if he caught me was a death far more excruciating than anything I had ever experienced in my entire life, and it took all my focus to see past his tricks and make it to 6 AM. I almost gave up so many times, but after what seemed like eternity, I finally made it to the end."_ To Liz's shock, he suddenly smiled. A genuine, happy smile. _"And what I found at that end almost made all the pain and suffering worth it."_

 **Night 8, 6 AM**

Michael cried out as he fell to the floor, exhausted but relieved beyond description. He had finally done it. He had finally made it through the 8 nights of torment that Nightmare had created for him. It was finally over.

The room around him faded into black, and Nightmare appeared in the void in front of him. The demon lord glared down upon him and sneered, causing Michael to tense up in fear. Was he about to be tormented yet again even after he had made it to the end?"

" **WELL, WELL, WELL…"** Nightmare began. **"YOU HAVE MADE IT TO THE END OF THE EIGHTH AND FINAL NIGHT. I SUPPOSE I SHOULD OFFER YOU CONGRATULATIONS, SHOULDN'T I?"**

" _Enough, Nightmare!"_ a voice interrupted him. Michael's eyes bulged in surprise as Nightmare turned around to face the one who had called out to him. It was Eric. Michael's little brother looked up at Nightmare, his hands curled into tiny fists. _"You promised that if my brother made it through your game that you would let him go!"_ he shouted.

Michael gaped in blank shock. His brother, the one who had cowered in fear from every shadow, was now standing up to a _demon lord_ for an asshole like him. And to his even greater shock, Nightmare didn't react negatively to his intervention like Michael had feared. If anything, Michael could see a faint gleam of…was that _respect_ in the monster's eyes?

" **I DID INDEED,"** Nightmare agreed, some of the malevolence fading from his voice. **"I PROMISED YOUR BROTHER THAT I WOULD LET HIM GO, AND I STAND BY MY WORD. BUT I HAVE ONE LAST THING TO SAY TO HIM FIRST BEFORE I DEPART AND ALLOW HIM TO CONTINUE HIS PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR A LIFE."**

He suddenly turned back to Michael and grabbed him, lifting him up so that they were staring at each other eye-to-eye. Michael wondered what insult or taunt the demon would have to throw at him before he left.

But Nightmare would speak neither of those things. What he offered instead was much more ominous. **"YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW, FOOLISH CHILD,"** he snarled hatefully. **"ONE DAY, YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE."** Then, the demon dropped Michael and slowly faded away, letting out one last bout of menacing laughter as he did so. **"HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA!"**

Michael stayed on the floor for several seconds, prompting the specter of his brother to approach him worriedly. _"Mikey? Are you all right?"_

"ERIC!"the teen screamed his brother's name as he got off the floor and rushed towards him. Before Eric could say anything, Michael had his brother wrapped in the tightest hug that he had ever given him, tears pouring out of his eyes as he cried out "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" over and over again. Eric gently returned the hug and buried his head in his brother's chest, a demonstration that he had already forgiven him without speaking a word. The two brothers stood there in the void, embracing as family for the first time in living memory as they left the darkness of their past behind them.

There would be so much for them to talk about, in time. But for now, celebrating the end of the nightmare that had lasted a week and a day and the recreation of their relationship would be enough for them both.

/

A/N: 17 pages on Word, Jesus Christ. Definitely the longest chapter I've written in a long time.

There's a certain irony in the fact that, in my interpretation of FNAF, the Crying Child is the only member of the Afton family (besides the mom) that DIDN'T get tortured by Nightmare in some way, shape, or form. Makes you wonder how bad William Afton has it when Nightmare was already being this vicious to Michael.

I have a question for you, specifically about Nightmare's character. As a demon lord, Nightmare is monstrous, sadistic, and hateful. This we already knew about him. But he also has a small shred of morality and honor – at the very least, he values family to a surprisingly high degree, which is more than what I can say for William Afton. So here's my question. Why do you think he was so brutal to Michael (and even to Elizabeth to a lesser degree)? Do you think he was being the cruel and malicious demon that he always is, and that Michael's crime of tormenting and accidentally killing his brother gave him plenty of material to work with? Or do you think he was genuinely disgusted by his actions, and that his vicious treatment of the teen was motivated by a twisted sense of justice just as much as it was by his typical cruelty? I'll leave that for you to decide.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this chapter, since it is one of the chapters I have worked the hardest on out of this entire fic so far. Next chapter, whenever I get to it, will discuss Michael Afton's life, and the long path of atonement that he walked.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	43. Chapter 43 - Path of Atonement

A/N: The following author's note is a bit of a rant about the UCN. If you're not interested in my strongly held opinions on the WillHell vs. PurgaMike theory debate, I highly advise that you skip straight to the beginning of the chapter.

I'm gonna level with you guys – while I acknowledge that there is evidence to support the "Michael Afton in Purgatory" theory, I personally REALLY HATE the theory.

The collective story of FNAF 1-6 is, amongst other things, an excellent redemption tale. If we assume that Michael is the Foxy Brother to begin with, it is a tale of how a stupid teen made a terrible mistake with consequences that he never intended and dedicated the rest of his life to correct that wrong and atone for that mistake. This path of atonement would set him against his own father, his corrupted sister, and countless animatronics who wanted to see him die. And yet he never once wavered, even after death, because his desire to right those wrongs was that strong. That path of redemption would FINALLY be complete in FNAF 6, where he risks and ultimately gives his own life to destroy the evil his father has become and put the souls of all his victims to rest, earning his redemption in the process.

And you're telling me that this tale of redemption ends with him suffering _even more_ in the afterlife, because his brother suddenly and inexplicably becomes a hypocritical asshole and decides to torture him in the afterlife with absolutely NO character buildup to this whatsoever?

Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

Here's some brutal honesty for you – if the Bite Victim is going to be a hypocritical asshole who becomes far worse than his brother ever was and wants to torture his brother more than 30 years after his death over an **accident** when his brother spent his **entire life** atoning for that mistake, then frankly he doesn't deserve to go to Heaven. I would even go so far as to say that the Michael in Purgatory theory would destroy most of my sympathy for the Bite Victim and make him even worse than Elizabeth or the vengeful ghosts of William Afton's victims – at least Scrap Baby didn't have a choice in her corruption, and the ghostly children were seeking vengeance against a sociopathic, unrepentant asshole. As both a Christian and a lover of fiction, the "Michael in Purgatory" theory is such an unsatisfying, unfair, and all-around atrocious ending to an otherwise excellent tale of redemption that spans over six games that it would honestly destroy my enthusiasm for FNAF lore if it turned out to be true, and I utterly REFUSE to believe that Scott Cawthon, who is himself a devout Christian, would end FNAF in this way. We as an audience DESERVE to see William Afton suffer for all the evil things he has done, and a game where he finally gets what's coming to him makes much more sense both logically and story-wise. For fuck's sake, I would honestly rather have Michael be the Crying Child than for the Michael in Purgatory theory to be true – the Logbook has provided substantial support for this to be the case, and it would make for a different but intriguing tale of a once cowardly boy who grew some _titanic fucking balls_ to stop his evil father.

Not to mention the fact that (a) there are many more lines in the UCN that contradict the idea of Michael Afton being in UCN Purgatory than William Afton in UCN Hell (and after further analysis, I've realized that almost none of the lines supporting the PurgaMike theory outright contradict the WillHell theory - I don't include the people's interpretations of the decoded Fredbear quotes since they're a garbled mess and up to interpretation even after decoding) and (b) unlike the William Afton in Hell theory, the Michael in Purgatory theory itself depends on multiple theories and premises for it to be true, such as Michael being the Foxy Brother and not the Bite Victim, Bite Victim = Golden Freddy, and Bite Victim existing in some form in the real world instead of passing on, **NONE** of which have been confirmed. BV = GF has some SERIOUS holes in it, and the Logbook has recently opened vulnerabilities in Michael = Foxy Bro, which was previously all but unassailable. As someone who has taken a lot of humanities classes in college, I can tell you right now that a theory whose entire existence depends on other unproven theories is incredibly vulnerable to debunking – if even one of the foundation theories is proven false, or if other possibilities like William Afton experimenting on his own son by creating the Nightmares (with technology similar to that of the Twisted Animatronics in the boks) turn out to be true instead, then the PurgaMike theory becomes incredibly weakened at best or just completely falls apart.

And one more thing. Does Bite Victim even have the power to keep a soul trapped in Purgatory after death to begin with? I could understand Charlie being able to do it since she has magic powers, but BV? Seriously? If a vengeful child soul was that overpowered, then why the fuck didn't SIX vengeful children's ghosts punish William Afton more brutally when he first died as Springtrap?

So yeah. These are the reasons why I STRONGLY reject the "Michael in Purgatory being tortured by his own brother theory." But that doesn't mean I don't think Bite Victim has any imact in the FNAF storyline after his death. On the contrary, I think the Bite Victim might be HUGELY important, but it's not as the latest douchebag in a fucked up family. And this role shall be explained in great detail this chapter.

But who is the "one who you shouldn't have killed", assuming that William Afton is indeed in UCN Hell? I have my own theory on who that is…and it shall be explained in the future arc I talked about earlier.

Disclaimer: This chapter will have Christian themes.

Chapter 43 – Path of Atonement

"I'M SO SORRY, ERIC!" Michael sobbed as he buried his face in his brother's shoulder. "I never meant for my prank to kill you, I swear! I'm sorry for every mean thing I ever did to you! I'm sorry I made your life a living Hell for years! I'm…I'm…" his words trailed off and collapsed into inelegant mumbling as his tears fell freely from his eyes.

" _Shhhhh_ … _"_ Eric pat his brother's head with his hand. _"I know, Mikey. I saw it all. I saw how the Nightmares tortured you so horribly, and how you let it happen."_ He suddenly gave his brother a fierce glare that took him completely by surprise. _"What were you thinking?"_ he suddenly shouted. _"Do you think I WANTED to see you suffer like that?"_

"I…I thought it was the only way I could show that I was sorry…" Michael feebly explained, taken aback by his brother's unexpected fierceness.

" _Maybe I wanted to make you pay a bit for what you did, but I never wanted THAT!"_ Eric countered, before his voice dropped to a sad whisper. _"Nobody deserves that kind of cruelty."_

"I did…" Michael thought in his mind, but he decided not to say the words out loud. "I know there's no excuse for the way I treated you, Eric," he offered an apology instead. "The Nightmares were cruel, but they were not wrong. I know that I can't take anything back. But I do want you to know, Eric…I truly am sorry for everything I did to you in the past."

Eric sighed and leaned into his older brother's chest. _"I don't doubt that you are, Mikey. I know that you're telling the truth, there's no way you would've let yourself be tortured by those monsters otherwise."_ He stepped back and looked into his brother's eyes _. "I want to forgive you, Mikey. More than anything, I want to just step back and put the past behind us. But even if it was an accident, a sin as serious as what you did to me requires more than just words to forgive. If I asked you to do something to earn my forgiveness, would you do it?"_

"ANYTHING!" Michael almost shouted. "I don't care what it is, Eric, I'll do whatever you want me to! I ruined your life with that stupid prank I did, and it's only fair that I live out the rest of my life the way you want me to to make up for it."

Eric smiled. _"You don't know how happy I am to hear that, Mikey."_ His smile suddenly faded, and to his brother's growing concern a nervous look appeared on his face. _"Mikey…while you were fighting off the Nightmares, I've learned some terrible things. A terrible tragedy will happen in the future, one that will affect so many people."_

"Another tragedy?" Michael gasped in horror. "Even worse than the one I did with my prank?"

The grave look in his brother's eyes terrified him. " _Mikey, the tragedy that will happen in the future will make the one you did to me look like a complete joke. It will keep going for decades, and it will destroy so many innocent people, including Lizzie."_

"Lizzie?" Michael could barely breathe out their sister's name. "But how…? How is that possible? She disappeared a year ago…" his voice trailed off at the look on his brother's face and he felt tears well up in his eyes again. "She's…she's dead, isn't she?" he asked. "And Dad has something to do with it, doesn't he?"

Eric nodded grimly. _"The only thing I can tell you is that Dad is going to go completely crazy, Mikey. He's going to do terrible things, worse than you can even imagine. That's all that I can tell you right now."_

"What?" his brother exclaimed. "That's it? Why won't you tell me what's about to happen? I can try to stop him, I can…"

" _You can't, Mikey,"_ Eric interrupted him firmly. _"Dad was never a good person to begin with, but he would've passed the breaking point completely even if you hadn't done your prank with Fredbear_ _to me, and he's definitely crossed it now. I know for a fact that if you try to stop him, he WILL kill you. And then nobody will be able to put an end to the tragedy that is about to happen. You can't stop it, Mikey. But you CAN end it. You're the only one who can, and you MUST. For the sake of so many innocent lives, PLEASE trust me, Mikey!"_

Michael looked into his brother's pleading eyes. He had seen that same expression before, when Eric had been begging him to stop bullying him so much, and his only response then had been mockery and cruelty. He would not make the same mistake again, no matter what he felt about his brother's words. "I trust you, Eric," he declared solemnly. "You know more about what's about to happen than I do, and I'll trust that you know what you're talking about."

A wave of relief washed over his brother's face. _"Thank you, Mikey. Thank you so much for listening to me. I know you, bro. If I told you the full details, you'd be so angry that you'd go after Dad even after your promise, and I can't let that happen."_

"But here's what I don't get," Michael countered. "You want me to end whatever tragedy is about to unfold. But…how? I don't know where to even begin! I wouldn't know where to begin even if you gave me more information right off the bat? Whatever you want me to do, I'll gladly do it, but what do I do?"

" _The answers will show up, Mikey,"_ Eric promised. _"Sooner or later, they will show up, and everything will become clearer. That's all I can say for now, but I promise that it's the truth."_

Eric smiled gratefully. _"Thank you, Mikey."_ To Michael's surprise, his body began to glow with a calming blue and white light, and he looked towards the "sky" with an expression of peace and acceptance. _"I have to go now, Mikey,"_ he said quietly. _"I can feel Heaven's warmth calling to me."_

A surge of panic and desperation burst inside Michael. "Wait! WAIT!" he called out frantically as he futilely reached towards his brother. "I don't want you to die, Eric! Please come back! I promise I'll be a better brother to you! I promise I'll never treat you badly ever again! Please!"

Eric shook his head sadly. _"Mikey…if I could stay, I would. But there's something really important that Heaven wants me to do in the future, something that I can't do while I'm alive."_ He looked straight into Michael's eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. _"But I can promise you this, bro…we WILL see each other again, much sooner than you think."_

"I'll hold you to that, little man…" Michael answered weakly, lowering his arm as Eric's body flashed with the same heavenly light, and then faded from view. Left in the void, he began to ponder over the conversation the two brothers had had, as well as Nightmare's final warning. He wiped away the last tears, and then his eyes hardened into determination. "I won't let you down, Eric," he made his oath. "I promise."

Present Day…

" _I meant every word that I said that night,"_ Michael told his enraptured sister. _"I promised I would end father's evil not just for the many lives that he would take, but for our brother most of all. No matter how long it took me, no matter what I had to go through, I would do it. And I lived the rest of my life on that one promise."_

" _It all makes sense now…"_ Liz murmured. She barely remembered anything about her past life, but the pieces were coming into place. Why Michael suddenly became much kinder after Eric's accident, why he had been willing to go through so much pain and misery to stop their father's evil. She couldn't help but feel touched at how he had promised to be her best friend as well as her brother.

It made thinking about what she'd done to him even more painful.

Part of her wanted to apologize yet again for all the evil things she'd done to her brother, but she resisted the urge. _"Did you ever see Eric again?"_ she asked instead, trying to steer the topic away from their dark mutual past.

Michael's lips twitched. _"I did indeed, Lizzie, but not in a form I had expected. When he finally came back from Heaven like had promised, he had taken on a different form. A dark and purple entity made entirely of shadows, looking just like Golden Freddy…"_

" _I SAW HIM!"_ Liz exclaimed, causing her brother's eyes to widen in surprise. _"I saw Eric! I saw Shadow Freddy! Dad and I met him in the 1987 pizzeria when we were trying to find the bodies of my new family!"_

" _Shadow Freddy…"_ Michael repeated the name before chuckling. _"I guess that would be an appropriate name for Eric's new form, huh…"_

" _But he didn't tell me who he really was…"_ Liz's voice dropped sadly, her voice barely above a whisper. _"Eric knew who I was, he called me Elizabeth…but he didn't reveal himself to me. Why? Why wouldn't he…?"_

Michael had a sinking feeling that he knew what Liz was about to say. _"Lizzie…"_

" _It's because he doesn't consider me a sister anymore, doesn't he?"_ Liz asked, the self-loathing that she had been trying to suppress coming out in full force. She let out a bitter laugh before Michael could stop her. _"It's not like I can blame him! Three siblings, two of whom spent years trying to do the right thing, setting souls free and stopping our old dad's insanity. But me? I go around trying to slaughter innocent children just like he did!"_

" _Lizzie…"_

" _I saw them, Mikey!"_ she continued her rant with tears pouring out of her eyes. _"I saw the remains of my family at that pizzeria! I would've done the exact same thing to kids just like them, leaving behind a bunch of broken corpses and parents screaming for children that would never come home! No wonder Eric doesn't think I'm family anymore! I wouldn't want to be related to me either!"_

" _LIZZIE!"_ Michael's shout cut through her self-deprecation. He wrapped his arms around her in another embrace, and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his sister slowly calm down. _"I promise you, Eric's secrecy had absolutely NOTHING to do with you."_

" _Then why?"_ Liz rubbed her eyes. _"Why wouldn't Eric tell me who he was? If he didn't hate me, wouldn't he want us to be reunited as a family again?"_

Michael began stroking her hair to comfort her further. _"I didn't learn about this until after the Fazbear_ _nightmare ended, Lizzie, but Eric had made a deal with God so that he could return to Earth and help me end father's insanity. One of the conditions was that, while he could inform me of his identity and help me to understand what was going on, he could not reveal who he was to anyone else_ _or directly impact events in the living world in any meaningful way._ _I can only assume that this condition still applied even after Henry and I released everyone and sent Father to Hell where he belongs."_ He looked down at her and smiled. _"I'm certain that Eric would have wanted nothing more than to embrace you as your brother, but he was already bending the laws of the afterlife as it was and couldn't break them any further no matter how much he wanted to."_

Liz sighed and leaned into her brother's arms. It was the best explanation she was probably going to get, and it wasn't like she deserved any special treatment from Eric to begin with. _"How did you find each other again?"_ she asked.

He gave her a brief smile, but it quickly faded as a look of anguish and pain appeared on his face. _"The day that I learned that Father was involved in your death was one of the worst days in my life. Part of me wanted to demand answers, but I had to restrain myself, so that I could fulfill the duty that Eric had demanded of me. I had rented an apartment not too far away from our old home with what little money I had saved up, and I had stayed away from father like both he and Eric had asked me to. But I had begun to hear dark things about Freddy Fazbear's_ _pizzeria and Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, Lizzie. The Missing Children Incident and, of course, your death because of Baby. But to answer your question, the first time I came across Eric again…was right after I carried out my most important responsibility."_

Liz tilted her head curiously. _"Important responsibility?"_ she asked, puzzled. _"What could be more important than what Eric wanted you to do?"_

Her brother smiled at her. _"Setting you free, of course. One day when I was least expecting it, Father reached out to me,"_ Michael answered. _"He told me that you were down in Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. I couldn't believe what I was hearing - you were dead. Killed by an accident involving Baby. But Father insisted that you were there, trapped in the dark. He ordered me to go down to Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental and do whatever I needed to in order to set you free."_ He let out a bitter chuckle. _"I knew Father was involved in something dark and possibly even evil, but part of me wanted to believe that he wanted to reconcile. That maybe you weren't truly dead, and that the rumors were wrong all this time. I honestly believed that I could be the one to bring our family back together."_ A trace of loathing entered his voice, though Liz couldn't tell whether it was directed towards himself or their father. _"What a fool I was."_

Liz bowed her head in shame. _"I'm sorry, Mikey..."_ she weakly murmured in apology. _"I'm sorry I killed you that day. I'll always be sorry for what I did then, and what I did after."_

Michael shook his head and kissed the top of her head. _"You don't have to be, Lizzie. The path I had chosen for my life was set long before I found you down there, and that path didn't change after I became one of the undead."_ His gaze turned hard with loathing. _"It was_ ** _father_** _who truly killed me. He knew that the animatronics down there were dangerous. He knew that I would have to die to set you free. He knew all of this, and yet he told me_ ** _nothing._** _I might have earned his hatred with Eric's death, but it doesn't change the fact that he sent me to die under a false promise of hope and a twisted invocation of duty."_

 _"Did...did Eric know about what would happen?"_ the question had been burning in Liz's mind ever since Michael had told her about his role as his guide. _"Did Eric know you would be Scooped?"_

A weak laugh escaped his lips. _"I think...that was the only thing Eric DIDN'T know."_ The laughter quickly vanished. _"At least, that's what I gathered from his reaction."_

 **1985, Michael's Apartment**

Ever since Eric had become the entity as Shadow Freddy, Michael had noticed a profound difference in his personality. The fearfulness and vulnerability were all but gone, replaced with a quiet but unshakable confidence and sense of purpose. The boy he had used to bully and torment had transformed into a self-assured young man who he would gladly follow to the end.

Or at least, that had been the case in every other time whenever Shadow Freddy had appeared to him and offered him comfort. But now, as Shadow Freddy's white eyes stared in undisguised horror at the broken, shambling corpse his brother had become, Michael could see his younger brother more clearly than ever before, even underneath the shadows of his ascension.

 **"What happened to you?"** Shadow Freddy asked frantically as Michael collapsed onto his bed, exhausted beyond measure. **"How...how did this happen to you?"**

"Father sent me to set Elizabeth free..." Michael barely managed to cough out. "I did...I did what any good brother would do. I gave her the freedom that she sought so desperately for years. I did...I did what you wanted me to do, all those years ago."

 **"I didn't want this!"** Shadow Freddy insisted. **"I didn't want this to happen to you, Mikey! You shouldn't have gone through so much pain and suffering, even for Lizzie's sake!"**

Michael lay on the bed silently for several seconds, not saying a word. Then, what he said next took his brother by surprise. "Nightmare was right, wasn't he?"

 **"What?"**

"From...from the very beginning, Nightmare was right," Michael continued as though he hadn't heard his brother. "Do you remember, little bro? You will reap what you sow, he told me. I have no idea whether it was a curse or a prophecy he uttered that night, but it doesn't really matter now, does it? Just like I took your life with that stupid prank all those years ago, I've now been killed by a sibling in return. I always knew that I would pay for what I did to you, even without Nightmare's final threat. That day has finally come, and I...I deserve it. I deserve this fate, and in a way I'm glad I've finally paid the price."

Shadow Freddy blinked as he suddenly realized the horrifying truth. **"You chose this,"** he choked out. **"You willingly gave your own body to her. Why? Why would you..."**

"Actions have consequences, Eric," Michael gently but firmly interrupted him. "This was just as much about trying to erase the stain on my own soul as it was about being a good brother to Lizzie. If this is the price that I needed to pay to set her free, then I'm glad I paid it."

 **"But it wasn't all your fault!"** Shadow Freddy protested. **"I'll admit I blamed you entirely at first, but I've learned new things since then! There was no way that Fredbear** **could have crushed my head in his mouth unless the animatronic had been designed to have that kind of bite pressure! Father INTENTIONALLY designed Fredbear** **to be that dangerous!"**

Michael felt his body grow even colder than it already was. "He was that much of a monster even back then?" he rasped.

 **"And he was just as much to blame for my misery as you were, Mikey. He dragged me against my will to a place that he knew I hated every single day just because it was convenient for him, and he saw you bullying me all the time and did nothing to stop you. Not to mention the fact that as a security guard, he should have stopped you from bringing my head anywhere near Fredbear's** **mouth! The Bite of 1983 was just as much his fault as it was yours!"**

Michael shook his head. "And yet I was the one who shoved your head into Fredbear's mouth, Eric. The only reason you ended up in that situation to begin with was because of me. No matter how many good deeds I do or how many evil deeds father does, that will never change." His brother looked like he wanted to argue even more, but the look on Michael's face made it clear that he would accept no argument. "What do I need to do now?" he changed the subject. "I know just how evil father has become, and I can't do anything about Lizzie right now, wherever she is. How do I stop father?"

Shadow Freddy sighed. **"There is nothing you can do right now, Mikey. Freddy's will open a pizzeria soon, but that's not for a few years."** He suddenly glared at his brother. **"What you need to do, bro, is** ** _rest_** **. You need to rest and gather whatever strength you can. Ending the nightmare that Father created would have been hard enough before you reduced yourself to this. You need all the strength you can get."**

Michael let his head fall back onto the bed. Even though he still wanted to do something, anything, he knew that he didn't have either the strength or the knowledge to carry out his task. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let the world around him fade to black. Eric was right - he needed to be in top shape to deal with what was to come.

 **Present Day**

Liz's face became twisted with guilt, and Michael quickly rubbed her back to calm her down. _"I said it before, and I'll say it again. The only person I blame for what happened to me was Father. By now, whatever love I once had for him had turned into hatred."_

" _I can understand why,"_ his sister murmured.

" _And this was back before I first started investigating Freddy's locations, when my hatred was largely personal. My horror and rage against Father would only grow as I learned more about the atrocities he had committed,"_ Michael's eyes hardened furiously. _"W_ _hen 1987 came around and a new Freddy's opened, I decided that it was time for me investigate the pizzeria without father knowing about it. Perhaps that would give me a clue into the darkness that Eric claimed had consumed his heart."_

" _And he was right there, waiting for you, wasn't he?"_ Liz asked.

Her brother nodded. _"I always had a feeling that the tragedy Eric talked about had something to do with Freddy's. But what he showed me when I began my investigation was more horrible than anything I could have ever imagined…"_

 **Freddy Fazbear's** **Pizzeria, 1987**

Michael grimaced as Withered Bonnie appeared in front of him and he shoved the Freddy mask on his face, not daring to move a muscle until the faceless animatronic departed from the office. The first two nights had been relatively easy to handle, but with the Withered animatronics joining the Toys in the assault on the office, it was becoming a lot harder than before to survive.

"Am I even on the right track to begin with?" he thought as he shined the flashlight down on Withered Foxy to force him to back off. Under the alias of Jeremy Fitzgerald, a name that was both a combination of one of the names of the missing children as a sign of respect and a last name he had made up to avoid his father's suspicions, he had taken the Night Guard job to try and conduct his investigations without being disturbed. So far, however, his only reward for his caution so far had been many hours of being continuously attacked by animatronics out for his blood.

Acting on an instinct, he opened the tablet and checked the Parts/Service Room to see if any of the Withered animatronics had returned there. But instead, he found his brother in his Shadow Freddy form, staring up at the camera and right into his eyes.

" **You are in the right place, Mikey,"** a voice echoed in his head. It was deep and unearthly, echoing with an otherworldly resonance, yet once again it was unmistakably Eric's. **"Now that you're here, I can show you the horrors that Father has committed as the nights pass. But putting an end to his evil won't be easy, and you must be tested and prepared to challenge him. Survive these nights, bro, and I can finally give you the answers that you seek."**

Before Michael could even think about what his brother had told him, a clunking noise in the vents alerted him to the arrival of another animatronic. He put the monitor down and shoved the Freddy Mask on his head, a wise move since Withered Chica had tried to sneak up on him while he had been busy watching Shadow Freddy. As the lights flickered around him, he heard a chime suddenly ring, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. 6 AM. He had survived another night.

Withered Chica vanished from sight, and he threw off the Freddy mask. He was about to get off his chair, when his mind suddenly exploded in pain. "What the…" he spluttered as the world around him suddenly faded to black. After a few seconds, his vision returned, but he wasn't in the familiar Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria anymore. Instead, he was standing in a room, in front of a purple curtain. "This is…Pirate's Cove?" he asked, even though he knew nobody was there to answer him. Instead, Foxy suddenly stepped out of the cove and began walking to his right. With little other choice, Michael followed Foxy to the next room, where he could see five children smiling, laughing, and playing. Before Michael could say or do anything more, he suddenly found himself back in Pirate's Cove again. Only this time, he was standing right next to…

"Father?" he called out to him. But William Afton didn't say anything or move at all. Then, Michael noticed the look on his father's face. A terrifying expression of malice, savagery, and cruelty. "What's going on?" As if to answer his question, Foxy stepped out of Pirate's Cove and began walking to the same room he had last time. Michael followed him and…

"NO! NO! NO!" he screamed in horror and denial. The five happy children he had seen earlier were now all dead, corpses with their expressions twisted into fear and despair. "H…how?" he stuttered desperately. "How could something like this happen?" He thought back to the expression he had seen on his father's face, and the truth came crashing down on him like a wall of bricks. "No…" he whispered. "He couldn't have…"

" **He did,"** Shadow Freddy's voice grimly confirmed, echoing from everywhere and nowhere all around him. **"Our father murdered these children in cold blood, Mikey. He gained their trust and lured them with a false promise of happiness, and they were unable to see the darkness that lurked inside his heart and the death that awaited them."**

"How…" Michael could barely think. "How could he do this?"

" **He always possessed this incredible darkness within him, bro, and he has given himself completely to his demons. And this isn't even the full extent of his cruelty. After he slaughtered them, he stuffed their bodies inside the animatronics, so that nobody would be able to find them. An unnecessary act of cruelty in and of itself, but it would lead to consequences that nobody could possibly have imagined."**

Michael shuddered again as he recollected the monstrous, evil look on his father's face. "What else has happened, Eric?" he asked, his voice strangled with the horror of all he had seen. "What could make the murders of these innocent children even worse?"

He could feel the world around him dissolve again and found himself back in the office of the pizzeria. **"Keep coming back, bro…"** was the last thing Shadow Freddy said in his mind before he felt his brother's presence leave him. **"There is more I have to show you. And more trials you need to survive to prepare yourself for what is to come."**

 **Present Day…**

" _As the nights passed and the animatronics became more aggressive, Eric showed me visions of the past just like he had on that third night,"_ A shadow passed over Michael's face at the dark revelations he had seen. _"He showed me how father had murdered Charlie when she had been locked out of Fredbear's_ _Family Diner, how she had desperately banged on the door for someone to let her in before he dragged her away and butchered her. He showed me how, as the Puppet, she gave the gift of life to the murdered children whose souls were trapped in the animatronics because of the Remnant. And it was then that I understood that these were not simply animatronics with programming that had gone haywire, but vengeful ghosts after my blood."_

 _"It doesn't help that you look like our old dad,"_ Liz commented, eliciting a dry chuckle from Michael.

 _"That probably didn't help matters, you're right,"_ he agreed. _"At any rate, by the time my week at Freddy's was over, I finally understood what father had done and what Eric had meant by terrible tragedy. But before I could investigate any further, the Bite of 1987 occurred and the pizzeria closed down."_

Liz shuddered. _"My siblings really don't like talking about the Bite of 1987,"_ she commented.

Michael grimaced. _"I don't blame them, from what I heard it wasn't pretty. At any rate,_ _I stayed in the shadows for the next six years, keeping out of both father's sight and the sight of the general public._ _"I don't know how I managed to stay hidden so well and for so long...part of me thinks that Eric helped out with whatever new powers he had gotten as Shadow Freddy, but I can't say for sure. I remained relatively inactive until the 1993 Freddy's opened..."_

"...the one where I worked at," a new voice interrupted them. Both Liz and Michael looked up to see the door slightly ajar, with Mike peeking in from outside. "Sorry for interrupting you guys, I just wanted to check up on Liz," the man quickly explained. "We were all really worried about her after...you know."

Liz looked guiltily away from her father. _"Sorry for worrying you,"_ she murmured.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Liz," Mike smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm just glad to know that you've gotten better now." He turned his gaze over to Michael. "How are things going with you?"

Michael shrugged and smiled back at his sister's new guardian. _"I was just going over the time I spent as Night Guard in the 1993 pizzeria, as part of my quest to undo my father's evil,"_ he explained. _"My brother had been helping me understand what was going on by showing me visions of the murders, as well as testing and preparing me for confronting him in the future through the nights I spent as Night Guard. There weren't any visions that he showed me during my shift. Instead, I took the time during the earlier nights to look up old articles that covered the tragedy of the missing children, and_ _confirmed that their souls had indeed moved with the original animatronics to the 1993 location,"_ he suddenly let out an amused laugh. _"It's funny that you of all people are the one who has become the new father of my sister and the murdered children...because the false name that I chose for my position was Mike Schmidt as well."_

Mike's eyes widened. "Holy shit..." he breathed. "This makes way more sense now."

Liz and Michael both gave him a confused glance. _"Wha_ … _?"_

"Back when I first took the job at Freddy's, the manager who hired me said something very weird," Mike explained. "He asked me why I was coming back to Freddy's when I had already quit the job before, and he was also amazed at how quickly I recovered from my burn injuries. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, and I made that clear to him after he asked those questions that seemingly came from out of nowhere. But now it all makes sense!"

Michael chuckled and Liz giggled. _"I don't know if I should apologize for stealing your name, Mr. Schmidt,"_ Michael joked.

Mike shrugged. "I don't care, it's not like Mike Schmidt is my original name to begin with either," he began to back away from the door. "Will you be all right, Liz?"

The girl smiled at him. _"I'll be fine, dad. Thanks."_

Mike returned the smile and shut the door to the bedroom, leaving Michael and Liz to themselves. _"Small world..."_ Michael commented, and they both shared another brief moment of levity before Michael continued his tale. _"Anyways, I left the pizzeria about a week after I had started, since I had all the information I needed. But unlike the 1987 pizzeria, I would eventually come back to the 1993 pizzeria long after it closed."_ He gave Liz a sheepish glance. _"I, uh...I had to sleep continuously for the next few years after my shift to recover my strength. Sleep and hide in the shadows. Living as an undead corpse isn't exactly easy, you know."_

He ruffled her hair to show that he didn't hold that against her, and was rewarded with a shaky smile. _"When I was finally strong enough to keep going, Eric told me in my head to return to the closed 1993 Freddy's location."_ The good mood in Michael's demeanor quickly faded, and the tension returned. _"A lot had changed, and not in the way I had wanted."_

 **2023, Freddy Fazbear's** **Pizzeria (1993 location)**

Michael shuddered as he shambled into the darkness of the pizzeria. He had thought that the place was creepy back when the animatronics were hunting him in the office, but seeing the place ruined and desolate was somehow even worse.

At least he wasn't alone, though. Shadow Freddy was there to greet him, a few feet away. Michael was relieved to see that his brother's personality had returned to its confident and assured demeanor - seeing Eric's fear at his ruined body had shaken him greatly, and he already felt more at ease now that his brother was there to guide him as he had done in the 1987 pizzeria.

Apparently, his brother wasn't in the mood to waste any time, a sentiment that Michael could agree with. **"Follow me,"** Shadow Freddy beckoned to him, then began slowly floating away from him and towards the bathrooms. Michael was puzzled at what his brother wanted to show him there, but didn't question it. As he passed the center of the stage, he suddenly found himself being surrounded a bizarre illusion. He looked down at his arms, only to discover that they were being covered over by the arms of a very familiar brown bear animatronic.

"Am I Freddy?" he asked aloud. Eric gave him a barely imperceptible nod and ordered him again to follow, this time more agitatedly. Michael did so, and he swore that he could hear the clanking of metal footsteps echo from his feet as he did so. As he stepped into the bathrooms, he gasped in shock as he saw father standing a few feet away, his face distorted by a malicious grin as he held an axe in his hands. Michael lifted his hands instinctively to cover himself as the animatronic illusion reached out in front of him to try and grab William Afton. But Afton was too quick for Freddy, and he brought the axe down upon the bear, hacking him to pieces until only a broken robot body remained.

Michael closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come, but it never did. He slowly peeked them open to discover that both the Freddy body surrounding him and William Afton were gone. Instead, all he could see was the broken bodies of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics strewn and scattered across the floor...and his brother floating above them all, gazing somberly down at William Afton's handiwork.

 **"Father came back to destroy the animatronics once and for all,"** Shadow Freddy explained, gesturing towards the remains of the animatronics. **"Maybe he wanted to cover his tracks as thoroughly as possible. Maybe he wanted to be even crueler to them than he had been already. I cannot truly explain his motives, but what I know for certain is that the ghosts inside the animatronics saw him. They had always mistaken other innocent Night Guards for their murderer, but this time there was no doubt whatsoever in their minds. They tried to go after Father, but they had been weakened since the pizzeria had closed, and Father had little trouble dismantling them with an axe, as you saw."**

"But how, though?" Michael questioned. "Even if the pizzeria had closed, they were still metal animatronics. They should have been able to overpower father easily!"

 **"An unexpected twist of fate,"** his brother explained. **"One of the last Night Guards in this place decided to take action against what he saw as hostile machines, and** **set all of their AIs to 0 before leaving. He did what he believed was right, and by doing so he ensured the near-certain survival of the few Night Guards that came after him before the pizzeria closed down."** He shook his head sadly. **"Unfortunately, however, his actions would have unintended consequences. Setting the AIs to 0 left the animatronics and the ghosts within them gravely weakened and vulnerable, and thus they were unable to carry out an effective offense or defense against father's savagery."**

Even as Shadow Freddy spoke his words, Michael could see illusions of the other animatronics advance on the reappeared phantom of William Afton, each glaring at their murderer with undisguised hatred in their eyes. First Bonnie, then Chica, then Foxy, and finally Golden Freddy, all of whom met the same fate as Freddy at the hands of William Afton's axe. "If the animatronics are all here now, what happened to the ghosts within?"

Shadow Freddy reached out and touched Michael's forehead with his hand. Michael instantly felt the world dissolve around him, then reform again as it had done in his past visions. This time, however, the room wasn't empty. Above the broken bodies of the animatronics, he could see five ghostly children advancing furiously on his father, who was shaking and trembling in fear as he slowly backed away from them. As they started to corner him, William Afton found himself with his back against the wall, standing right next to the Spring Bonnie suit. Realizing that he could hide in the security of the suit, he quickly opened the suit and slipped inside it, laughing in relief and mockery as he taunted the ghosts from within. But he had forgotten just how prone to accidents those springlock suits truly were, and the mechanisms inside it activated, tearing his body apart from within and subjecting him to a brutal and most well-deserved death.

Michael winced and looked away in horror and disgust - even if he hated his father what he had done to him and to so many others, this was a fate that he wouldn't wish upon anybody. The images around him faded, and Michael found himself standing before Shadow Freddy once again. "It looks like Father got what he deserved, in the end."

His brother shook his head. **"Not quite. Just as the children's souls were trapped inside the five Freddy's animatronics, so too has father's soul been trapped inside Spring Bonnie. For many years, he has been trapped in the safe room over there,"** he pointed at an empty room connected to the bathrooms, **"stuck in the Hell that he created for himself. But now, he has gradually begun to take control over the animatronic that was once his tomb. And soon he will be ready to rise once more."**

"WHAT?" Michael exclaimed in horror. "If Father comes back to life as an animatronic, he could do all sorts of horrible things! Even more than he's already done!" He looked frantically over at the safe room, and his horror increased when he discovered that it was empty. "Where is he?" he nearly shouted. "And where are the ghosts of the murdered children, for that matter?"

 **"They are all gone,"** Shadow Freddy answered with a sigh. **"A group of people have aspired to create a horror attraction based on the Freddy Fazbear** **franchise. The fools..."** Disgust and contempt burned in his eyes for the briefest of moments, before it quickly faded, **"...they took Father away, preparing him to be the main attraction for Fazbear's** **Fright. And they took away several parts of the animatronics, not knowing that the ghosts of the murdered children were still bound to the heads of the animatronics."** For the first time, Michael realized that all the heads were missing. **"They have all been taken to that blasphemy of an attraction, not knowing that they have brought a murderer and those they have dishonored along with them. Father, or perhaps we should now call him Springtrap, will soon awaken fully, and if the attraction opens then he will have a new killing ground to carry on future murders. We CANNOT let that happen!"**

"No," Michael agreed with determination burning in his undead eyes, "we can't." He looked directly into his brother's eyes. "What do you need me to do, Eric?"

 **"Fazbear's** **Fright requires a Night Guard to watch over the premises a week before it opens,"** Shadow Freddy instructed him. **"You must take on that position and keep Springtrap** **at bay within Fazbear's** **Fright. Whatever humanity that was left in father has long rotted away with the passage of time. He hungers to kill, and his savagery will cause him to target you instead of trying to escape. Then, at the end of the week, you must burn Fazbear's** **Fright to the ground and, hopefully, father along with it."**

"At the end of the week?" Michael repeated. "Wouldn't it be better for me to do it as soon as possible?"

Shadow Freddy shook his head. **"If it was just Springtrap** **that you had to worry about, then yes. But the thing is...the souls of father's victims are there too. They are trapped in Fazbear's** **Fright along with their murderer, unable to escape or rest. I know that I'm asking a lot of you, Mikey, but if you can...try and free their spirits. I've seen two outcomes in the future, bro. In the first, the souls do not get freed for another year. But in the second, you can free them all by the week's end. I'm begging you, Mikey, as your brother,"** again, Michael could see the young boy Eric had been for a fraction of a second, **"try to free them at Fazbear's** **Fright. I understand that you might not be able to, and if you can't then focus on defeating Springtrap. But at least try."**

Michael reached out and touched his brother's forehead, but his hand phased through as he felt a sensation as cold as ice. "I'll do my best, Eric," he promised. "But whether or not I succeed in that second goal," his eyes hardened with resolve, "you have my word that I'll succeed in the first."

Shadow Freddy nodded his head in thanks. **"One last thing before we go,** **Mikey. There is something inherently wrong with Fazbear's** **Fright,"** he warned. **"There is a darkness in that place that didn't exist in the other Freddy Fazbear** **locations. Do not think that your mission will be easier just because you'll only be dealing with one animatronic. Otherwise, that may be the last mistake that you ever make."**

Present Day...

 _"With my mission set, I made my way over to Fazbear's_ _Fright and signed up as the Night Guard,"_ Michael told Liz, before shaking his head in disgust. _"That place was an absolute mess. Faulty wiring on purpose, an absolutely ABYSMAL ventilation system that failed every few minutes. I mean, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, the trap pizzeria was safer than that hellhole and it was DESIGNED to be burned down!"_ Liz couldn't help but laugh at her brother's rant - it reminded her so much of Mike's own dry humor. _"The owners of Fazbear's_ _Fright should be thanking me for burning down their failure of an attraction."_

 _"What did Eric mean when he said that there was a darkness in Fazbear's_ _Fright?"_ Liz asked once she and her brother had both calmed down. What Mikey had described was embarrassingly unsafe, but surely it didn't merit that dire a warning from their younger brother.

Michael's good humor faded. _"For starters, the atmosphere. I could sense the despair and fear just by standing in the building. The Freddy Fazbear's_ _pizzeria locations might have been creepy, but they never had an atmosphere so oppressive and disturbing,"_ he shuddered. _"But it was worse than that. Every so often, while I was trying to keep Springtrap_ _at bay, hallucinations and phantoms would appear. Burned, spectral incarnations of the animatronics that might not have been able to hurt me directly, but rather sent my computer systems into catastrophic failure. Freddy, Chica, Foxy, Balloon Boy, Mangle, and Puppet, I think,"_ he shook his head. _"To this day, I still don't know what those Phantoms were. Maybe they were created by Springtrap_ _to try and distract me so that he could have an easier time making it to my office, though I find this explanation unlikely since he never showed that kind of power while we were in the trap pizzeria. Maybe they were the ghostly children taking on those forms, trying to scare me away to save me from Springtrap. Or maybe they really were just bizarre hallucinations caused by the dark environment and inherent danger in that building. Either way, I had to deal with Springtrap_ _AND the Phantoms in my struggle for survival."_

Liz shook her head in amazement. _"I'll never understand how you were able to survive the animatronics in so many different places, Mikey. I thought Dad was an expert when he told us about how he survived 20 nights at Freddy's, but you take it to a whole new level!" she praised._

Her brother chuckled, before sighing. _"As odd as it may sound, I have the Nightmares to thank for my survival skills,"_ he answered. _"I suffered unspeakable agony and cruelty at their hands, but thanks to their twisted game I learned how to strategize and survive with very few resources available to me. Once I was able to form a strategy, I could practically guarantee my survival, assuming that I didn't get hit by particularly bad luck or screw up. And it wasn't just that, either. In a way, your new father and I aren't so different."_

Liz tilted her head. _"How?"_ she wondered.

 _"I had no fear,"_ Michael explained, _"though the reason why I had no fear was very different from your new father's. I didn't fear death not because I had nothing left in life, but because I knew that there were things that were far worse. What is death, compared to endless suffering at the hands of Hell's demons? What is a moment's pain on Earth, compared to the unholy fury of the Inferno's rage? The 1987 location was more difficult than scary, and the 1993 pizzeria, while creepy, wasn't that hard to survive once I got the pattern sorted out, as your father could testify. But I still remembered the Nightmares long after they first came after me, how they tore me to pieces and taunted me with the weight of my sins. The only thing that could possibly be scarier to me was the trap pizzeria, and that was for entirely different reasons."_

Liz shuddered, both at the reminder of the Nightmares and of what she had become when she had come after her brother in the trap pizzeria. _"What happened at Fazbear's_ _Fright?"_ she asked, wanting to change the subject.

Michael sighed. _"You can probably figure this out, Lizzie, but the thing is...I was only minimally successful at Fazbear's_ _Fright,"_ he admitted. _"I was successful in that I was able to hold father at bay and burn Fazbear's_ _Fright down to the ground, but the fire did not destroy him outright, and the constant struggle for survival against Springtrap_ _meant that I simply had no time to try and set your new family's spirits free there."_ He lowered his head. _"I felt as though I had failed Eric, though when I talked to him again he was just grateful that I had succeeed_ _in the most important mission of them all, just like I had promised I would. He told me to rest for the next few months, and during that time he prepared me for the endgame."_

 _"The endgame..."_ his sister repeated, knowing what was to come.

Michael nodded. _"In the month that led up to the end of the Fazbear_ _nightmare, Eric prepared me extensively for what was to come. He told me about what had become of the Circus Baby animatronics, the Puppet, Father, and...and you..."_ his voice wavered and Liz gently placed a hand on his arm, as if to remind him that those dark times had passed and would not return. Michael gave her a grateful smile as thanks before continuing, _"He told me about how Henry had still been alive all these years, and how he would be designing a grand trap disguised as a pizzeria to lure all the remaining animatronics inside and burn them all down far more effectively than I ever could have at Fazbear's_ _Fright. This would be the final stage before all of the souls would finally be set free and father sent to Hell where he belongs."_

 _"How much did you work together with Mr. Henry?"_ Liz asked. That had always been something she had been curious about.

 _"Not at all, actually,"_ Michael answered, surprising her. _"Not even Henry himself knew that I was the volunteer who had put my unlife_ _on the line to keep the animatronics inside the pizzeria, at least not at first. I did consider reaching out to Henry and offering to collaborate with him, but I ultimately decided against it. There was already a decent chance that father had recognized me at Fazbear's_ _Fright, and that he might try to track me down. If I started working with Henry and father followed me right to him, then the entire plan would have fallen apart completely and we would have no other way to stop him. He was already suspicious as it was when I brought him into the trap pizzeria, though fortunately his bloodlust got the better of him and he didn't realize the true nature of the trap."_

 _"Thank God I didn't suspect anything either,"_ Liz muttered. She would forever be thankful that her brother, her intelligent, determined, and caring brother, had been the one to stop her evil from spreading beyond the walls of the trap that had destroyed her animatronic form.

Michael smiled at her and pulled her in to another hug. _"I might have treated you as an enemy in that final pizzeria, Lizzie, but I never thought of you as one. I felt nothing but satisfaction at father's imminent destruction, but for you I only hoped that you would finally find peace and freedom from the corruption that was forced on you. And even though being burned to death might seem like a horrible fate to some, I wouldn't have wanted to die any other way. Especially since Eric joined me in my last moments, and we could share a final precious moment of bonding together on Earth before it all came to an end."_

 **2024, The Trap Pizzeria**

Michael leaned back onto his chair and sighed in relief as he heard Henry finish his speech over the intercom. At last, it was over. Flames raged all around him and in the other rooms of the pizzeria, a mighty furnace that was far more effective than his arson attempt at Fazbear's Fright ever had been. Soon, the animatronics would all be reduced to ashes and scrap, and every soul trapped inside would be released. The reign of terror and fear that his father had started would finally come to an end.

 **"It's finally over,"** his brother's familiar voice spoke next to him. Michael didn't even turn his head - he knew he would find Shadow Freddy next to him, standing by his side just like he had been for the past decades. **"You did it, Mikey. You ended the nightmare that tormented the Fazbear** **franchise. Once these last animatronics** **are destroyed, there won't be any more victims, any more suffering of innocents. You've accomplished something truly great this day."**

"WE did it, Eric..." Michael weakly corrected as the flames around him started to burn brighter and fiercer around him. "It was your guidance, your hand leading me towards where I needed to go, that gave me everything I needed to carry out our quest to stop Father's evil. I couldn't have..." he coughed vigorously before continuing, "...I couldn't have done it without you, bro."

 **"Soon, we'll all be together again in the afterlife,"** Shadow Freddy said as the animatronics in the corridors started thrashing and shrieking in pain and fear around them. William Afton's strangled scream of hatred and despair echoed from a room not too far to the left, causing Shadow Freddy to let out a dark chuckle, **"well, except for one of us, anyway."**

Both Michael and Eric allowed themselves a moment of savage satisfaction as what was left of their father's composure shattered completely. Eric's normally compassionate gaze was utterly devoid of warmth and sympathy as he stared pointedly in their father's direction, such was William Afton's depravity that even the normally gentle and kind-hearted younger brother despised him and reveled in his death. Michael had to suppress a mocking laugh as he heard Scraptrap throw himself at the walls in a fruitless attempt to break his way through. But the vicious joy they felt almost immediately faded as they heard another animatronic scream from the opposite side. A female scream.

"Lizzie..." Michael breathed out in a gasp of pain and regret.

Shadow Freddy saw the look of sorrow on Michael's face and reassuringly put a hand on his shoulder. In the heat of the flames, Michael couldn't even feel the cold sensation that he had whenever they had made contact earlier. **"It'll only be for a moment, Mikey,"** he promised. **"This brief moment of suffering and destruction is necessary to set her free from all the terrible things that father put her through. She will find happiness again once all this is done, I promise you."**

"You never lied to me once, Eric. I don't have any reason to doubt you now." The two of them fell into a contemplative silence, thinking about all the experiences they had been through and how their relationship had evolved. The flames soared even higher and the thrashing of the animatronics started to weaken - their final destruction was about to begin.

 **"I haven't been entirely honest with you, Mikey,"** Eric suddenly confessed, earning a confused look from his brother. **"Back when I first recruited you to take on the quest to stop father's evil and free his victims from their torment, I made it sound like I wouldn't truly forgive you for what you did to me until that quest reached its end. But the truth is, bro...I** **forgave you as early as 1987."**

Michael stared at him in utter shock. "You...you forgave..."

Shadow Freddy's mouth stretched into as much of a smile as his animatronic-like head would allow. **"I did, Mikey. Because from the moment you discovered the first secrets of the Fazbear** **tragedy and first started fighting for survival against the animatronics, I knew that you were honest when you promised that you would do anything to make things right for my death. I knew that you were fully dedicated to stopping father's evil from the very beginning."** He let out a chuckle, a good-natured one that sharply contrasted with his treatment of William Afton seconds ago. **"Back when I was alive, there were times when I wished I wasn't in the same family as you. But now, I couldn't have asked for a better brother to be here by my side."** Tears began to form in Michael's eyes even as they evaporated away, earning a crooked smile from Eric. **"And you called me a crybaby way back then, huh?"**

"Oh, how the times have changed," Michael commented weakly, and the two of them shared what could very well be their last laugh together even as the flames started to close in. "If you truly have forgiven me, then every single moment of pain and effort was worth it a thousand times over," he continued once their laughter subsided. "It doesn't matter where I go now when the smoke clears, Eric. Whether I join you, mom, and Lizzie in Heaven, or burn in Hell with Father for what I did to you, I can be at peace knowing that the past is truly behind us."

Shadow Freddy's hand gripped his brother's shoulder tightly. **"You better join us up in the sky, Mikey,"** he warned. **"If you somehow end up down there, I'm going to beat the Nightmares up and carry your sorry butt up to Heaven myself."**

Michael laughed despite everything. "With how much of a badass you've become, Eric, I don't doubt that for a second." All of the other rooms were completely engulfed with flames, the animatronics now silent as the last parts of their bodies were destroyed. The roaring inferno was now beginning to consume his room as well, and he could already begin to see parts of his skin char and catch fire. "Good...no," he corrected with a shake of his head, "not goodbye. See you later...Eric."

Shadow Freddy put an arm around his brother's shoulder and closed his eyes. **"See you later...Mikey."**

Michael smiled serenely and closed his eyes too, waiting for the end to come. To an outsider, the fate of being burned alive in a building separated from the rest of society would be one of the worst ways to die. But all Michael felt was peace and contentment. With the spectral form of his brother by his side and the knowledge that he had finally completed his duty and earned redemption in his brother's eyes, the last thought that Michael had on Earth was that the final moments of his life would be his happiest.

Then, the flames consumed the last room, and the legacy of fear and horror that William Afton had created out of the Freddy Fazbear franchise burned to ashes and oblivion. The nightmare was finally over.

/

A/N: Well, this was quite a doozy of a chapter. Possibly the longest I've ever written, and boy was there a lot to cover. Michael Afton has had quite a long history indeed, and a lot of work to do to undo his father's evil and earn his redemption.

Unlike Mike's nights at Freddy's and Michael's suffering at the hands of the Nightmares, I didn't want to focus a lot on the actual nights of the night shifts. You have the games for that, and since I didn't have much more to add I figured it would end up being tedious. Instead, I wanted to focus most of my attention on Michael and Eric / Shadow Freddy, and how they rebuilt their relationship to something far stronger than what they used to have while they were alive. They've truly come a long way from the times when Michael would torment his younger brother for being a crybaby, haven't they?

I know I spent the entire introductory author's note bashing the "Mike in Purgatory" theory, but I wouldn't be fair if I didn't acknowledge its merits as well. And one thing that I will gladly give the Mike in Purgatory theory credit for is giving the Bite Victim much more importance than "the kid who got bullied by his brother and died." I always had the feeling that the Crying Child had more significance than Scott was letting on, and I personally think that he became Shadow Freddy, acting as a sort of guide to Michael by showing him what William Afton did in the past (in FNAF3 and possibly even FNAF2, showing him the visions from the Death minigames in-universe since in the game itself you have to, well, die, to see them). I'm really happy with how my interpretation of BV/Shadow Freddy turned out, and how he worked together with Michael as a team to undo their father's evil and guide Michael on the road to redemption, while at the same time holding him accountable for the Bite of 1983.

I definitely won't be able to post a chapter next week, since I'll be spending 3 days in a row on a tropical island. I've also come across more information that suggests that there was a Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria earlier than 1987 (probably around 1985) and that was where the original 5 children were murdered. I believe I will spend some time updating previous chapters to accommodate for this change, though when I do that is entirely dependent on how much time I have.

I'm sorry if there wasn't enough Michael and Liz bonding for your liking. I promise you, next chapter there will be plenty of Afton sibling bonding to meet your needs, and then some!

Hope you guys enjoyed! Any feedback you can offer me is highly appreciated, as this chapter took the most effort to work on by far. A whopping 24 pages on Word, if you can believe it.


	44. Chapter 44 - Love and Enlightenment

A/N: Finally done with my Korea vacation! Definitely had a lot of fun, though it was also filled with hot, humid, and mosquitoes. That combination does NOT go well together :P

So I wrote a 12-page Reddit post on my issues with PurgaMike/MikeHell, my counterarguments to common PurgaMike arguments, and who I think the One You Should Not Have Killed is under the William Afton in Hell theory. Please check it out, and I hope I can convince you if you are a current PurgaMike supporter.

r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/926wa3/my_issues_with_the_mike_in_hellpurgatory_theory/

Anyways, it's time for the sibling bonding chapter you've all been waiting for! This is a pivotal moment in Liz's character development, and she'll finally be able to, if not cast aside, at least rise above her angst and guilt for what she did as Baby.

I will also be updating previous chapters so that the MCI happened in 1982 instead of 1987, since I am dead certain that there was a Freddy's pizzeria between Fredbear's Family Diner and the 1987 pizzeria that failed because of the MCI.

Dark: Molten Freddy's dead, he died in the FFPS fire just like everyone else.

Disclaimer: Christian themes, yadda yadda yadda, you get it.

Chapter 44 – Love and Enlightenment

" _And with that, my lifelong quest to make things right with Eric and stop father's evil finally ended,"_ Michael concluded with a sigh as he shifted himself to a more comfortable position on Liz's bed. _"Unlike Eric, I didn't really have any interest in going back to the mortal world. I just wanted to finally rest and enjoy the peace that Heaven gave me."_

" _I wish I could have joined you two,"_ Liz murmured as she looked down on her bed.

Her brother saw the conflict in her immediately. _"Is something wrong?"_ he asked.

" _I…I know it's my fault, and I shouldn't really complain about anything, but…"_

" _Go on, Lizzie,"_ he lightly prompted her. _"What do you want to say?"_

Liz took a deep breath, and then… _"It's not fair!"_ she blurted out, and she couldn't hold back her tears. _"We were all there! Eric, Michael, me…we could have all been together. We could have reunited one last time as a family before the pizzeria burned down."_

Michael raised an eyebrow. _"You're not including Father in that list?"_

" _I don't care about William Afton!"_ Liz snarled, her eyes flashing green with hatred and disgust at the murderer she had once embraced as father. _"He can rot in the darkest pit of Hell with Nightmare tearing his soul to pieces for all I care!"_ Her fury faded, and her voice quivered. _"But you two…you two always cared about me. If I had a choice, I would've died with the two of you right next to me, holding me close. And you were so close! Just a few rooms away…"_

Michael began rubbing his sister's back comfortingly. _"Would you really want our first reunion to be in a place of destruction and flame, still caught up in the shadows of a years-old nightmare?"_ he asked gently. _"Wouldn't it be better for all of us to finally reunite in a home like Mike's or an eternal paradise? Maybe it is for the best that you haven't found both Eric and me at the same time…we can save that precious moment for a time when all our troubles are finally behind us."_

" _May…maybe…"_ his sister admitted reluctantly. She wiped her eyes and tilted her head to look up at her brother. _"Eric couldn't come with you?"_

Michael shook his head. _"God made it very clear that only a select few of us would be permitted to come here. And Eric believed I could help you now more than he could."_ He chuckled lightly, though his expression quickly turned melancholy and he sighed. _"He really was the wisest one in our entire family. All of us, none more so than me, were just to blind to see it."_

Liz nodded but didn't say a word, sensing that her brother was about to say more. _"You know…up until the very moment where I stood before Heaven's Gates, and they opened to let me in, I didn't know where I would end up when the smoke cleared and the fires burned everything to ash,"_ Michael confessed. _"I didn't know if everything I did throughout the past four decades would be enough to earn redemption for shoving Eric's head in Fredbear's jaws, or if I was going to spend eternity right next to father, the two of us screaming forever under Nightmare's roaring laughter. And as insane as it might sound, Lizzie, I would have accepted either fate. Eric had forgiven me, and had done so for a long time. That knowledge alone would comfort my soul if damnation was my fate."_

" _But you don't deserve that!"_ Liz cried out as she grabbed hold of his arm, unable to accept that her brother even considered the possibility of deserving damnation. _"Even if you did something terrible back in the past, you changed! You tried to be better! You spent your entire life trying to be better! You don't deserve…you don't deserve to…to…"_

Michael's lips stretched into a knowing smile. _"It's funny you say that, Lizzie,"_ he commented as he looked down into Lizzie's eyes, and the girl could see a light in them that hadn't been there before, _"because couldn't that exact same description also apply to you, right here and now?"_ he questioned.

Liz's mouth opened, but no words came out. Michael chuckled again and began ruffling his sister's hair. _"I found my redemption for a terrible crime that was born from my own darkness, Lizzie,"_ he continued. _"It was a path that was long and exhausting and demanded a steep cost that many wouldn't be willing to pay, but I managed it against all odds. And if I can find redemption for sins that were entirely my fault, then I don't think you'll have a difficult time finding it for sins that were never truly yours to begin with."_

A flicker of hope appeared in Liz's eyes, though they were still filled with doubt and uncertainty. _"I'm not like the others,"_ she recalled out loud to her brother. _"I wasn't taken up to Heaven and told by God to find redemption with Mike. I just…woke up and felt something guide me here."_

Michael nodded. _"I've noticed that as well. It's a double-edged sword, sis, what you described. One the one hand, it's a vindication. The other kids, they were brought here as an act of mercy absolutely, but it was just as much an act of judgment. God held them accountable for the innocent night guards they killed and brought them to Mike, so they could find a way to redeem themselves. But He never called you up with them because He knew that your evil intentions as Scrap Baby were because of outside corruption, and that you still had noble reasons back when you were just Circus Baby."_ He grinned at her. _"Isn't it an encouraging thought? God Himself doesn't hold your actions against you."_

A small smile appeared on Liz's face. _"Yeah…"_ she agreed, beginning to feel the weight of her sins slowly lifting from her spirit. Then, the smile shrank. _"That doesn't make me feel better as much as I feel like it should, though,"_ she admitted.

Michael sighed. _"Yeah, and that's the other part of the double-edged sword I was talking about earlier. Your other family members do have to atone with their new life here, but they have their goal clearly set out for them by God and, in a way, it makes things much simpler for them. But since God didn't do that for you, being at peace with yourself is a lot more complicated since you're the one who has to find redemption for yourself."_ He thought back to the times he had spent with Eric. _"Getting other people to forgive you isn't too hard, as long as you're genuine in your apology and your wrongs aren't too serious. Getting God to forgive you is even easier. But forgiving yourself…"_

" _Forgiving yourself is the hard part…"_ Liz finished for him as she leaned into her brother's chest.

Michael nodded. _"And the only person who can do that is you. The people who love you and care about you can help you, but you're the one who has to make that call in the end."_

Liz closed her eyes and thought about her brother's words. How close _was_ she to forgiving herself? Even though a part of her felt that she deserved her anguish and despair, and she doubted that part would ever truly leave her, she didn't want to feel like this. She didn't want her own past to get in the way of the present and the future she now had with a family that fully welcomed her despite everything she had done.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Mike smiled and stroked her hair. _"Some would say that you don't need to seek redemption all, Lizzie. But if you do, I don't think you'll have a very hard time finding it. My path took decades, and I only had Eric's occasional visit and a Bible to keep me company."_ At Liz's questioning look, he sighed. _"Eric couldn't really interact with me all that much outside of those times I described. And when I was alone, sometimes the only thing that kept me from giving up was the idea that I could be forgiven at all,"_ he quickly explained, before he smiled at her. _"But you? Not only do you have far less to be guilty of, but you have an entire family, a much stronger support system than I ever did. Whatever you feel you need to do to make things right, I'm sure you won't have to put nearly as much time and effort into it as I did."_

" _I guess all I can do is look for those opportunities,"_ Liz murmured, _"and just enjoy what life gives me in the meantime."_

Michael grinned. _"That's the spirit, Lizzie. No pun intended."_

His sister let out a laugh at that, and Michael could already see her spirits becoming brighter and brighter with every moment that passed. Then, a new thought suddenly occurred to Liz, and she sobered up instantly. Michael noticed the change in her personality instantly and immediately went on alert.

" _Mikey…"_ she began after several moments of hesitation. _"There's…there's something I need to tell you. Something that you don't know about."_

Michael gave her a worried look. _"Did you commit some evil act that I don't know about?"_ he asked.

Liz shook her head. _"No, but…I…I think it's best if I just show it to you."_ She gave her brother a pleading look. _"Please don't think badly of me once you've seen it."_

Michael hugged her to him. _"I promise, nothing you show me can change how I feel about you,"_ he swore.

Liz sighed and nodded as she got off her brother's lap and moved into a more open space. _"Okay, then…here…here goes."_ She closed her eyes, and her form flickered and shifted. In a second, Liz Schmidt was gone, and Scrap Baby stood in her place. Scrap Baby opened up her robotic eyes and looked gloomily down at the animatronic body that had defined her last moments before her full death.

Michael's eyes widened in shock. _"So it's true…"_ he breathed. _"The rumors…what they told me in Heaven was true…"_

Liz blinked back tears. _"I'm sorry…"_ she lamented. _"I'm sorry this brings back painful memories, Mikey. Scrap Baby…this monster…it'll always be a part of who I am. And I just couldn't feel right about myself hiding this from you."_

She hesitatingly looked up at Michael's eyes, expecting to see some form of disgust, horror, or pain. But to her surprise, her brother was _grinning._

" _That's not what I meant, Lizzie,"_ he explained, and her confusion only deepened at his seemingly out-of-place enthusiasm. _"I couldn't believe it when they first told me, but now I know it's true! You actually managed to land a hit on NIGHTMARE!"_

Liz gave her brother a puzzled look. _"I just wanted to keep daddy safe from him. Is that…something special?"_

Michael ruffled her wiry hair proudly, seemingly ignoring Scrap Baby's form entirely. _"You fought back against him when I never could, and what you did that night matters a lot more than you think. There are demons who have prepared for years to fight demon lords like Nightmare only to get slaughtered in seconds, and you made a being like him_ ** _bleed_** _."_

Liz rubbed her claw uncomfortably. _"I mean, I only managed that because he had his attention on dad and I could surprise him,"_ she admitted. _"It's not like I tried to fight him fairly or anything."_

Her brother shook his head. _"The point is, Lizzie…you're capable of accomplishing a lot more than you think you are, if you really set your mind to it,"_ he explained. _"Your ability to turn into Scrap Baby and what you can do because of that only make your potential even greater. You still have this transformation for a reason, sis. Don't let it go to waste!"_

Michael looked at his sister, only to find that she still seemed conflicted and mentally torn. _"You're still afraid, aren't you?"_ he questioned. _"Afraid of Scrap Baby, afraid of what she represents."_ When Liz wordlessly nodded in confirmation, Michael sighed. _"I had a feeling that was it."_

" _I don't get it, Mikey,"_ Liz confessed. _"Dad…he brought me along to the old pizzerias as Scrap Baby to help me find the bodies of my new family, and it HAS helped me feel better, but still…"_

" _I think I know what the problem is, Lizzie…"_ Michael quietly declared. When Liz looked up at him for clarification, he continued. _"Your new dad, Mike, he tried to help you get over your bad feelings about Scrap Baby. He had the right idea, and he got you off an excellent start, but he never really had the complete picture for how to help you, and I think he knew he was missing something too. The two of you gave Scrap Baby new purpose, but you never gave her a new_ ** _identity_** _, sis."_

Liz tilted her head in puzzlement. _"A new…identity?"_ she repeated.

Her brother stared straight into her eyes. _"Let me ask you a question, Lizzie,"_ he said, the levity in his voice now gone. _"When was the last time you looked at Scrap Baby and saw anything other than a monster? When was the last time you looked at yourself in that form and saw someone besides the murderer that Father tried to make you become?"_

Liz's mouth fell open, utterly stunned by her brother's question. _"I…I…"_ Had there ever been a time when she HADN'T hated Scrap Baby and what she represented. She couldn't think of a single time…and she had a feeling that was because there had never been one to begin with.

" _If you want to fully get over your guilt, your self-hatred, all those things that are keeping you from enjoying your new life, you have to change your fundamental perception of Scrap Baby into something else,"_ Michael offered his advice with a knowing smile on his lips. _"Change her into someone that YOU want her to be, someone that you're comfortable with becoming when you need to."_ He shook his head and sighed. _"Just like finding redemption for yourself, though, that's something that only you can do. I can tell you that I love you and forgive you a thousand times, I can give you all the advice in the world, but you're the only one who can decide who Scrap Baby is from this point forward."_

Liz sat back down on her bed, her thoughts racing over her brother's words. Was it really that simple? Could that be the key to finally putting her dark past behind her once and for all? _"What do you think I should have her be, Mikey?"_ she asked. Despite what he had just said about her being the one who had to decide, she still wanted Michael's opinion on how she should transform Scrap Baby's identity.

Michael shook her head. _"I could tell you my thoughts, Liz, but I honestly think that it would be for the best if you figured that out on your own. That way, you can truly say that you're the one who made the final call, and you won't have any doubts that your new purpose is just what your brother wants and that you're still a monster deep down."_ He suddenly smiled. _"But I can tell you one thing that hasn't changed."_

" _What is that, Mikey?"_ Liz asked. She was rewarded with Michael getting up from the bed. Before she could do anything, he wrapped his arms around her in the same brotherly hug that he had given her when she was still alive.

" _I know the one thing that you need to hear from me more than anything else, Lizzie, even if you don't know it yourself."_ Michael told her gently as he tightened his embrace. _"I forgive you. I still love you. Elizabeth Afton, Liz Schmidt, Lizzie, Circus Baby, Scrap Baby, who cares what you call yourself or what you look like at any given moment? There is one thing that hasn't changed, and never will change. You are, and always will be, my baby sister."_

All the emotions that Liz had been keeping within her finally burst out of her. She fell to her knees as tears started pouring out of her eyes, utterly overwhelmed by Michael's declaration of love. Her brother had given her the forgiveness that she had so desperately needed ever since Nightmare had revealed that horrible truth to her all those months ago. The one thing she had hoped for above all else had become reality, and her greatest fear had been reduced to nothing more than an empty lie. Liz could do nothing but weep in disbelieving shock and joy as she buried her head in her brother's chest and fully returned the hug he had given her, taking care not to accidentally harm him with robotic arm or claw. Michael waited patiently and silently for her to finish expressing her gratitude and happiness. He had been impatient with one sibling before, and it had led to nightmarish catastrophe. He would never allow himself to make that same mistake with another.

And as he held his sister's animatronic form tightly to his body, Michael could have sworn that, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the faintest form of a dark purple bear with glowing white eyes and teeth, nodding with approval and pride. But when he blinked his eyes to focus on the figure, it was nowhere to be seen, leaving only him and his sister in the room together.

After what felt like a seeming eternity, Liz finally started wiping away the tears from her eyes, shifting back to her human form as she did so. _"You're…you're the best family ever, Mikey…"_ she managed to say as she gave him a weak, tearful smile. _"No matter how much I love my new brothers and sisters, or even dad for that matter, you'll always be my favorite."_

Michael smiled sadly and shook his head. _"That's an honor I don't think I'll ever fully deserve, but I'm happy you think that about me."_ His face suddenly brightened as he sat back down on the bed, beckoning for Liz to join him. _"So Lizzie, I think we've talked enough about the past. I want to know more about what your life is like now. How have you been doing with your new friends and family? Anything particularly amazing or funny happen?"_

A grin began to form on Liz's lips: a bright, jubilant expression that Michael couldn't remember the last time he'd seen. _"You have no idea, Mikey,"_ she began. _"Sit tight, cause I've got so many stories to tell you…"_

/

Henry slowly approached the outside of Liz's room, wondering what he would find when he peeked inside. The poor girl had been utterly devastated the last time he'd seen her, and he had understood immediately that only one person who could save her from herself.

As he got closer to the door, he began to hear laughter and animated conversation from within the room. "A promising start," he thought, but there was only one way to be sure. He put his head to the door and focused his energy on opening the door just the tiniest inch. Exactly as he had hoped, he could see Liz talking animatedly about one of the many shenanigans that her funniest brother Fritz got caught in, causing Michael to laugh uncontrollably. Henry's smile widened as he saw that all was truly well, and he slowly backed away, leaving the two siblings to their own devices. He floated back down the stairs to the living room, where the other ghosts were waiting.

" _Is Liz all right?"_ Fritz asked immediately once Henry had returned to the couch he had been sitting in earlier. He and the others had been impatiently and anxiously waiting ever since Liz had fled to her room, and it had taken both several minutes of persuasion from Henry and a flat-out ORDER from Mike, who almost never demanded anything of them, to ultimately convince them to stay put.

Henry smiled. _"She is fine. Michael has handled things even better than I expected. You don't have to worry about her anymore."_

Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. _"Oh, thank God…"_ Gabe muttered. Their first Christmas would have been tainted forever if one of them had been grieving while the others were happy.

" _Will they be coming down soon?"_ Charlie asked.

Henry shook his head. _"Who can say, baby girl? This is the first time that brother and sister have been truly reunited as they were meant to be, and they may not find another opportunity like this for as long as another year. Let them have this time to themselves."_

" _Okay…"_ Cassidy reluctantly agreed. She looked towards the basement door. _"Come to think of it, we haven't seen Dad ever since he opened the door for Liz's brother. I wonder what he's doing down there?"_

" _Only one way for us to find out,"_ Jeremy said as he got up. The ghosts all followed him down to the basement. The former Bonnie inhabitant was about to call out a greeting to Oskar, when they suddenly realized that the war veteran had a finger placed to his lips.

" _Shhhhh…"_ he whispered. _"Do not make a sound."_

" _What?"_ Cassidy mouthed. _"Why?"_

In response, Oskar silently pointed towards one of the sofas in the basement. Mike and Melody were sitting on the piece of furniture, both sleeping soundly with a warm blanket wrapped over them. The kids all tried to suppress giggles at the sight, with varying degrees of success. Even the straight-laced war veteran himself couldn't resist giving off a faint chuckle. _"I was never one for romance,"_ Oskar chuckled. _"Mike is the only living legacy that I have left on this Earth. But I can't help but wonder…I wonder if he can succeed where I have failed?"_

The children's giggling started to grow louder as Henry chuckled at the sight. _"There is an opportunity to be had here, that much is for certain,"_ he agreed as he pat Charlie on the shoulders. _"Don't let this go to waste, Charlie."_

" _Oh, don't worry, Mr. Emily,"_ Fritz snickered mischievously. _"We definitely won't."_

All of them felt two new presences enter the basement, and they didn't even need to look to know that Michael and Liz had joined them. _"Mikey wants to meet all of you!"_ Liz declared as the older man waved lazily at them. _"Now that we don't have to worry about all stuff that happened in the past."_

A faint look of guilt entered each of the kid's faces as they realized that Michael had been one of their many victims, but Michael waved it off. _"Don't worry about it,"_ he told them. _"Being chased by a couple of animatronics was the least of my problems."_

" _You kinda remind me of dad,"_ Susie commented. _"He didn't care about that any more than you do."_ Her smile widened. _"That's one of the reasons why we love him so much."_

Michael returned the smile. _"Any positive comparison you make between me and him is one that I consider an honor."_ He and the children began talking animatedly with each other, and as they did so Fritz and Charlie quickly spared a glance on Liz. That fleeting second was all it took for them to see the vibrant, joyful expression on her face and recognize that, for all the time they had known her ever since they had all come together in the summer, this was the happiest that they had _ever_ seen her.

This first Christmas would always be remembered by each and every ghost child as the greatest and most important of them all. For it was the first holiday in living memory that they had spent together in peace and happiness, basking in the warmth of a new father's love. But as much as they would remember this day fondly, none of them would ever cherish it so much as Liz. For she had been given the greatest gift of all, one that she had needed above all else and one that only her brother could ever have given her.

Absolution.

/

A/N: And here we finally have it. The bonding and reconnecting between Liz and Michael that you've all been waiting for. For all his love and compassion, for all his intelligence and wisdom, Mike cannot solve EVERY problem the ghost kids have. There was only ever going to be one person who could lift Liz out of her despair and guilt, and I think we all knew from the very beginning that there was no other way.

This marks a turning point for Liz's character, that's for sure. Michael has opened her eyes to the way forward, and now it's up to Liz to fully make her way back into the light. Just HOW she will accomplish this…well, that's what future chapters are for.

This was by far one of the biggest and most important story arcs in this entire fic, and one that took me the most effort by far to write out. I hope you guys enjoyed all the lore exploration that I _finally_ delivered on, as well as the rebuilding of the relationship between Michael and Liz. Hopefully I hit some of you in the feels somewhere 😊

Anyway, I need a huge break from serious story stuff, so the next few chapters will go back to being lighter in nature. I hope you guys enjoyed! :D


	45. Chapter 45 - A New Resolution

A/N: It seems you guys really liked the reunion between Michael and Liz! I'm glad I delivered up to your expectations 😊

I was originally going to have this be a light, non-plot important chapter, but the last chapter didn't really feel like it had the closure that I wanted for the transition in Liz's character development. So that's what this chapter will be focusing on instead. Plus, I haven't had Charlie and Liz interact with each other in a heart-to-heart yet and I think it's way past overdue for them to have their own moment together.

I have revised any chapters involving the MCI to have it in 1982 instead of 1987, since there is a lot more convincing evidence to suggest that the MCI happened before 1987 in a Freddy Fazbear's location before the FNAF2 one, since the FNAF2 one was a RE-OPENING of Freddy's. Most of the chapters are pretty much the same, but the storytelling of the MCI in chapter 17 has been retconned into being completely different.

Also, we hit over 150 favs and follows! Thanks for all the support everyone! :D

Chapter 45 – A New Resolution

" _You can't stay?"_ Liz tearfully asked her brother as she righted herself off her bed. Henry, Oskar, and Michael had all been allowed to spend the night with them before being forced to return to Heaven in the morning, and Michael had joined his sister on the bed and slept next to her just like they had used to so many years ago. For one night, Liz could forget about all the years of pain and loneliness, and pretend she still lived in the happiest moments of her life before Mike had adopted her.

Then, the morning had come, and with it the harsh reality that her brother would soon be leaving her again.

Michael shook his head. _"I can't, Lizzie. The rules of the afterlife are very strict, and souls who pass on are almost never allowed to return. It took a lot of convincing for God to allow us to come here, and I do not think violating the terms of his generosity would be very wise."_ He smiled tiredly. _"Besides,"_ he added, _"you have a new family now. You should be focusing all of your attention on them."_

" _But…"_

" _But nothing, Lizzie. This is a new chapter of your life, and the less you focus on the old chapters, the better. Trust me on this."_

Liz sighed in defeat. _"O…okay…"_

Michael let out a dry chuckle. _"It isn't easy, Lizzie. I know that better than anyone. But it's for the best."_ Before he could say anything else, a faint glow began to emanate from his body. A brilliant blue aura that was growing brighter by the second. The two siblings knew what it meant – Michael's time on Earth had come to an end.

" _Come back next year…"_ Liz tearfully begged and reached her hand out towards him. _"Please, come back…"_

Her brother winked at her and grasped her hand gently. _"Wouldn't miss it for the world, sis,"_ he promised. There was a brilliant flash, forcing Liz to turn away to prevent herself from being blinded. When the light faded and she could finally turn back, Michael was gone.

She sat there silently for several moments, her mind still caught up in her emotions as she felt another presence join her. _"So…"_ Fritz finally called out to her after several seconds of waiting, his voice devoid of its normal mischief and humor. _"He's gone?"_

Liz wordlessly nodded, and her new brother sighed. _"Yeah…Oskar and Mr. Emily got taken back to Heaven too,"_ Fritz told her. _"And Melody left a few seconds ago after saying her good-byes, since she didn't really expect to stay the entire night,"_ he shook his head. _"Way too many good-byes for the day after Christmas if you ask me, even if I know all of them aren't going to be forever."_ He looked over at her worriedly. _"You all right?"_

His sister managed a weak smile. _"I'll be fine, Fritz,"_ she assured him. _"Just got a lot to think about."_

" _Don't we all,"_ Fritz replied dryly. That familiar grin was beginning to return on his face, something that Liz was glad to see. _"So!"_ he reverted to his normally cheerful tone. _"Wanna come down? The others are waiting for us to join them so we can go looking stuff up on iTunes together!"_

Liz got up off her bed. _"Yeah, let's go,"_ she agreed, and she followed her brother out of the room. _"Focus on the new,"_ she thought. _"Just like Mikey told me."_

/

The next few days seemed to pass by in a blur. Even though Michael had given her the keys to the future with his guidance on redefining who Scrap Baby was, Liz had decided to follow a different piece of advice he had given her and simply try to enjoy herself with her new family. At first, it worked, and more than one of her brothers and sisters had commented on how much happier she seemed.

But eventually, the question that would lead to one of the most important decisions of her life began to resurface. Who or what would Scrap Baby become now that _she_ was the one in control?

" _Liz? Hey, Liz!"_

Liz jolted out of her thoughts to see that Susie was giving her an annoyed look. _"You completely blanked out in the middle of our game! I was basically 1v2ing that Smash fight the entire time!"_

" _Oh, uh, sorry…"_ she shook her head. _"Just was thinking about something."_

Susie's annoyed look slowly morphed into one of mild concern. _"Are you all right, Liz?"_ she asked. _"You've been spacing in and out a lot lately. Some of us are starting to get a little worried."_

" _I'll be fine, Sus."_ She promised with a small smile. _"Sorry about that."_

The former Chica inhabitant shrugged. _"If you say so."_ She gestured towards the kitchen. _"Cassidy and I are gonna make dinner for dad today, if you want to join us."_ She made a face. _"I still haven't forgotten that disaster of a meal that Fritz made."_

Liz giggled. _"I don't think I'll ever be forgetting THAT anytime soon,"_ she commented, and both ghost girls laughed for a few seconds. Then, Liz's smile faded a bit. _"But I think I'll pass today. I actually want to talk to Charlie right now."_

" _Charlie?"_ Susie repeated. When Liz nodded, she pointed upstairs towards where they knew Mike's study would be. _"She was reading some books in dad's study last time I saw. Maybe she's still there?"_

" _Thanks,"_ Liz gratefully replied before heading off. She passed by the living room, where Gabe, Fritz, and Jeremy were feverishly dueling each other on the stage of Final Destination, with Mike watching and occasionally dropping a sarcastic comment whenever one of them screwed up particularly badly. She floated up through the ceiling and into the second floor hallway, stopping in front of the closed door to Mike's study. _"Charlie?"_ she called out after a second of hesitation. _"Are you there?"_

There was a shuffling sound for a few seconds and then the door slowly opened, revealing the Marionette's mask. _"Liz?"_ Charlie gave her sister a puzzled look. _"Do you need something?"_

" _Yeah…"_ Liz admitted after several seconds. _"There's something I'd like to talk with you about privately. Do you have a few seconds?"_

Charlie shrugged and pulled the door open wider. _"Sure, I'm just killing time right now. Come on in."_

Liz followed Charlie into the study and to the two armchairs inside. Charlie sat on the one that was normally occupied by Mike, while Liz took the other. _"So what can I do to help you, Liz?"_ Charlie asked.

Liz didn't answer immediately. Several times, she opened her mouth as though about to speak, but closed it again silently as though she were having second thoughts. It took an entire minute before she finally found her words.

" _I think I'd like to start by saying that I really admire you a lot, Charlie,"_ the girl finally began. Charlie's eyelights flickered in surprise at the praise, but she waited for Liz to continue. _"It isn't just because you're the kindest and most selfless person I know apart from maybe dad. You've been through so much pain and struggle because of what my…old dad…did, even more than the others. And yet you still did it. You gave it your all. You watched over our family for 40 years, and you didn't let anything get in the way of that?"_ She looked up at the one who all the ghost kids considered their older sister. _"How?"_ she asked, and Charlie could tell that Liz was desperate for an answer even if she didn't know why, _"How do you have a such a strong sense of purpose? Even now, after all the bad things that have happened are finally over and we have a new dad to watch over us, you're still trying to take care of him and us to this day! How do you do it, Charlie?"_

Now it was Charlie's turn to be silent for several seconds, since she knew that what she said would be very important to Liz and she didn't want to disappoint her sister with a thoughtless response. _"I guess…the biggest reason why would be because it was just part of who I am,"_ Charlie answered carefully after several moments. _"I hate seeing people be unhappy. I hate seeing people suffer. And every time I see someone crying in pain or sadness, I want to try and comfort them as much as possible."_ Her eyes shifted downward towards the floor for a second, where the other ghosts were playing or cooking, before returning their focus on Liz. _"Our family…they've suffered more than anybody should ever have to suffer in an entire lifetime. And I wanted to do everything I could to help them get through the last few decades."_

Liz smiled. _"You're like our family's guardian angel,"_ she commented warmly. _"You're the big sister we all need."_

She was surprised by the defeated, almost bitter laugh that came out of the Marionette's mouth. _"Big sister? Maybe. Guardian? Sure. But angel?"_ Charlie retorted with more guilt and self-loathing than Liz had thought possible from her. _"That's not even close to the truth. I'm guilty of the exact same thing that everyone else is, Liz. There's innocent blood on my hands, just like there's blood on theirs. It doesn't matter that I've killed less people than they have. Angels don't kill innocent people, Liz. I barely even consider myself a hero, no matter what my two dads or the others say."_ She looked straight into Liz's eyes. _"Please don't think of me as some shining light that can do nothing wrong. I know better than anyone else that that's a lie."_

" _I don't think there's a single person in this entire family who's proud of the person they used to be,"_ Liz replied pensively. _"I'm definitely not for obvious reasons, I knew the others didn't, and from what he told us dad honestly sounds more relieved than anything that his life didn't end at Freddy's thirty years ago."_ She allowed some surprise to enter her tone now. _"But I had no idea that you were feeling that way too, Charlie! I had no idea that you were dealing with guilt and self-esteem issues like the rest of us."_

Charlie sighed. _"I try to hide it as best as I can, Liz,"_ she admitted. _"The others have enough baggage to deal with without me adding more onto their plates. Dad's the only one who really knows everything about my past and what I think about it."_ She shook her head. _"I'm still not entirely open to the idea of sharing everything I'm feeling to the rest of the family. If I ever feel overwhelmed by it all, I promise I WILL share. But right now, I'm okay with who I am now and I don't feel right adding my troubles to everyone else's."_

" _I guess that's fair,"_ Liz conceded. _"I wish I had all my own issues settled as easily as you do."_

Charlie reached out and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. _"Liz, you shouldn't put the blame on yourself for what your father did to you. The girl sitting in front of me is the real you, not that insane robot crawling in the vents of the trap pizzeria. As far as I'm concerned, Liz Schmidt and Scrap Baby are completely different people."_

" _But that's just it!"_ Liz protested. _"They're NOT completely different people. Scrap Baby IS a part of me, Charlie. I can't run away from the truth anymore."_ The Marionette's mouth widened slightly and Liz could tell that Charlie was about to say something, and she raised a hand to interrupt her. _"I'm NOT saying this because I still hate myself over the past, Charlie. Or at the very least, I'm trying not to. I promise. But I AM Scrap Baby. I can still turn into her. I still see her in me. And the only way I can feel better about myself as Scrap Baby is if I can transform her into someone completely different from what she used to be."_

" _This is what you and your brother were talking about a few days ago, isn't it?"_ Charlie realized.

" _Yeah, it is…"_ Liz admitted. This would be the first time she opened up about her conversation with her brother to another person – not even Mike knew the full details yet. _"William Afton wanted Scrap Baby to be a monster,"_ she continued. _"A murderous, robotic monster who tore innocent children to pieces with a giant claw. There's no way I'm ever going to let her be what he wanted her to be. Not now, not ever."_ She slumped over and sighed. _"That's the easy part, Charlie. What's harder is trying to figure out who she should be instead."_

Charlie nodded and wrapped Liz in a light hug, trying to cheer her up. _"Did you ask Michael what he thought she should be instead?"_ she wondered.

Liz nodded. _"I did,"_ she replied, _"but Mikey didn't want to give me a direct answer. He said it would be better for me if I figured out the answer by myself."_

" _I think I can give you a little more help,"_ Charlie offered, to which Liz perked up slightly. _"I do agree with Michael that it's best if you figure out the final answer for yourself, but here's the thing. I think you already know what you want Scrap Baby to be. Look back at what you've already accomplished with her. You've already defined who she is."_ Even through the Marionette's relatively fixed mouth, Liz could see her knowing smile. _"You just don't know it yet."_

And then, like a brilliant light being turned on inside her head, she _did_ know. She _did_ know what she wanted Scrap Baby to become. Liz suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her sister in a tight hug, catching Charlie completely by surprise. _"Thanks, sis!"_ she nearly shouted in delight. _"You're the best!"_

" _Uh…you're welcome,"_ the girl haunting the Marionette replied. _"Seems like you've got an idea of what you want to do. So…what's the next step?"_

Liz got off the chair. _"I'm going to have to talk to dad after he eats dinner,"_ she replied, and Charlie immediately noticed a sense of purpose and confidence that had been almost nonexistent in her seconds before. _"I wonder if I can still help Susie and Cassidy with it."_ She waved at the Marionette. _"See ya, Charlie!"_

" _See ya!"_ Charlie replied, letting out a small laugh as Liz enthusiastically floated out of the room. Once she was gone, Charlie felt her contentment at seeing her sister happy fade slightly. She put her book down and went over to Mike's desk. Opening a drawer, she reached in and took out the picture of her and Liz that Mike had found back when they were still alive.

She had found that picture entirely by accident and had confronted Mike about it afterwards. The man had admitted that he had found the picture in Henry's house and had held onto it because he felt that it was too significant to just simply leave behind. "I didn't mean for you to find that picture so soon. Until I can find a way to break the news to Liz in the right way, showing her this picture will just do more harm than good right now," had been Mike's answer when she had asked him why he had kept this a secret, and Charlie had to admit that the man was right. Right now, the only thing this picture was doing was reminding her of what had been lost. And though Liz was noticeably improving, her adoptive sister still had less control over her emotions than she did.

Charlie sighed as she looked at the picture of her past self and Liz smiling at the camera. _"To think that so many things could have gone so horribly wrong,"_ she thought as she slowly lowered the photo. Two innocent girls, completely ignorant of the decades of terror and tragedy that would shape their futures. Even after things had finally turned out all right, now that William Afton was in Hell and they were all under Mike's care, Charlie knew that whatever relationship she and Liz once had in the past was gone and could never be fully reclaimed.

" _But that doesn't mean we can't make something new,"_ Charlie thought as she lowered the photo into the desk and shoved the drawer shut. Her mind reflected on the conversation she'd just had with Liz, and her eyelights flickered with hope for the future _"All we can do is try our best."_

A Few Hours Later…

It wasn't often that any of the ghost kids visited Mike when he was in his workshop. This was time that Mike spent working on any projects that caught his interest at a given point in time, even though he very rarely worked on anything major nowadays. It was also one of the few times that Mike preferred to be by himself, an observation that had quickly been recognized and respected by the children.

Which was why Mike was surprised to see Liz floating a few feet away from him, looking at him with a sense of uncertainty. He quickly turned off the blowtorch he had been using, set it down, and lifted his protective faceplate so he could see Liz more clearly. "Liz?" he asked, puzzled. "Did you need something?"

The question seemed to give Liz the courage she needed to proceed. _"Yeah, dad…"_ she responded. _"I…I wanted to talk to you about something really important."_

Mike took off the faceplate and maneuvered around the side of the table to get closer to her. "I'm all ears," he said once he was close enough to Liz.

Liz took a deep breath before beginning. _"When my brother was here, we talked a lot about a lot of things, dad. And towards the end, he gave me some advice on how I can feel better about myself and Scrap Baby."_

Mike nodded. Judging by how much happier Liz had been over the past few days, he had suspected that whatever Michael had told her had cheered her up considerably. "And what was that advice?" he asked.

" _He said I should change who Scrap Baby is,"_ Liz explained. _"Make her into something different than what William Afton wanted her to be. And I think I have the answer."_ She looked straight into Mike's eyes, and the man was taken aback by the sudden determination and sense of purpose in them. As far as he could remember, Liz had never exuded this type of confidence so far. _"I want to be this family's protector,"_ she declared. _"I want to keep the people I care about safe. You, my new brothers and sisters, even people outside our family like the Marshalls and Melody if I have to. And I have the power to do it,"_ as she spoke this last sentence, her form began to shift and change until the now-familiar phantasmal Scrap Baby was in front of Mike. Liz gazed down with her claw. _"I have power with Scrap Baby that the others don't. I can fight anything or anyone that tries to threaten us, I know I can because I've already tried with Nightmare. Everyone in this family has been hurt so much, in different ways. Charlie's the one who helps them through the bad times. I want to be the one who stops them from happening."_ She looked back up at Mike. _"I'm not stupid enough to think that I can solve every problem by fighting, or that I'll be able to stop all the bad things or people that life throws at us. But with Scrap Baby, I can at the very least say I tried my best."_ A pleading look entered her eyes, begging him to accept her new self-imposed duty. _"I don't know what else Scrap Baby can be, dad…I don't know what else_ I _can be…this is the only thing I can think of that will truly make me feel better about every part of myself."_

Mike opened his mouth, about to say that she didn't need to put this burden on herself, that she was his daughter, and that was good enough for him. But the words died in his throat as the realization suddenly crashed into his mind.

This was not about what he wanted. This was about what Liz wanted, no, _needed_. Having her as a daughter might be good enough for him, but he couldn't dare to impose his perspective on Liz when his own trials and struggles were laughably insignificant compared to hers. She had set her sights on a higher calling as their family's protector, a new identity that would allow her to fully redefine who she was and finally put her tainted past behind her. But even though she had crafted that identity for herself, she still looked to him for validation and approval of her choices. And his acceptance of her decision was possibly the most important gift that he could possibly give her, more than all the money in the world or even the new purposes he had given Scrap Baby when he had taken her out to the abandoned pizzerias.

Up until now, he had been focused on what _he_ thought was best for the kids. And that might have been and might still be successful, for the most part. But for the first time, Mike realized that he needed to pay attention to what _they_ believed was best for themselves, and balance that with his original perspective, before he passed his guidance or his judgment.

To deny Liz was utterly unthinkable, and he silently cursed himself for not seeing the truth sooner. Thank God that there had been no negative consequences because of his lack of foresight.

Mike bent down slightly until he was looking Liz in the eye. She might have been much larger and taller than she usually was in her Scrap Baby form, but Mike was still taller than her. "If this is something that you really have your heart set on, Liz," the man spoke with all the candor and appreciation he could muster, "then I won't stop you. But don't ever forget that when it comes down to what really matters, I want you as a daughter, not as a servant."

He didn't have any time to say any more, as he found himself buried in the biggest hug that Liz had ever given him in living memory. _"Thank you so much, dad!"_ she praised, her eyes flashing joyfully with the knowledge that her father had accepted her newfound dedication and purpose. _"I love you so much! I won't let you down!"_ she promised.

Mike chuckled. "If you want to disappoint me, Liz, you'd have to work pretty hard to find a way," the words were spoken as a joke, but Mike and Liz both knew that he meant every word. Liz opened her mouth to say something else, but then suddenly stopped and shuffled uncomfortably. Mike raised an eyebrow. "Something else on your mind?"

" _It's kind of dumb to ask, but…uh…can you teach me how to fight?"_

Mike blinked several times. "…what."

" _I know, I know, but I remember what you told us about your past, dad,"_ Liz quickly explained. _"Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but it sounds like you had to fight in the streets to survive. And I was wondering if you could teach me something."_

"Well, I only fought when I absolutely had to, which thankfully almost never happened," Mike corrected. "And even if I was as good of a fighter as you think I am, my ability to help you is rather…limited." A wry smile stretched across his lips. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly a freaky robot clown ghost with a giant claw for a right hand," he added dryly.

" _Har har…"_ Liz replied with equal dryness, but Mike knew she wasn't bothered by his joke. Which, by itself was a good sign of her improving self-esteem.

"Still," he continued after a few moments of thought. "I _might_ be able to give you a tip or two." He walked towards the front of the workshop and beckoned at Liz. "Over here."

Liz eagerly floated over to her father, who was pulling out and setting up a cheap, run of the mill plastic table. Once he was done, he turned to face his daughter. "So here's the thing," he began. "I'll start with the positive: you seem to know how to use that claw pretty well. You cut the chains on the abandoned pizzerias cleanly and from what I can tell you know how to use it as a weapon too. Otherwise, I don't think you'd have been able to so much as touch Nightmare before he beat you down."

" _It's probably not a good thing that I know how to use this claw so well,"_ Liz muttered.

"Well, considering the plan you've set up for your future, it is now," Mike grinned encouragingly, and Liz returned with a smile of her own. "Now for the critiques." His eyes traced over the claw. "The easiest way for me to say it and for you to understand it is that you're too dependent on that claw."

" _Too…dependent?"_ Liz asked, puzzled.

"Yep," Mike confirmed. "Too dependent. That claw is pretty much the ONLY way you attack anything or anyone. Yeah, you'll deal some major damage and probably win most fights you're caught up in if you can get a hit with that pincer, but that's not a guarantee in the slightest. Maybe ghostly physics works different from real physics but trying to claw your enemy with something like that is bulky, clumsy, and not too hard to avoid if your opponent can see it coming."

Liz thought back to how Nightmare had effortlessly blocked off her second claw attack. Granted, he was much more powerful than any opponent she would probably have to fight in the future (and she hoped that there would never be one to begin with), but she could see his point.

"You have more tools to fight with you than you think, Liz. Your other hand is a metal one with sharp fingers, which are great for scratching and are a lot easier to use." He gestured towards the table. "Take your hand and scratch it from one side to the other."

Liz stared at her one free hand, which suddenly looked a lot more menacing and vicious with the razor sharp metal fingers that she hadn't noticed before. _"My old dad really did want every part of me to be a monster, didn't he?"_ she inwardly sighed.

"Liz?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts. _"Nothing,"_ she quickly replied. She approached the table and, channeling her focus, she began to slide her claws across the table's surface from the left side to the right. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but when she had finished doing what Mike asked, there were five deep gashes on the table that stretched from one side to the other.

Mike raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Power is right," he whistled. "I didn't expect you to have this kind of strength as a ghost. Now I'm curious to see what'll happen with my second piece of advice."

Liz wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, having this kind of destructive power scared her, especially since she knew how easily it could be used for evil. On the other hand, she now knew for sure that she could live up to her own expectations as her new family's protector. _"Second piece of advice?"_ she repeated.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I think it'll be a lot easier to use your claw as a bludgeon instead of a pincer. You know, beating something with it. It's also big enough to make for a decent shield, but I won't attack you to test that because it doesn't feel right to attack my own daughter and because I literally can't. Anyway," he gestured towards the damaged table, "hit the table."

Now it was Liz's turn to blink. _"What?"_

"Hit the table," Mike repeated, "so that you see what I mean."

Liz still looked confused but shrugged as she approached the table. Lifting her claw, she maneuvered it until it was a few inches above the surface. Then, she gently banged the table with a small THUNK.

Mike stared at the spot where she'd hit the table, completely unimpressed. "Okay…" he drawled, "why don't you go ahead and try that again? And, uh, hit it a little harder."

Liz gave her father an annoyed look. _"You stole that straight out of Kung Fu Panda, didn't you?"_ she complained.

Mike smirked and wordlessly knocked on the table. Liz rolled her eyes and looked back at the table. Focusing all her energy just like she had with earlier, she raised her claw and smashed it downward onto the table. There was a loud CRACK as the table broke apart and the pieces collapsed onto the floor. The table, cheap and shoddily made as it might have been, had been split completely in half by the force of Scrap Baby slamming the weight of her claw onto it.

"That's better," Mike smiled knowingly. "Power by itself doesn't win fights, Liz. If that was all it took, I would have died in Freddy's forty years ago. Efficiency and versatility matter just as much as raw strength and can even outright beat it. Sure, crushing something with that pincer will do a lot more damage than a good ol' whack, but wasn't doing the second so much easier?"

" _Yeah…"_ Liz agreed. _"Yeah, it was!"_

"It also comes with the benefit that you're less likely to kill someone if you want to win a fight without hurting them," Mike added. "That pincer will almost always kill, or at the very least seriously injure someone. And I'd like to try and avoid that if possible."

" _Not gonna argue with you there,"_ Liz shuddered at the possibility of killing someone with the sharp edges of her claw, even if it was for a nobler reason. She looked up at him curiously. _"For someone who claims not to be a fighter, you sure know a lot about battle strategy and how to beat your enemies,"_ she noticed.

Mike snorted. "Most of that shit came straight out of hours of video gaming," he retorted. Liz got the impression that there was more to it than what her father was letting on, but she didn't say anything to challenge him. Then, the humor in his voice faded. "To be honest, Liz, I hope we never have to worry about this," Mike reluctantly admitted. "If we all just carry on with the rest of our lives, with you being a regular ghost girl happily breezing through the daily shenanigans of her new family life, that would make me so very, very happy. But," he sighed, "as Oskar once told me, any plan that doesn't account for when things go wrong, no matter how genius it is otherwise, is automatically a fucking awful plan."

He straightened himself until he stood tall, and in that moment Liz saw him as the splitting image of the general who had raised him. "If there ever comes a time when I need to fight something that threatens our safety and well-being, Liz, I can't think of anyone better to fight alongside me than you."

Liz raised her claw and placed it over her chest in what was clearly meant to be a salute. _"I said it before, and I'll say it again, dad,"_ she swore, _"you can count on me. I won't let you down."_

Mike smiled and ruffled his daughter's ethereal, wiry hair. "I know you won't," he answered, returning the salute. He and Liz hugged again silently, the former showing his acceptance and the latter expressing her gratitude. Then, once their shared moment of solemnity was over, Mike made his way over to the back of his table where he had been working and Liz shifted back into her normal human form. She noticed for the first time a set of blueprints that was on the table to the side, a safe distance away from the pieces of metal that her father had been working.

" _What are you making?"_ she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Mike smirked and wagged his finger at her. "Ah ah ah," he chided mischievously, "I'm not spilling the beans. It wouldn't be fair if you knew about my little project but the rest of your brothers and sisters didn't. Or am I wrong?"

" _Awww…"_ Liz murmured in disappointment, but she couldn't help but giggle. She knew that he would reveal what he was working on sooner or later.

Mike looked at the jumble of pieces strewn across his table, then suddenly snorted. "What the hell am I even doing here? You know what, screw this. It's New Year's Eve, I should be spending time with you guys." He took off his apron and stashed the blueprint away. "Let's go back to the house, Liz," he suggested. "The apple will be dropping soon and I'd have to be an idiot to miss it."

Liz tilted her head in confusion. _"The apple?"_ she asked. _"What do you mean?"_

A Few Hours Later, 11:59 PM

Mike and the kids were all crowded around the basement TV. They had spent the last few hours watching a review of the year (even though most if not all of it was largely meaningless to the ghost kids), and now they were eagerly watching the apple beginning to fall and mark the dawn of a new year.

" _It's almost time!"_ Susie shouted excitedly.

" _I can't wait to see what the new year's like!"_ Jeremy added eagerly. _"With all of us together, it can only be even better than this year!"_

" _Maybe we can actually see it in person some day!"_ Gabe suggested, eyes fixed on the slowly falling apple.

Mike chuckled. "Considering that you guys are ghosts not bound to the laws of gravity, you'll probably get a much better vantage point than I ever could," he commented.

" _We're only a few seconds away!"_ Cassidy exclaimed.

As one, Mike and the ghosts began counting down the last few seconds. "10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

The apple hit the ceiling of One Times Square, triggering a shower of fireworks and a roar of delight as the crowds on the TV went wild. The ghosts themselves were no less excited, floating around in a celebratory frenzy as they cheered on the coming of the new year. Mike couldn't help but laugh at the craziness – it was a good thing they were all incorporeal right now; otherwise, his entire basement would have been a complete mess.

Besides Charlie, who was restricted by the physical body of the Puppet, only one ghost child remained calm and collected. Liz had stayed in the same position she had been while watching the apple fall, and while she was certainly happy with the coming of the new year, she wasn't caught up in the same ecstatic rush that the rest of her family was. Instead, she stared contentedly at the 2026 brightly displayed on the building.

" _A new year,"_ she thought, with a smile on her face that would have been enigmatic to the others if they had been paying attention, _"and a new me. Just like you'd have wanted."_ Her eyes lifted upward to the ceiling, where she knew far away her brother was watching over her. _"Happy New Year, Mikey."_

/

A/N: And there we go. I think this rounded out the transition phase for Liz's character development much more nicely.

Now that this arc has been concluded in a manner that I find much more satisfying, I'll be going back to lighter, more fun chapters for a bit before I move on to the next plot arc.

Did you guys like the little bonding moment between Charlie and Liz? I just realized I didn't have a single major interaction between these two characters, something that desperately needed correcting. They may not ever have the kind of relationship that they used to back when they were alive…but that doesn't mean they can't make something new instead.

The thing with my fic's version of Liz is that, at her core, she really isn't all that different from the game or even the book versions of Elizabeth if you think about it. She wants love, affection, and approval from the person she looks to as a father in all three. The difference here is that instead of a remorseless, murderous sociopath, she now has a father figure who freely gives her all the love she needs and has a strong moral compass, and it's amazing how much her character transforms because of that one change. And you can bet that Liz's new self-appointed role as a guardian and protector will absolutely come into play in the future, even if I'm keeping the details secret for now.

Anyways, that should be a good spot for now. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	46. Chapter 46 - Fun with Video Games 3

A/N: Now that I've got the massive plot arc out of the way, I think it's high time we go back to lighter and more fun chapters. I need a break from big plot chapters anyway, writing the last arc has really burned me out when it comes to the serious, major stuff.

We haven't had a "video games" chapter in a while, have we? I think now's as good a time as any to have one since the next few chapters aren't meant to be taken seriously anyway.

An important note before we begin: Now that medical school has started, I can no longer guarantee that I will be able to post a chapter every week. I will try to post one every two weeks if I cannot post one every week, and I CAN guarantee at least one chapter per month minimum if my schedule really goes to shit.

Remember back in "A Legacy Laid to Rest" when Mike was going to talk with Scott about possibly making a game based on the events of "Five Nights at Freddy's"? Well, prepare for FNAF within a FNAF fic! I'd like to dedicate this chapter in honor of FNAF's 4th Anniversary and the interview that Dawko had with Scott Cawthon.

Chapter 46 – Fun with Video Games 3

 _One and a Half Years Ago_

"So that's everything that's happened?" the man asked as he finished reviewing his notes. "That's…incredible…to think that there's been this much tragedy and horror behind what should have been a happy children's environment."

Mike shook his head. "I know, it was hard for me to believe too. But you can see the Marionette right here," he gestured towards Charlie, "and I trust her completely."

The man shuddered. "Now I'm thankful that I never took my kids to a Freddy Fazbear's location," he gave Charlie an apologetic look. "No offense."

Charlie shrugged. _"None taken, I don't blame you in the slightest."_

"And Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria is completely gone?" Mike's friend pressed. "Nobody can come after me with a lawsuit or anything? I'm not going to risk my own family's welfare for this."

" _Freddy Fazbear's is gone forever,"_ Charlie confirmed. _"My father personally made sure of that."_

"All right," the man agreed. "I just wanted to make sure that there was nothing stopping me from telling this story legally."

" _My father wanted the memory of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria to disappear forever,"_ Charlie added. _"I understand why he wanted to bury it once and for all, but at the same time I can't agree with him completely. I do want our story to be told, in some form or another. Both for the sake of the Night Guards and for the sake of my friends who have passed on. History that's forgotten will repeat itself, and I want more than anything to prevent more tragedies like the one that happened to me and my friends. Locations that were meant to be safe havens can still be corrupted into places of tragedy and horror, and it is a lesson that the world should know and prevent by any means necessary."_

Her listener frowned. "You tell me that, and yet you don't want me to just reveal it outright?"

" _As you yourself suggested, the former would make for an excellent horror game, and it's a story that is already well-known in a sense,"_ Charlie explained. _"But for the latter…I don't want it to simply be thrown out there, where it can be ignored or even disrespected. I want our story to be told in a way that only those who would truly care about our fate and actively seek out our tale will be the ones to discover it. I want the ones who discover it to be the ones who understand."_

The man frowned. "You do realize that it's impossible to control the motives of the ones playing this game," he warned. "Almost nobody believes in ghosts to begin with. There's a lot of people who will miss the story entirely and focus on the animatronics instead. Some people will only play the game just because a game. And even if they do seek out your history, they might do it just for the sake of 100% completion or something, and not because of any sympathy for you. I want you to be completely aware of this before I start working, because once the game's out it'll be all but impossible to take it back."

" _I understand. You're a good man, and a clever and intelligent one. I know you'll handle this the way that it is meant to be handled."_

"Well, then I guess I better get to work immediately," the man smiled and got up to shake their hands. "Thanks for bringing me into this."

Charlie returned the man's handshake warmly. _"Thank you very much for accepting this task, Mr. Cawthon."_

The man smirked. "Please. Mike and the rest of my friends all call me Scott."

 _Present Day_

"There's not a lot of people that I really trust, but Scott is one of them," Mike finished. "He may not be on the level of Ryan in terms of how close we are as friends, but he's up there. He's probably the only person I can trust to do this right."

" _Whoa…"_ Susie gasped. _"An entire video game horror series dedicated to telling the rest of the world about what happened at Freddy's?"_

"Well, not directly," Mike clarified. "It all depends on how deeply you dig into the game. On the surface, all you'll find is a horror game about a Night Guard trying to survive in his office for five nights from 12 to 6 AM. But there's more to it hidden underneath the surface, and Scott told me that the future games will include more details about your tragedy and gradually reveal the full story for those who actually care enough to find out about it."

" _I don't know how to feel about this,"_ Jeremy muttered. Then, he sighed. _"Then again, it's not like we have any right to complain. You had this finalized long before we ever came here."_

" _You've got to admit, the idea is kind of cool,"_ Fritz pointed out. _"And nobody's going to resurrect Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria now that it's been associated with the horror genre."_

"Or the obscene amount of incompetence," Mike muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

" _Is the game out?"_ Liz asked. _"Can we play it?"_

"Yep!" Mike confirmed. "It came out recently! Took me WAY too long to finally beat 4/20 mode. God damn was that painful…" he added with a groan.

" _So THAT was what you were doing in your study a few nights ago…"_ Susie realized.

" _It can't be any harder than what we put you through, right?"_ Gabe asked. Even though Mike had made it abundantly clear that he had forgiven them long ago, he still felt some guilt gnaw at his conscience when he thought of the night shift, and he doubted that would ever fully change.

To his surprise, however, Mike smiled dryly. "Oh, believe me, on the extra nights, this game makes my actual night shift look like a joke."

The ghosts' eyes widened, and the same thought was running through their minds: _  
"This, I've got to see."_

Mike's smile vanished. "Before we begin…there is something important I need to ask you," he spoke in the now-familiar tone that told the ghosts he was being utterly serious. "How much have you been able to make peace with yourself and your past actions? I don't want to show you this game only for you to go into a mental breakdown over your own regrets. That's only going to end up hurting all of us."

The ghosts looked at each other silently for several moments. Then, Gabe spoke for all them. _"We won't ever forget the past and we won't ever really stop regretting what we did, but we won't let it crush our hopes for the present or the future,"_ he declared. _"If anything, we owe it to our victims to be in their shoes and feel the same fear they felt when we hunted and killed them. Including you, dad."_ He looked straight into Mike's eyes. _"Show us the game."_

Mike nodded. "Well said." He turned on the computer and opened the game. "It's pretty simple," Mike explained as it loaded. "You watch the cameras for the animatronics, use the lights to check the hallways, and shut the doors when the animatronics show up. But you have to survive from 12-6 am with limited power. So, with all that being said…who wants to go first?"

" _I'll go!"_ Fritz offered as he sat down in front of Mike's laptop. Even though he couldn't quite grasp the mouse like a living human would, the ghosts' ability to interact with the physical world allowed him to easily manipulate the mouse and click New Game.

" _Dang!"_ Jeremy whistled. _"This really DOES look like the 1993 pizzeria, office and all!"_

Mike smirked. "I gave Scott very thorough descriptions of what I saw over there," he replied. He and the other ghosts watched as Fritz proceeded to breeze through Night 1 and made a strong showing at Night 2, recognizing Foxy's attack pattern and keeping him at bay. He finally failed at Night 3 because Chica blindsided him while he was looking at Freddy and Foxy. _"Aw, crap!"_ Fritz protested as the chicken jump-scared him. _"I took too long looking through the camera."_

"That was decent for a first time," Mike commented as Fritz moved out of the way. "I've seen people die on Night 1. I don't know how, considering the animatronics are as slow as a rock on that particular night, so you're far from the worst I've seen on this game."

" _I'll get it next time,"_ Fritz grumbled as he moved out of the way for Cassidy to take a turn. Even though she had gotten a lot of exposure to video games from living in Mike's house, she was still the most inexperienced out of all of them and ended up dying on Night 2 to a Foxy attack that she had been too slow to counter.

" _I don't know how you Night Guards managed it,"_ she commented as she moved aside for Jeremy to take a turn. Jeremy ended up making it all the way to Night 4, and Mike's smile disappeared as the Phone Guy's last call echoed out into the room. All the ghosts cringed and turned away in shame as they heard Phone Guy's scream and the few terrifying moments before his death. Cassidy whimpered at the noise – that had been _her_ making the final attack on the Phone Guy as Golden Freddy, she was sure of it. Only one animatronic ever made that noise. _"I'm sorry…"_ she thought sadly. _"You didn't deserve this. None of you did. We were too filled with hate to see it…"_

Mike solemnly bowed his head in honor of the man who had given him the guidance he'd needed to survive. "Rest in peace, my friend," he murmured as Jeremy reluctantly continued the night. The Phone Guy's call had badly shaken him, and he ended up dying to Freddy's attack since he couldn't focus properly and forgot to check on his location.

Gabe decided to try and shift the thoughts away from the Phone Guy's death as the menu screen returned. _"That was some incredible voice acting,"_ he commented. _"Whoever this actor is, he combined it with the sound effects really well. Do you know who that voice is, dad?"_

Mike grinned, thankful for the distraction. "Oh, yeah. That was Scott. He used his own voice for Phone Guy!"

The ghosts' eyes widened. _"Really?"_ they asked in shock.

"Yep! I heard a sample of his voice acting about a month before the game came out. It's a scarily accurate imitation of what the actual Phone Guy told me in that Office all those years ago," Mike suddenly frowned. "Damn, I haven't talked to Scott in a while. Now I feel kind of bad. I should probably give him a call later."

" _Well, wherever he is, I hope he's doing all right,"_ Jeremy said as he handed the mouse over to Gabe to take his turn. He ended up doing the best out of all them, making it all the way to Night 5 before being defeated by Bonnie at around 3 AM. Susie was the next ghost to try, and her defeat was unique compared to the others.

" _Hey, that's Golden Freddy!"_ she exclaimed once she saw the poster in the West Hall corner during Night 3. She put down the tablet and, to everyone's surprise, the animatronic in question was sitting on the office desk.

"Oh, fuck!" Mike exclaimed. "Quick, open the monitor, open the damn moni…" Too late. Golden Freddy's face covered the entire screen, and promptly crashed the game. "Well, shit," he sheepishly mumbled as he turned the game back on. "Forgot to tell you about that." To the ghosts' surprise, he suddenly burst out into a wry laugh.

" _Dad?"_ Cassidy tugged at her father's arm worriedly. _"Are you all right?"_

"What? Oh, yeah," Mike continued to chuckle. "It's just that, back in my night shift, I actually saw Golden Freddy only once during the 20 nights I was there. And when I did see you, I was like, oh my God, what the hell is this thing doing in my office? Obviously, I didn't know that lifting the monitor again would make you disappear, so while I was panicking I opened up my monitor completely by accident, and when I looked away from it you were gone like nothing happened. And I was like what the fuck just happened?"

Fritz snickered once he realized what his dad was saying. "So you blocked Golden Freddy completely by accident without having any clue what the hell you were doing?" he asked just to make sure.

Mike grinned back. "Pretty much."

" _Thank God for that,"_ Gabe muttered. _"I don't want to think about where we'd be right now if you hadn't."_

"Thinking about what-if situations that have a 0% chance of happening is a waste of time," Mike agreed.

It was only then that he realized that Liz had been silent throughout most of the past few minutes, and the others had almost forgotten that she was there. _"Can I have a turn?"_ she asked. She had gotten a general idea of how the animatronics behaved from watching the others, even if she had never been to the 1993 restaurant back when it had still been open.

Mike gestured to the computer. "Go right ahead!" he responded invitingly, and Liz started a new game. Out of all the ghosts, it turned out that she was the only one who remembered the strategy that Mike had told them about during his story about his shift at Freddy's. With that knowledge in tow, she did even better than Gabe did, making it all the way to Night 5 and even to 5 AM. Unfortunately, her luck ran out when Bonnie and Chica suddenly showed up at both doors at the same time, forcing her to use three bars of power for several seconds. The final nail in the coffin was when Foxy finally made a mad dash to her office. She was able to block the left door in time, but Foxy knocked on the door and killed what little power she had left. The office suddenly went dark, and Freddy's face started glowing at the door. He cut off his song relatively quickly and attacked Liz without missing a beat, ending the game.

" _Awwwww…."_ everyone groaned sympathetically. _"You were so close!"_ Susie exclaimed.

"Yeah, for a first time, that was a really good job, Liz," Mike added. "Also, you got screwed over at the end, and I'm not talking about Foxy, Chica, or Bonnie."

" _What do you mean?"_ Liz asked.

"Well, when the power goes out, the timer towards 6 AM is still counting down," Mike explained. "The time during which Freddy gets to the left door, plays his jingle, or waits after he stops it before attacking you are all completely random, and all three of those time intervals count as time that gets you towards 6 AM. You got REALLY unlucky, Liz. He started playing the song almost instantly, he only played it for a few seconds, AND he attacked you quickly after. If he'd taken his time before he attacked you, I think you might have actually made it to 6 AM and won."

" _Oh well,"_ Liz shrugged. _"There's always next time."_

"Yeah, feel free to play as many times as you want, kiddos. Anyway," he grinned. "Time to show you exactly who you've been up against all those years ago."

The ghosts all expected him to start up a new game, but to their surprise he ignored the Continue button and instead went straight to Night 6.

" _Night 6? That's a thing? I thought the pizzeria was closed on weekends,"_ Jeremy asked in confusion.

Mike smirked. "Jeremy, this level and the Custom Night are not considered canon to the game. I'm impressed that Scott separated parts of a game as simple as this into canon and non-canon, but whatever, it's his game. And besides, I told you before. It was designed to be _harder_ than what you put me through. Watch and learn, kiddies." The game started, and from the very beginning the ghosts understood how and why Mike had survived the haunted animatronics' ruthless assault.

It soon became very clear that Mike had lost none of his experience even after several decades. He had come up with a strategy to deal with the animatronics even under the extreme stress of fighting for his life and the pressure created by the game was laughably meaningless in comparison. For the ghost kids, it was like they were hearing Mike describe his Night Shift all over again, only this time they were watching him in action rather than simply listening to his words. He checked the lights for both doors and opened the monitor to check ONLY on Freddy and Foxy before repeating. A routine that was incredibly simple and yet brilliant in its simplicity. After all, so long as they weren't at the doors, who cared where Bonnie and Chica were? Freddy and Foxy had both been incredibly cautious not to move while they were being inspected, and Mike had turned their own caution against them by frequently checking on them; Foxy didn't attack _once_ during the entire night, and Freddy only moved as far as the main dining area. Not once did Mike make a mistake that would have almost certainly killed him, and the time shifted to 6 AM _just_ as Freddy started playing his 0% power jingle, leaving him victorious and with six ghostly children who were staring at him in utter awe.

"Checkmate," Mike snapped his fingers. When he saw the extra 50 cents on the paycheck, he flipped a middle finger at the screen. "Oh and fuck your overtime too! 50 cents for that bullshit? What a fucking joke."

" _Oh my God…"_ Gabe breathed. _"How…how are you so good?"_

"Try surviving a haunted restaurant in real life sometime," Mike deadpanned. "Video games don't seem very hard in comparison."

Liz suddenly remembered something. _"Wait…what was that thing you mentioned before about 4/20 mode?"_ she asked.

The smile on Mike's face vanished instantly, and he groaned. "That, Liz, is the hardest difficulty mode possible for this game. All 4 animatronics with their AI set all the way to max power. No mercy, no forgiveness. You make a _single_ mistake, you're dead. I tried using one strategy for FIVE HOURS before I gave up and used a different one that worked after a few tries."

" _What strategy was that?"_ Susie asked.

To answer her question, Mike picked up a tablet lying on the desk nearby and immediately began whacking his head repeatedly with it. The ghosts all burst out laughing at seeing their parent act like an idiot. _"No, seriously,"_ Fritz finally managed to breath out, _"what strategy did you use?"_

"What, you think I'm joking?" Mike asked, and all the ghosts stopped laughing. "This is more or less how I actually beat 4/20 mode. Constantly checking the East Hall Corner camera to make sure that Freddy didn't kick my ass."

" _Am I that big of a threat on that mode?"_ Gabe mumbled, but before Mike could answer a new voice spoke up.

" _So you've showed them Five Nights at Freddy's, Mike?"_ Everyone turned to the Marionette, who had only just entered the room. _"I'm personally very happy with how the game turned out. It catches the atmosphere of the pizzeria incredibly well, is remarkably faithful to the events of the past, and offers hints of the tragedy without being obvious about it. Scott Cawthon is indeed a genius, and I owe it to him to finally play the game he has worked so hard to create."_

"Go right ahead," Mike moved out of the way, and the Puppet took the seat. Everyone watched as she clicked on Custom Night, and they gave her questioning glances as she set every single animatronic's difficulty level to 20. "Uhm…Charlie? Have you even played this game before? You do realize you're putting this game at a difficulty so ridiculously hard that Scott himself couldn't beat it?"

" _And your point is?"_ she turned to give Mike a glare that was utterly intimidating. He immediately backed off with his hands raised.

" _Thank you. You think you're the master, Mike. It's easy to see why - you were here in this office several years ago, and you managed to best even 4/20 mode, something that only a scant few people have so far. But I have watched the animatronics and their attack patterns for quite a long time, and I understand their strategies better than you ever could. And I will show you that, by defeating this night right here and now without any prior experience whatsoever."_

And the Marionette proceeded to fulfill her promise in its entirety. If anything, her strategy was even more impressive than Mike's Night 6 strategy, not the least of which because even the slightest misstep would have almost certainly resulted in a game over. Every time she was about to check the monitor, she closed the right door to prevent Freddy's attack. Unlike Mike, who had been forced to check on both Foxy and Freddy with each camera scan, Charlie focused her attention _entirely_ on Foxy. Afterwards, she opened the door again and checked the lights for Bonnie and Chica before repeating the cycle. She covered every angle as best as one possibly could, blocking Freddy from attacking her while she checked on the monitor, and only had to deal with one attack from Foxy thanks to her careful surveillance. The entire room was completely silent as Charlie powered through the night, as nobody wanted to be the one who caused the fatal distraction that cost her the game. Despite not making a single error, her battery ran out of power late into 5 AM. Nobody was calling her out for failing, though, for the night was not yet over, and the fact that she made it this far on _her first try_ was more than impressive in and of itself.

"Come on, Fazfuck," Mike thought. The challenge she had issued had been completely forgotten, and he was cheering for her just as much as the others. "Take your sweet-ass time."

Freddy's jingle started playing, and everyone held their breath as the seconds slowly ticked by. It was a longer version of the Toreador March, which was a good sign. The bear's eyes flickered and faded, and the entire office plunged into darkness.

And then…

 _DING! DONG!_

The game's clock shifted to 6 AM.

Charlie had done the impossible. She had defeated 4/20 night on **HER FIRST TIME EVER PLAYING THE GAME.**

Mike's jaw dropped to the floor, and the rest of the ghosts nearly fell out of the air onto the ground. Charlie calmly stared at the screen, practically glowing an aura of satisfaction, then turned to face all of them. _"What's that saying that modern gamers seem to use all the time nowadays? Oh, right."_ She whipped out a pair of sunglasses that Mike didn't know she even had, slipped them on her face, made a finger gun and pretended to shoot it at them. _"GG."_

She got up from the chair and calmly floated out of the room, leaving Mike and every single one of the five ghost children speechless at her skills.

/

A/N: And this is why you don't fuck with the Marionette. :D If Charlie isn't kicking your ass for murdering innocent children (taking out the fact that she didn't get the right targets), then she'll kick your ass in Five Nights at Freddy's. In all seriousness, though, she's been at the same pizzeria where the original animatronics were and she probably watched them all throughout their assaults, she knows how they operate better than anyone else. That or she figured out the strategy from watching Mike play the game :P

Mike's strategy that he used for Night 6 is one of the best and most widely used for Nights 3-6, and it was what allowed me to get through the first five nights entirely deathless. It took me about 5 tries to get through Night 6, though a lot of that was because Freddy wasn't generous with his jingle time until the winning run. FNAF is a great game, but it isn't perfect by any means, and that luck factor can be incredibly annoying.

As for Marionette's 4/20 strategy, it's listed on the wiki for Custom Night and I think it's how BigBug and Markiplier beat it, but that's not how I did it. I tried that way so many times, but I kept screwing the sequence up and died at 12 or 1 AM. Believe it or not, Mike banging the tablet into his head repeatedly actually more or less IS the strategy that I used to beat 4/20 mode, and I owe that one entirely to Youtuber Bagel the Bagel. Check one light - check East Hall Corner camera (cause Freddy will park his ass there and stay there for the whole night) - check opposite light - check East Hall Corner camera - repeat ad nauseum. Theoretically you don't need to check on Foxy at all since apparently the camera itself is what slows him down and not specifically checking Pirate's Cove, but it's good to check periodically (making sure to close the right door first so that Freddy doesn't get in) since if he makes a break for the office and you don't know it, you're fucked. If you're having trouble with the game, I hoped this helped!

To be honest, I'm starting to run dry on ideas for "video game chapters" like this one, likely cause my video game pool isn't very deep XD If you can suggest any video games for the ghost kids to play (since I know it's been a LONG time since I've written a video game chapter so if I ever did ask for suggestions they're probably buried by the passage of time), please let me know and I'll do some research on them if I ever find the time.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!


	47. Chapter 47 - Misc Family Moments 2

A/N: Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! I'm blown away by how much enthusiasm you guys have for my fic! I have received your video game requests and will take them into consideration (as well as start doing my research on them when I have time because my video game pool is depressingly low) in future chapters. Keep in mind that the video games you have suggested may not necessarily feature in their own "Fun with Video Games" chapter.

Whenever I don't have time or am running dry on ideas that could fit the scope of an entire chapter, I will write "Misc. Family Moments" chapters instead. Given the nature of my schedule, I can say with confidence that this is the best type of chapter for me to write in a pinch.

Shoutout to smilesforeverhappy to burying my review page with reviews and getting me very close to an average of 8 reviews per chapter 😊

Polemo: Are you so sure all the FNAF-related events are over? 😉 I do agree with you that ten chapters in a row of the family doing random stuff would be boring as hell (I don't think I even have enough ideas at a time to cover a streak that long), and I still have quite a few ideas left both in terms of good times and bad/serious times, though not all the serious events will be related to FNAF.

Chapter 47 – Misc. Family Moments 2

Don't Call Your Sister Fat

" _Hey, guys!"_

Jeremy, Gabe, and Fritz paused their game. _"What's up, Liz?"_ Gabe called out to the hallway. _"Did you need something?"_

" _Yeah,"_ Liz affirmed as she floated into the living room. _"I found this dress online and I wanted to try and use it as a new look. What do you guys think?"_

The three looked over at their sister. She wasn't wearing the normal pink shirt and purple skirt that she normally did in their day-to-day life. Instead, she was wearing a red glittering minidress that extended all the way down to her knees.

Jeremy gave his sister an approving look. _"Matches really well with your hair!"_ he offered.

Gabe smiled at her. _"That dress looks great on you,"_ he added.

" _Looking great, Liz!"_ Fritz gave her a thumbs-up.

Liz beamed at them. _"Thanks, guys!"_ she replied appreciatively. _"I'm going to go ask Cassidy and Susie what they think."_ She turned around and left the living room.

Fritz looked down the hallway to make sure she was gone before turning back to his brothers. _"I, uh, I was kinda...I didn't exactly tell her the truth."_

Gabe raised an eyebrow. _"What do you mean?"_ he asked.

Fritz shuffled around uncomfortably. _"Well, to be honest…I think that dress kinda…made her look fat,"_ he admitted.

Jeremy whistled. _"You are really lucky that Liz wasn't around to hear that."_

Fritz chuckled. _"Don't I know it? I mean, imagine if she heard me say that her dress made her look fat. Heh heh heh…"_

He was so caught up in his own joke that he didn't notice the horrified and fearful looks on Jeremy's and Gabe's faces until it was far, far too late. _"Uh, Fritz…"_ Gabe feebly tried to stop him far, far too late.

Fritz saw the looks on their faces and the grin on his face froze. _"She…she's right behind me, isn't she…"_ he muttered.

" _I look fat, do I?"_ Liz's voice menacingly repeated behind him, causing the former Foxy inhabitant to start shivering. _"You think this dress makes me look ugly. Is that right?"_

" _Uh…uh…uh…I didn't say that!"_ Fritz feebly protested.

" _Okay, then…"_ her voice was now filled with a poisoned sweetness that did nothing to assure her brother about how much trouble he had landed himself in. _"If you don't like my minidress, then why don't you tell me what you think about_ _ **this**_ _look instead."_

Fritz slowly turned around, hoping that maybe his sister was giving him an out…straight into the face of Scrap Baby. The boy outright squealed in fear as Scrap Baby glared straight into the depths of her brother's soul with her glowing green eyes and snapped her claw twice, a gesture that made it very clear just how screwed Fritz was. _"G…g…guys…"_ he desperately called out to his brothers. _"A…a little help here!"_

Jeremy shook his head. _"Not really anything I can do here."_

" _You're on your own, buddy,"_ Gabe agreed.

Fritz began to slowly back away…only to phase straight through Mike's body as he entered the living room. _"Oh, thank God!"_ he cried out in relief. Gabe, Jeremy, and Liz all shared a disappointed look…it looked like they weren't about to see Liz kick Fritz's ass after all. _"Dad, I need help!"_

"Uh…about what?" Mike asked. He had no idea what was going on in the living room, not the least of which because Liz was in her Scrap Baby form.

" _Do you have any advice on calling girls fat?"_ Fritz asked desperately.

"Yeah," Mike replied dryly, causing the boy's eyes to look up hopefully. "It's real simple, actually." He returned the gaze with a piercing stare of his own. **"Don't."**

Fritz's face fell. _"But what if you've…"_

" _He called me fat, daddy!"_ Liz cut him off. Mike's eyes turned to his daughter. _"I asked him about a new red minidress I was trying out, and he said it made me look fat!"_

"Wait, you've already called your sister fat?" the man gave Fritz a disapproving and incredulous look.

" _To be fair, I didn't know she was there!"_ Fritz protested. _"I was talking to Gabe and Jeremy!"_

Mike shook his head and palmed his face. "Well, now you're just fucked, then," he muttered.

" _Thanks dad, you're such a great help…"_ Fritz dryly replied. A third snapping sound brought his attention back to Scrap Baby and heightened his fear anew. _"Can't you just…"_

"Oh hell no, I'm not getting involved in this. You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out," Mike retorted, a smirk growing on his lips. "Besides, I think this'll be a good lesson for you on how to talk to girls in the future." The smirk faded and was replaced by a pensive look. "I mean, I doubt you'll get a girlfriend anytime soon since you're a ghost, but you get the idea."

" _Your ass is mine, pirate boy!"_ Liz declared, Scrap Baby's fanged grin only adding to the menacing effect. Fritz screamed in terror and fled the living room, Liz giving chase to teach her brother a lesson. Gabe and Jeremy meanwhile had collapsed into hilarity and Mike had sat down on the couch to collect himself from his laughter at watching the equivalent of a cartoon in his very household.

"Try not to break my stuff!" Mike called out after them with an amused smirk on his face.

" _Do you think maybe we should do something to help Fritz?"_ Jeremy asked once he had recovered.

Mike shook his head with a chuckle. They all knew that Liz wouldn't _actually_ do anything to hurt the brother she was closest to, and he couldn't resist the opportunity to allow a few shenanigans to keep things lively in the household every so often. "Eh, he'll be fine."

A Taste of Life

" _This pizza is top-tier stuff, Susie!"_ Mike praised as he eagerly devoured a slice. The ghost girl had asked her father what kind of pizza he liked the most, and the man had off-handedly replied with Meat-Lovers before carrying on with his business. He hadn't expected Susie to go out of her way to make an entire pie for him.

" _Thanks, dad!"_ Susie almost positively glowed with happiness from the praise. _"I wanted to make my best for you!"_

To Mike's confusion, Jeremy started snickering. _"Yeah, Sus, with YOUR experience, there's no way you could have POSSIBLY managed to screw this one up,"_ he snarked.

Susie gave him an annoyed look. _"And what is THAT supposed to mean?"_ she demanded.

" _You know exactly what he means,"_ Gabe remarked, his expression almost as smug as Jeremy's. _"Even after all these years, we still haven't forgotten about your…ahem…_ _ **obsession**_ _."_

Mike made a time-out gesture with his hands. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked blankly. "Am I missing something here?"

Gabe grinned at his father. _"Back when we were still in the animatronics, Susie was completely obsessed with pizzas,"_ he explained. _"When we could still free roam and whenever we weren't trying to kill Night Guards, she would go into the kitchen all the time and make pizza after pizza after pizza."_ He laughed. _"Sometimes the day shift workers would open the pantry to find it full of pizzas. They never figured out what was going on!"_

Susie slapped him lightly on the arm. _"Shut up!"_ she complained. _"It is NOT an addiction!"_

" _Oh, really?"_ Jeremy smirked, before shifting his voice to a higher pitch to imitate Susie. _"Pizza is the best food ever!"_ he mimicked. _"I wonder if they have any pizzas in Heaven! My bib says LET'S EAT, so I have to keep making pizzas!"_

Susie groaned and buried her face as Mike watched, nonplussed. "She doesn't seem THAT obsessed with pizzas," he tried to throw her a bone.

The girl gave her father a grateful look, but her brothers weren't done. _"That's because you haven't seen just how bad it could get,"_ Gabe answered dryly. _"Susie's pretty much gotten over it now, but you have no idea just how bad it got sometimes. What do you think she was doing in the kitchen while you were blocking us off in the night shift?"_

" _Who cares about getting revenge on Night Guards when I can be making PIZZAS?"_ Jeremy helpfully added.

"You actually said that?" Mike asked incredulously. When Susie nodded ever so slightly after several seconds of motionless silence, he shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know if I should be happy that you got sidetracked away from killing night guards or if I should facepalm at how skewed your priorities were," he commented. He looked down at the pizza. "Still, as long as the pizza's good, at least all that experience didn't go to waste."

Susie watched in anticipation as Mike cut out a slice and lifted it to his mouth. Just as his jaws closed on the pizza, he suddenly felt a chill and a presence partially enter his own body. "Ack!" he exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled by the small piece of pizza inside. "What the heck?"

" _I'm sorry, dad!"_ Cassidy exclaimed as she hastily sped out of her father's body. _"I was practicing teleporting but I didn't realize you were here and…"_ her voice trailed off as her eyes widened in shock.

Mike didn't notice at first. "Don't worry about it," he waved it off. "I'm just glad you weren't still in Golden Freddy when you tried that cause otherwise I'd be a pancake right now." Cassidy remained silent, finally catching Mike's attention while Jeremy, Gabe, and Susie looked on in confusion. "Uh, Cass?" he prompted, worried that he might have triggered her again. "You all right?"

" _I…tasted it…"_ Cassidy faintly replied, barely registering the rest of her family's presence.

"What?" Mike asked blankly.

" _I…I tasted it!"_ Cassidy repeated, this time with more force as her eyes slowly came back into focus. _"The pizza! The one that you were eating! I tasted it!"_

" _Are you sure you weren't just imagining it?"_ Susie asked, with a twinge of sympathy and concern. None of the ghosts had ever eaten anything since their deaths, so she thought that maybe her sister had let the smell of the pizza get to her head.

" _I didn't imagine it!"_ Cassidy insisted. _"I tasted crust, ham, sausage, cheese, all of it! It happened when I…"_

" _It happened when a part of you was in Dad's body for that little bit of time,"_ Gabe finished, eyes widening.

"Holy shit…" Mike breathed, the piece of pizza all but forgotten in his hand. "This is huge." He whirled his head towards them. "What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Get the rest of them in here!"

The ghosts rushed off to collect the rest of their siblings, and Mike could hear the excited and shocked exclamations of the others as they realized what was going on. Not even 10 seconds had passed before all seven ghosts were back in the dining room.

"If what Cass just experienced was the real deal, then you guys _might_ be able to taste food again," Mike said as he stared down at the pizza slice he had been munching on seconds earlier. "Only one way to test, I guess. To make this fair…" he put his hands behind his back, "guess a number between one and ten."

" _Seven! Five! Three! Four!"_ the ghosts began shouting random numbers.

" _Eight!"_ Gabe called, and Mike grinned as he showed them his 8 fingers.

"Got it," the man declared, and the boy eagerly approached his father. "Okay, so I don't know how this really works. Just stay at about the same place Cassidy was, part in and part out. Otherwise you might accidentally possess me, cause my body to have a bad reaction or something, I dunno."

Gabe and the other ghosts shuddered at the idea. _"I'll be careful, dad,"_ he promised. He slowly approached his father and positioned himself until he was around the same place Cass had been when she'd accidentally teleported into her father. Mike slowly picked up the pizza he had been eating earlier and took another bite.

It was as if a tidal wave of sensation hit Gabe's mouth. He could taste it all, the cheese, the crust, the sausage, ham, and onion. In life, he had always been ambivalent towards pizza at best. But after having been denied the ability to eat anything for decades, the pizza that Susie had made for their father seemed like a meal straight out of Heaven itself.

" _Cass was right!"_ the former Freddy inhabitant exclaimed. _"I really can taste Susie's pizza!"_ He laughed joyfully. _"I can actually taste food again!"_

Hearing their brother's words, the ghosts began floating towards Mike eagerly. _"I want to try some!"_ Jeremy exclaimed.

" _I want some too!"_ Fritz added.

" _Hey, it's my pizza!"_ Susie challenged. _"If anything, I should be the one to get a bite!"_

"Wait wait wait!" Mike protested as he waved his hands in the air to try and calm them down, but he was too slow. The eager ghosts all rushed at him to experience the same sensation Gabe had, and the combined force of their charge ended up pushing Mike and his chair backward. "Ack!" he exclaimed as he toppled backward and fell to the ground. "Oof…"

The ghosts' eyes widened in horror as they realized what they had just done. _"Oh my God…"_ Liz guiltily murmured.

" _I'm so sorry, dad…"_ Jeremy apologized.

" _We didn't mean to!"_ Fritz frantically babbled out.

Mike waved their apologies off. "Don't worry about it," he replied dismissively as Charlie helped Mike up off the ground, giving her siblings a look of clear annoyance in the process. "The bad spaghetti I had a few days ago hit harder than that." He righted his chair and sat back down on it. "But we're going to do this nice and organized," he declared, invoking his full authority as a parent. "Susie, you get to have the next bite. This was your pizza, after all."

The yellow-haired ghost girl gave her father a grateful smile. _"Thanks, dad!"_

The man smirked. "You guys are lucky I forgot to each lunch today, because otherwise I wouldn't be starving enough to eat an entire pizza. Now, after I eat a piece for Susie, all of you get in a line to my right and we'll do this one at a time. We'll figure out a long-term plan later for who'll get to enjoy my food on what days. Sounds good?"

The ghosts all excitedly agreed, Susie taking Gabe's place as Mike's temporary inhabitant while the others got in line as Mike ordered. Charlie shook her head in amazement as Mike took another bite.

" _I thought I'd seen everything, but clearly I was wrong,"_ the girl inside the Puppet thought as Susie's eyes glazed over in wonder as she finally got a taste of the pizzas that she had been making for so long. _"It's amazing just what you can learn and what you can do from a happy accident."_

An Artistic Exercise in Fantasy

Gabe's eyes narrowed as he carefully thought out his battle plan. Vigarde was sitting on a throne with two Druids on either side of him, both of which were carrying Berserk staves that could seriously throw a wrench in his attack plan.

" _You remembered to keep a magic user with a Restore staff on each side, right?"_ Cassidy asked as Gabe started the game.

" _You don't have to tell me twice,"_ Gabe replied with a groan. The first time he'd tried this level, he'd been so eager to face Vigarde and cut through everything in his path that he'd completely forgotten to scan the enemy units…which had promptly led to Ephraim getting Berserked and killing Franz. Needless to say, Gabe had reset the game immediately afterwards.

" _These guys have it easy,"_ Fritz muttered as he watched Gabe play the _Fire Emblem 8_ game their dad had downloaded for him on his computer's emulator. Mike had been interested to see how well the kids would be able to handle a higher-level strategy game. Gabe had volunteered to be the one to actually play, while the other ghosts watched and took turns giving him suggestions on how to play through the levels. _"Whenever they die, you can just reset the game and BAM! They're good as new, and the only sign that you screwed up is a count on a unit's Loss stat."_ He sighed. _"Not that I can blame you, though. There's something about this game that just makes me want to keep everyone alive, no matter what."_

" _No kidding,"_ Jeremy agreed as Gabe started advancing through Grado Keep with his two sub-armies. _"Whoever made this game did a really good job making every character feel like their own person. Especially with the Supports."_

" _I'm still amazed at how you can pair characters together to get special endings for them,"_ Susie commented with a smile. In her mind's eye, she was already pairing Eirika and Seth together, Ephraim and Tana, Artur and Lute, among others. _"Imagine your two favorite characters getting married!"_

" _You can have fun with that,"_ Gabe remarked as Fritz rolled his eyes. He'd support-paired Susie's suggestions just to humor her, but he was more interested in the main story and game itself. The kids all watched as Gabe's armies tore through Grado's defenses and bust into the inner hall while he sent Ephraim to recruit Rennac and the Rogue looted all the chests. It was Cormag who got Berserked this time around once the army got in range of the Druids, but Gabe had seen it coming and used a Restore staff to remove the potentially disastrous condition. Soon, all that was left was Vigarde himself, the General sitting on his throne with a Spear in his hand. Gabe sent Ephraim up to face Vigarde with Reginleif in tow, and thanks to a lucky crit he got on his second attack, Ephraim was able to best the Silent Emperor.

" _Nice going!"_ Fritz cheered as Ephraim claimed the throne. _"I always love it when we kill bosses in this game with those badass crit animations!"_

" _That is definitely one of the most satisfying ways to beat a boss, no question,"_ Liz agreed as Gabe proceeded to go through the post-chapter story. All seven ghosts were surprised and not a little disturbed to learn that Vigarde had been nothing but a corpse manipulated by his son the entire time. _"Something's really not right about this Lyon guy…"_ she muttered.

"You'll soon find out," a voice called from the door to Gabe and Jeremy's bedroom. All six of the ghosts looked up to see Mike standing there. "But before you guys go on with the next chapter, I thought we could do a little fun activity together."

That instantly got the ghosts' attention. _"Ooh, like what?"_ Susie asked eagerly.

"Well, I thought we could get together and do a little drawing exercise," Mike explained. "But not just any drawing exercise. By now, you've seen a lot of different Fire Emblem characters and classes. So here's my question. What class would YOU be as a Fire Emblem character? That's what I want you guys to draw. You guys up for it?"

" _Sure!"_ the ghosts abandoned the game (Gabe remembering to save of course) and everyone moved to the living room, where Charlie already had pens, pencils, and crayons out for them to use.

" _This kind of remind me of character creation for our Pathfinder game,"_ Susie commented as she picked up a pen.

Mike shrugged. "You've got your similarities and differences," he replied as he left the hallway with his own set of utensils. "I'll be showing my drawing last, and I think mine will be a surprise, so no peeking!"

The ghosts diligently and animatedly began drawing different characters on their papers. Thanks to Gabe opening up the selection of FE sprites on his laptop, it wasn't very hard for them to copy the basic shape of the Fire Emblem classes and make their own additions, even if some of them had a rough start without having done this in a while.

It wasn't until several minutes later that the kids were finished and Mike returned. "All right!" he declared. "Let's see what you've got! I hope you didn't just copy and paste your D&D characters."

" _I didn't,"_ Susie replied as she revealed her drawing first: a blonde young woman wearing glittering gold and blue armor and flying on a majestic winged horse, holding a spear in her hand. _"I want to be a Falcoknight!"_ she explained with a wistful smile. _"Pegasi are so beautiful and majestic and badass, I'd love to have one."_ She sighed. _"Too bad winged horses like this don't exist in real life."_

" _That's really beautiful, Sus!"_ Cassidy exclaimed, with the other ghosts making various noises of agreement. _"I wouldn't want to fight you in the air!"_

"Death from above, huh?" Mike nodded approvingly. "I like it!" As he said that, his mind flashed back to the hallucination he had seen of the children in their final living moments. "You must really like animals, don't you, Susie?"

Susie's eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. _"How did you know?"_ she asked, stunned.

Mike smirked. "I have my ways."

Susie sighed. _"I do like animals. Especially horses and dogs. I used to own a dog back when I was still alive, but then…"_ her eyes began to mist up.

Not wanting to force Susie to relive dark moments, Mike quickly interrupted. "I'm sure your character would be great to add into any army," he inwardly sighed with relief as Susie's eyes cleared and she smiled gratefully at her father. "Anyways, next?"

Fritz revealed his drawing, a Berserker with a red menacing helmet and a crimson axe. _"Berserkers are the promoted version of Pirates, and I love being a Pirate!"_ he declared proudly. _"I'll beat the crap out of anything with my axe!"_

Mike chuckled. "Somehow this doesn't surprise me in the slightest."

" _Hit hard and hit fast,"_ Jeremy smirked. _"Yep, that's you all right."_

"Hey if it works for you, it works for me," Mike shrugged. "I do love the crit animation for Berserkers, though. Flip your axe into the air then WHAM."

Fritz grew starry-eyed at the description. _"I need to see that,"_ he breathed, already planning on asking Gabe to give Ross the Pirate an Ocean Seal.

Jeremy decided to show his drawing next. Unlike the others, his character was clad in heavy armor that completely covered his face and body. The General gave off the imposing impression of impenetrable defense, as if he could take any all attacks aimed his way for days to come. In his hands he carried a mighty chain-spear, ready to skewer and take down all enemies who dared to challenge him. _"You're not taking this guy down anytime soon!"_ he proudly challenged.

"Dang, that General really looks like a hardcore badass," Mike commented, earning a grin from his son. "I know hardcore players don't like Generals for their ranked-runs, but personally I don't give a crap about that. Not when you have one of the most absurdly epic critical hit animations in the game."

" _Oh yeah, I saw that!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"Spinning a giant axe, spear, or sword around and then ramming it straight in the enemy's face. It's just so cool!"_

" _I always have fun using Generals for some reason even if I know they're slow,"_ Gabe admitted. _"That crit animation definitely helps."_

"You're playing this game casual, have as much fun as you want however you want!" Mike advised. "Anyways, who's next?"

" _I'll go!"_ Cassidy offered as she showed her picture. She had drawn a black-haired girl in ornate black and golden robes, holding a book in her hand as she let loose a devastating thunderbolt on an unseen enemy. _"I'm a Sage!"_

" _So this is basically your D &D character," _Fritz commented dryly. Cassidy gave him a dirty look.

" _Hey!"_ she protested. _"Magic users are awesome! I don't see YOU being able to teleport around."_

Fritz raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, resisting the urge to shiver as he remembered what had happened the LAST time he had pissed off a sister. _"Hey, I didn't say it was bad!"_ he countered. _"Sages are amazing, they can do so many things in the game except ride and Darkness!"_

" _And being able to use magic would be so cool!"_ Cassidy gushed. _"Casting fireballs, shooting lightning, healing people who get hurt. Heck, the only real magic powers I have right now that the rest of you don't are teleporting and illusions, but even those are really fun to play around with!"_ She gave Charlie an envious look. _"Still doesn't come to anything you can do though,"_ she admitted.

Charlie shrugged. _"I'm a bit of a weird case."_

"No kidding," Mike replied dryly. "Anyways, who's next?"

Gabe revealed his drawing, a Hero. The brown-haired man wore dark blue armor with spiked pauldrons. In his left hand he carried a similarly colored shield, while in his right hand he carried a shining silver sword.

"A Hero!" Mike realized. He nodded in approval. "Heroes can easily be some of the best units in the game. Whenever I think of the classic adventurers, the Hero class is one of the ones that easily come to mind."

Gabe smiled and shrugged. _"I guess I like sticking with the classics,"_ he remarked. _"I'd be able to do a lot of things right as a Hero and I wouldn't have any major weaknesses."_

"When it comes to fighting practicality, there aren't a lot of classes that beat Heroes," Mike complimented. "I wouldn't want to meet you on the battlefield."

" _I'd be the one kicking ass right next to you, dad!"_ Gabe declared, a sentiment that was echoed by the other ghosts.

"We really would be a badass army with everything we have so far," Mike commented with a distant smile as his mind conjured up the image of his family as a Fire Emblem army kicking ass with ease. "So who wants to go next?"

Liz and Charlie looked at each other uncertainly. Shrugging, Charlie decided to go first. Her character was (perhaps unsurprisingly) a Bishop, but her character was dressed in holy robes colored black and white. Odd colors to an outsider, but everyone could tell that she had colored her character based on the Marionette's motif. However, her character's face was surprisingly normal instead of wearing the Puppet's mask like everyone expected, showing a brown-haired brown-eyed young woman with kindness in her eyes as her staff glowed faintly with heavenly power. _"Do I really need to say it?"_ Charlie asked with a twinkle in her eyelights.

" _This surprises me even less than Fritz being a Berserker,"_ Jeremy deadpanned.

" _I honestly couldn't see Charlie being anything other than the stereotypical healing class,"_ Liz added good-humoredly.

" _Like I told you guys before, I don't like seeing people sad or in pain,"_ Charlie shrugged. _"Healing, curing status conditions, saving you from certain death at the hands of enemies, lighting up the darkness, whatever you need me to do, I'll take care of business."_

Mike patted Charlie's head lightly and smiled at her. "That's Charlie, all right. And I wouldn't want it any other way." All the ghosts cheered to the girl's faint embarrassment.

There was only one person left. _"Guess it's my turn now,"_ Liz said as she flipped over her FE character picture.

" _Whoa…"_ Fritz gasped. The drawing was, in some ways, not too different from Susie's. Like Susie's Falcoknight, Liz's character was wearing resplendent armor, albeit colored golden-red and with red-orange hair instead. However, instead of sitting upon a Pegasus, Liz was sitting upon a magnificent white stallion and wielding both a shining silver sword and a magnificent red shield with a golden cross engraved upon it.

"Dang…" Mike whistled. "That's a really good drawing!"

" _A Paladin?"_ Cassidy asked. _"Wow, I was NOT expecting that!"_

" _I'm curious to know why you chose a Paladin too,"_ Susie admitted.

Liz smiled wistfully. _"This is the type of person I want to be,"_ she explained. _"A hero who fights evil and protects the innocent. Especially the people I care about. And I really like I would be this kind of person as a Paladin more than any other class."_

"A true Knight in Shining Armor, in other words," Mike finished, realizing that the Paladin that Liz had drawn was a representation of the new "her" that she was trying to become.

" _Judging by what we've seen of Paladins from Seth, I think you've hit the nail right on the head, Liz,"_ Gabe praised, and Liz hugged him lightly on the side in response.

All eyes now turned to Mike. _"What about you, dad?"_ Charlie asked. _"We've shown all of ours, now you need to show us yours!"_

"That's right," Mike conceded, "it's time I showed you my own fantasy character. I have to admit, I kind of cheated, because this isn't really based on an FE character class."

" _Who cares?"_ Fritz brushed it off. _"I want to see it!"_

" _Me too!"_ Liz agreed, and the other ghosts made similar noises.

"I think you'll be surprised," Mike promised, and with that he showed his artwork to them.

The ghosts fell in stunned silence as their minds processed what they were seeing. They had expected Mike to be a knight in shining armor like Liz, or a wielder of holy magic like Charlie. A true paragon of light, justice, virtue, and everything that made them feel good.

What they saw instead…looked like the exact opposite.

Mike's character was wearing black robes with shades of dark blue and purple, with the Fire Emblem sigil of darkness inscribed on the center. In both of his hands, he carried two hand-scythes of black metal with heads fashioned in the shape of skulls, blades lit aflame with purple and black flames of dark magic. But what really shocked the ghosts was the fact that Mike's entire body, what little they could see of it, was covered entirely in shadow and darkness. The only feature they could see were two glowing red eyes that wouldn't have looked out of place on an evil overlord or terrifying monster.

" _This is…this is…really scary…"_ Cassidy was the first to break the silence.

" _This looks like something that would come out of a horror movie,"_ Fritz added, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

" _I don't…I don't get it…"_ Jeremy looked up at his dad, utterly confused. _"Just…why? This looks like the Grim Reaper, or something straight out of a horror movie!"_

"Don't get me wrong, this character would still be a good guy," Mike quickly asserted. The ghosts looked a little reassured at this, but not by much. He sighed. "The thing is, I've never really been comfortable in the spotlight. Shadows and darkness have always been more of my thing. It's what I lived in through most of my early life, things that I had to adapt to and take advantage of to survive. I might have grown out of it in college and especially once I started working at Eisensteel, but I still feel and probably will always be more comfortable in the shadows, even if I don't act like it nowadays."

"Besides," the corners of his lips twitched upward in a wry smile. "I find heroes and good characters associated with darkness far more interesting and fun than your typical light heroes. Not gonna lie, but dark magic and darkness-themed characters can be really cool and awesome in ways that light heroes just can't, and my ideal character would be one who uses darkness and shadows while still being a good guy."

Liz's eyes widened in realization. _"It's like my Scrap Baby form,"_ she realized. _"Something dark and scary but still a force for good now that I'm the one in control of it."_

Mike grinned and ruffled his daughter's hair. "That's right, Liz," he agreed. "Not everything associated with darkness has to be evil." In the back of his mind, he saw again the shadowy versions of Freddy and Bonnie that he had seen in the 1987 pizzeria. "Anyways, I think we've spent enough time here." He got up off the floor. "I interrupted you guys from doing one of the hardest chapters in the game, and I'm interested to see how many times it takes for you to beat that massive desert level with the two bosses. Have fun!"

" _Looking forward to it, dad,"_ Gabe replied, half-sarcastically. As Mike left, all the ghosts stared at the shadowy reaper-like figure that their father had created. They didn't doubt their father's words that the character WAS a good person at heart like he was, even if he was scarier than most things they had ever seen. But the way his menacing red eyes positively _glared_ out into the open just like they had when he had snarled his oath of vengeance against William Afton, the way his scythes blazed with shadowy flames...

None of the ghosts could shake off the feeling that the dark hero Mike had created represented a side of their father that was best left hidden and undisturbed.

/

A/N: Ooh, that last one suddenly took a turn for the spooky, didn't it? I didn't expect the third Misc. Family Moment to carry on so much longer than the other two. Also, I apologize if the Fire Emblem Drawing moment was a little too like the D&D chapters, I tried my best to make it distinct and I thought it would be fun for the kids to engage in a little art activity since I haven't covered them doing any of the arts yet in detail.

I chose FE8 since it has a reputation for being one of the easier games and one that the kids could probably handle the easiest for their first time playing _Fire Emblem_.

That shadowy reaper character that Mike drew to represent himself is quite the unexpected and interesting one, isn't it? What do you think it means? I'm curious to see what your impressions are, and what relevance you think this character has for the future.

I'll either do another lighthearted moment next chapter (possibly with Alex/Meghan or Melody) or get into the next major event, depending on how much time I have and what sort of inspiration hits me. There will be a time skip of quite a few months if I do dive into the major event next, though right now I'm thinking one more lighthearted chapter and THEN the next major event would be the best course of action for the moment.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	48. Chapter 48 - Supernatural Playdate 2

A/N: With how busy my schedule is coming up I'm going to wait until the next chapter before I decide to write the next serious arc. I want to give the serious and lore-related arcs in this chapter (believe it or not, there are still some FNAF lore-related things I have planned) the full time and devotion they deserve, so I hope you understand.

I feel like including living characters that aren't Mike would be a nice breath of fresh air, and we haven't had Alex or Meghan in a chapter for a while, so let's fix that!

Note: Due to formatting issues when I tried to upload this chapter the first time, replace X with _ in the later half of this chapter. You'll see what I mean.

Chapter 48 – Supernatural Playdate 2

"Thanks for doing me a solid, Mike," Ryan sighed with relief as Alex and Meghan climbed out of his car. "Stella got locked in jury duty and the job decided to plop a random business meeting on my ass and I couldn't think of anybody else to take care of the kids while I'm gone. Sorry to do this to you on short notice."

Mike smiled and waved off the apology. "Nah," he briskly replied, "the kids'll love to hang out with Alex and Meghan again." No sooner had he said that when the Puppet popped her head through the front door of Mike's home.

" _Great to see you guys!"_ Charlie declared once she saw who had arrived. _"Come on in, the rest of us are waiting for you!"_

Alex and Meghan both cheerfully greeted her and followed her inside. In the meantime, Ryan turned his attention back to Mike. "Take care of my kids, Mike," he waved at him as he climbed back into his car.

"Will do, buddy," his long-time answered, returning the wave as Ryan's car drove off. Once Ryan was gone, Mike turned around and entered his house. As he passed by the living room, he could see his ghost kids and Ryan's children happily catching up with each other.

" _So how're you doing so far?"_ Gabe asked.

"Can't complain," Alex shrugged. "School's going well, life is good."

"Have you guys gone on any of those vacations we talked about earlier?" Meghan questioned. "You guys seemed really eager to go on those."

" _Not yet,"_ Cassidy admitted. _"Dad's still working on that one."_

" _He can take as long as he needs to get this sorted out,"_ Jeremy added. _"It's not like we're in a big hurry or anything."_

" _It's surprising just how many things we can do around here,"_ Fritz commented with a grin.

"Well, since we're here, what do you guys want to do?" Meghan asked.

" _You're the guests here, YOU guys should be the one who decides what we do,"_ Susie answered fervently.

" _Yeah, we'd be terrible hosts otherwise!"_ Liz agreed.

"Well, we've got a couple of ideas. For starters, why don't we start with a movie?" Alex suggested.

" _Ooh!"_ Susie's eyes lit up excitedly. _"You mean like Star Wars? We just finished Episode 3."_

" _I didn't like episodes 1 or 2 as much the others, but they were still fun to watch,"_ Fritz added. _"So should we get started with the sequels?"_

Disgusted looks appeared on the Marshalls' faces. "OH GOD NO!" both declared. "The Star Wars sequels SUCK!"

" _That bad?"_ Jeremy asked incredulously.

"Trust me," Alex warned. "Leave it while it's still on a high note. Don't taint your eyes with that garbage."

The ghosts started at the sudden vehemence coming from their living friends. _"Okaaaaaaaaay…"_ Gabe slowly replied, _"…we'll take your word for it. But what should we watch instead?"_

"How about what's replaced Star Wars as the big thing?" Meghan asked with a smile. "Are you down for a superhero movie?"

" _Superhero?"_ Liz repeated. _"We haven't seen any of those yet!"_

"Perfect!" Alex went over to Mike's stack of DVDs. He frowned as he looked through the case. "Huh, your dad might not have the one I'm thinking of, though, I'm not seeing it here."

" _That's okay,"_ Fritz smirked. _"One of us can just buy it on iTunes. Dad gave us each 500 dollars on iTunes for Christmas."_

"Lucky…" Meghan jealously commented as Charlie opened up her computer.

" _Which movie were you thinking of?"_ she asked.

" _Captain America: The First Avenger_ ," Alex replied and Meghan nodded in agreement. In their eyes, the first _Captain America_ movie was one that fit the stereotypical mold of superhero vs. supervillain more closely compared to some of the others, and it would serve as a good introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

" _Okay…got it!"_ Charlie bought the movie on iTunes and loaded it. She proceeded to connect her laptop to the TV and set it up so that the movie could be seen on the big screen. The kids all scattered onto the couches and sofas as the TV flickered to life and the iconic Marvel logo appeared amidst the flipping of comic book pages.

" _One of Dad's close friends told us that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was really good,"_ Susie commented as the movie started.

Meghan blinked. "Huh, I didn't know you've met other living people besides us," she said, clearly surprised.

" _It was…kind of a happy accident that happened,"_ Liz admitted.

Alex snickered. "You mean like how you met us."

" _Kinda,"_ the ghosts smiled wryly as they remembered how Fritz had blown their cover so many months ago. They watched as Johann Schmidt blasted through an old church in Norway and stole the Tesseract, an artifact that they could tell possessed tremendous power even without any knowledge of superheroes or the Marvel universe. _"There's no way that guy isn't the villain,"_ Gabe muttered. _"Everything about him just screams "I'm a sociopathic asshole.""_

"There's more to him than you think, but you're not wrong," Alex replied.

The scene switched to Steve Rogers, and the ghosts stared at the scrawny looking blond man who had just been rejected by the military. _"Wait a minute, THAT'S Captain America?"_ Susie asked incredulously. _"But he doesn't look anything like the guy we saw on the title screen!"_

" _Yeah,"_ Jeremy shook his head. _"He looks like…well, he looks like, uh…"_

"… _a wimp?"_ Fritz bluntly finished for him.

" _I didn't want to be a dick about it, but yeah…"_

"That's what I thought at first too," Meghan admitted, "but you'll see just why THIS guy is Captain America soon enough."

And indeed, as the movie continued, the ghosts started to see the makings of a true hero in Steve Rogers, even as a fragile weakling. Rogers' unbreakable determination to join the army and fight for his country endeared him to them, but it was his unflinching willingness to throw himself on a grenade that truly won their full respect.

" _Wow…"_ Gabe whistled. _"That guy has some SERIOUS balls."_

" _Do you guys think Dad would do something like that?"_ Cassidy asked.

" _He kinda DID, Cass, if you think about it,"_ Susie pointed out, and the ghosts nodded as they recalled the tale of Mike's shift at Freddy's.

"Really?" Alex's mouth fell open, eyes wide in shock. "Was your dad a war hero or something?"

Liz shook her head. _"He wasn't, but his adoptive father was. We don't really know him personally though, he died a long time before any of us ever met Mike."_

"So what kind of heroism were you talking about?" Meghan asked eagerly.

To her surprise, Susie shuddered ever so slightly. _"We, uh…we don't like to talk about it,"_ she quietly replied.

Alex raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Wait, why not? That's a bit weird…"

" _Please."_

"Okay…" he and Meghan looked at each other, shrugged, and turned their attention back to the movie, the ghosts inwardly sighing in relief as they followed suit. The kids all watched with growing excitement as Steve was given the super serum that would fully transform him into one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, only for their awe to be turned into horror as Dr. Erksine was assassinated by one of Johann Schmidt's agents.

" _He was one of the few people to truly believe in him,"_ Cassidy murmured. _"And Steve just watched him die right in front of him…"_ Dr. Erksine had reminded more than one of the ghosts of Mike, and their hatred of Johann Schmidt, already firmly established by how much of a power-hungry maniac he was, inflamed even further.

" _He'll get what's coming to him,"_ Fritz snarled, and the ghosts cheered when Captain America single-handedly broke into one of Schmidt's bases later in the film and broke out his prisoners, beating the ever-loving crap out of numerous HYDRA soldiers in the process. Everyone watched as Captain America and Johann Schmidt finally faced each other, only for the ghosts to be shocked by the revelation of Red Skull's true face and disappointed at the fact that the man would get away from his well-deserved justice.

" _What a monster!"_ Jeremy shuddered.

"The MCU is full of all kinds of villains," Alex explained. "Some of them are sympathetic, some are just pure, flat out evil, and some are between. Guess which category Red Skull falls into?"

" _A sociopath who thought other lives were worthless when compared to his own. Just like William Afton,"_ Charlie thought, though she didn't say it out loud.

" _That super serum did NOT mix with Red Skull well,"_ Gabe dryly commented.

"No kidding," Meghan agreed. "No wonder he wore that face mask."

" _Captain America will kick his ass!"_ Jeremy declared. The eagerly awaited defeat wouldn't happen just yet, but the ghost kids _were_ treated to a satisfying montage of watching Captain America and his army invade and destroy numerous HYDRA bases. _"Get wrecked, loser!"_ he taunted as he watched Red Skull gradually lose his cool and shoot one of his minions out of frustration.

Their satisfaction would be short-lived, however, as they watched Captain America's attempt to capture Zola from his train unexpectedly lead to his best friend Bucky's fall down the mountainside to his death. _"NO!"_ Susie cried out in horror as she stared at Bucky's motionless body.

" _His best friend…"_ Cassidy murmured, saddened at the superhero's loss. Even when they had been brutally murdered by William Afton, at least the children that had become her family had stayed together through the cruel decades.

"These guys are surprisingly emotional about this," Alex thought to himself. The scene of Bucky's death was a tragic one, absolutely, but it was hardly one that he would openly cry over – there were few movies that could elicit tears from him. He had already suspected that the ghosts had gone through some horrible tragedy in the past that none of them wanted to talk about, and the way they expressed their grief at a simple movie scene was doing nothing to alleviate those suspicions. Still, it wasn't like he was ever going to force the issue. Even if it was true, he'd be an utterly terrible friend if he forced them to relive whatever had happened.

" _At least Zola's capture means that Bucky's sacrifice will be worth it,"_ Charlie half-assumed, half-tried to comfort the ghosts. And indeed, Zola spilled the beans on the final HYDRA base, giving Captain America the opportunity he needed to stop Red Skull from unleashing WMDs on America. The ghosts cheered Rogers on as he invaded the base and later infiltrated Red Skull's plane, watching in awe as he and the genocidal megalomaniac battled against each other on the bridge. What really surprised them was the fact that Red Skull ended up defeating _himself_ when the battle between hero and villain knocked the Tesseract off its pedestal, and the Tesseract outright _disintegrated_ Red Skull in a powerful blue beam that shot what was left of him high into space.

" _Wow…"_ Gabe whistled. _"I was NOT expecting that."_

"Sometimes villains beat themselves just as much as heroes beat them," Meghan said with a shrug. "Which one is more satisfying really depends on the story, I guess."

Charlie's mask didn't change, but inwardly she smirked as she remembered how William Afton had stumbled into the trap pizzeria despite knowing that Henry's words were a lie, all thanks to his own bloodthirst and stupidity.

"The story isn't over yet, though," Alex warned, his smile fading. The ghosts soon learned why, as Captain America shared one last, heartfelt phone call with Peggy before diving Red Skull's plane into the Arctic, saving the world from the lethal weapons on board through one final sacrifice.

" _Poor Peggy…"_ Susie murmured sympathetically.

" _That's IT?"_ Fritz asked incredulously. _"The hero goes through all this just to DIE at the end? Bullshit!"_

"Hold on a sec, Fritz, it isn't over just yet," Meghan advised. And to the ghosts' relief, Captain America's friends and allies would indeed recover his body from the depths of the Arctic. But there was still one final surprise left for them both, as Captain America rose from his slumber only to discover that he had woken up decades after the world he had come to know and protect. The ghosts watched with curiosity as Nick Fury approached the temporally-displaced hero, and the movie ended.

" _Damn…that was a really good movie!"_ Jeremy commented. _"Seeing Captain America kick ass was awesome, especially with the way he started out."_

" _What's Captain America going to do in the present day?"_ Liz asked, curious to know more. _"I mean, everyone he knows has to be dead now."_

" _Probably doing hero things, I guess,"_ Cassidy shrugged.

" _Now I see why Melody liked the MCU so much!"_ Susie gushed. _"If the other movies are this good, I can't wait to see them all!"_

"The MCU is full of good movies," Alex agreed. "Granted, not EVERY single one of them is amazing, but I've never watched an MCU movie and felt like it was a complete waste of time. I always got something out of it."

"The two biggest heroes of the MCU are Captain Americaand Iron Man," Meghan added. "We picked Captain America first since it's the most straightforward good-guy superhero vs. bad-guy supervillain film of the bunch, I think. Other films can be a lot more nuanced both with the heroes and villains, even if they're still definitely good guys or bad guys."

" _Thanks for showing us this!"_ Gabe smiled at the two Marshalls. _"We'll definitely watch more of these in the future!"_

"If you want to watch another one with us, give us a call or PM or something and we can figure something out!" Alex offered. "You guys will be blown away by Infinity War, but you really shouldn't watch it until AFTER you've seen most of the others."

" _Fair enough,"_ Susie agreed. _"So…what should we do now?"_

"I have an idea," Mike's voice called out. The children, living and dead, all looked up to see him standing at the doorway. "Have you guys ever heard of Wheel of Fortune?"

Alex and Meghan's eyes lit up. "Heck yeah!" Meghan exclaimed. "That show is so much fun! I love watching the Runaway Guys and Achievement Hunter play that game on Youtube!"

Alex laughed. "Especially with Chugga's guesses. It's freaking legendary how bad they are. I mean, seriously, Metropolitan Mutant of Ark, what in the actual fuck."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect you guys to curse," he commented.

Alex shrugged. "I think dad gave up on teaching us not to curse considering that it's literally everywhere at this point."

"Fair enough," the man conceded. He walked over to his game console and began setting up the game. "My kids don't have enough awareness of the outside world for them to play the game independently, so let's divide the three players into teams. Alex, Meghan, and Charlie, you'll each be in charge of one team since you're the ones who probably have the most awareness of things in the real world.

"Okay, Mr. Schmidt!" Alex agreed. The children scrambled to make different teams, with some occasional arguments and complaints about who they wanted on their side. Eventually, when the figurative dust settled, Alex, Gabe, and Jeremy (red) were on one team, Meghan, Susie, and Cassidy (yellow) were on another team, and Charlie, Fritz, and Liz (blue) were on the third team.

"The game is pretty simple," Mike explained for his children's benefit as it started. "You have a blank puzzle and you spin the wheel. If you land on a money value, you pick a consonant and if it's one of the letters in the puzzle, you get money equal to the number you spun times however many times the letter appears. You can also spend $250 to buy a vowel, but if you get it wrong in either case, you lose your turn. You also lose a turn if you land on the "Lose a Turn" or "Bankrupt" spaces, with the Bankrupt space also wiping out any money you won for that round. _"_

" _Sounds simple enough,"_ Gabe commented as the first toss up puzzle appeared. It was a fairly easy puzzle even for the ghost kids, especially with the food category, and Alex quickly scored the first $1000 for his team with FRENCH FRIES.

"All right, now for the fun to begin," Mike said with a smile as the first true puzzle appeared. XXX XXXX Jeremy spun his team's wheel and it landed on $500.

" _S!"_ he proudly called out as he selected it. Only for the game to tell him it was wrong.

" _No S, huh? Damn…"_ Gabe remarked as Susie spun the wheel for her team next. She selected T, only for that letter to be wrong too.

" _No S AND no T?"_ Charlie asked. _"That's weird. Usually both of those are safe choices."_ She spun the wheel and landed on $750. _"R?"_ Once again, the game marked it as wrong.

"No R, no S, and no T," Mike stared at the screen. "What the hell is in this puzzle?"

The answer to Mike's question wouldn't come until several minutes later, as _nobody_ was able to find even a single letter for several turns in a row. The teams burned through L, M, N, C, K, H, and Y without any success, and more than one of them ended up on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn, wasting even more time. By the yellow team's fifth turn, everyone's frustrations had mounted, and the competition between the teams was temporarily abandoned as everyone wanted to just solve this thing and move on.

" _D!"_ Susie all but shouted, and every single person cheered as two "Ds" appeared. _"Oh thank Christ!"_

" _Buy vowels!"_ Fritz insisted. _"Buy vowels!"_

" _Yes, I am ABSOLUTELY going to buy some vowels!"_ Susie fervently agreed. She picked E, and to everyone's relief and delight, two Es appeared and nearly completed the second word. DXX DEEX.

"Crap, I still don't know what the first word is," Meghan admitted grumpily. She spun the wheel, and all she nearly had a heart attack when it almost landed on Bankrupt, though fortunately the wheel changed to $900 at the last second. "G?" she suggested, and she breathed another huge sigh of relief when a G appeared on the puzzle. DXG DEEX. "Oh, I got it!" she started typing the answer into the screen. "DIG DEEP!" The background flashed brightly and the screen glowed, indicating that she had gotten the answer correct.

" _Good job, Meghan!"_ Cassidy exclaimed as she instinctively tried to hug her. Unfortunately, the Marshall girl lacked the supernatural attunement that Mike did, so all she felt from Cassidy's hug was a slight breeze in the air. Still, Meghan appreciated the gesture and she smiled gratefully at her friend.

" _The puzzle was that simple and it took us how many turns to figure it out?"_ Jeremy shook his head. " _Wow."_

"This game goes from "What the fuck is that word" to "I'm a fucking moron," real fast," Mike commented dryly.

" _No kidding,"_ Gabe muttered as the next puzzle loaded. The ghost kids' eyes instantly caught the blue $1000 space with a question mark above it. _"Wait, what's that thing?"_

"That's a mystery space," Mike explained. "There are two of them in this specific round. One of them is hiding $10000 and the other is hiding a Bankrupt. If you land on the space and call the letter correctly, you can choose to either take $1000 per letter or flip the space to see what's under."

" _So we either win big or go broke,"_ Liz clarified.

"Yup," Mike confirmed. After a few seconds, he added: "Also, I'm making it a house rule that if you land on the mystery space, you HAVE to flip it. It's mandatory."

" _But why though?"_ Fritz asked.

"Because for the next Wheel of Fortune round my house is a dictatorship," Mike replied smugly. "My house, my rules."

Charlie rolled her eyelights as the next puzzle loaded. XXXXXX XXXX XXX XXXXXXX Meghan spun the wheel only for it to land on Bankrupt. "Of course," she dryly remarked. "Still, at least it's better now than later," she admitted as Liz spun the wheel and it landed on $700.

" _Please tell me that there's an R this time,"_ she muttered as she put it in. To her relief, there were three Rs in the puzzle. _"Thank God."_

It was Fritz's turn next, and everyone's eyes widened as he landed on a mystery space. _"S!"_ he called out. One S appeared on the puzzle, and the mystery space offered the choice of flipping it or letting it be. _"Do I really have to…"_

"Yes," Mike's response was as unyielding as iron.

" _Fiiiiiine..."_ Fritz flipped up the space…revealing a Bankrupt. _"Oh God dammit!"_ he shouted as Liz and Charlie facepalmed and the rest of the kids howled with laughter. _"Screw you, dad!"_

"Sucks to suck, doesn't it?" Mike retorted as Fritz wordlessly flipped the bird at him.

"You let them get away with things like the middle finger?" Alex pointed out.

Mike shrugged. "I curse all the time, would kind of be hypocrisy if I didn't let them do things like that too."

"I guess," Alex muttered as Gabe took over. Fortunately, unlike the last puzzle, there were a lot more letters in the puzzle, and the children were able to fill in a lot of the blanks a lot more quickly. In just a few rounds, almost all the letters had been filled in, leaving only SALMON _RA_ AND HERRING.

And that was where things started to go south.

" _What the hell is _RA_?"_ Liz asked incredulously. _"I have no idea!"_ She spun the wheel. _"Y?"_ The wrong answer buzzer sounded. _"Dang it!"_

" _Maybe it's salmon wrap?"_ Jeremy suggested, but when he tried to call out P it was marked as wrong. _"Oh come on!"_

"That was a good guess," Mike admitted.

" _I think I know the answer but we have no points right now so I have to spin or else we get nothing out of it,"_ Susie admitted. She spun the wheel…and promptly palmed her face when she landed on Lose a Turn. _"Of course. Why would I expect anything else?"_ she muttered.

" _I will laugh so hard if the answer turns out to be Salmon Crap,"_ Fritz joked, earning some chuckles from the other children. Suddenly, his eyes widened. _"Wait, I've got it!"_ He spun the wheel and, to his delight, it landed on $3500. _Aww yeah, gimme that big money! B!"_ The letter flashed on the screen, only confirming his suspicions. _"Got it! Salmon Crab and Herring!"_ The entire screen glowed, confirming his answer.

" _Nice!"_ Liz grinned at her brother and exchanged high-fives with both him and Charlie.

"There should have been commas in between those words," Meghan complained. "That threw me off!"

" _Yeah, that threw me off too,"_ Gabe admitted. _"For a second I was like "what the heck is a salmon crab?" before I realized what it was actually saying."_

" _I'm just glad we recovered from that Mystery Bankrupt,"_ Charlie commented as the next puzzle loaded. She clicked on the controller to spin the wheel…only for it to land on Bankrupt. _"Aaaaaaaand we're off to a great start already."_

"Well, at least it happened at the beginning of the round," Alex consoled as he spun the wheel. He groaned as it landed on Bankrupt a second time. "Man, we are going nowhere fast, aren't we?"

Susie took her turn now, and to everyone's shock it landed on Bankrupt a THIRD time in a row. _"What the crap?"_ she exclaimed. _"Three Bankrupts in a row?"_

Little did she know that this was only the beginning of a cascade of misfortune. Out of the next twelve spins, only _two_ of them landed on a money value, and both teams guessed wrong when they did so. As for the rest, two of them landed on Lose a Turn and _eight_ of them landed on Bankrupt. The frustrations from before returned, now stoked to even greater heights than they had been in the past.

" _God, can we please stop landing on these fucking Bankrupts already?"_ Jeremy growled. He spun the wheel and threw his hands up in the air when it landed on Lose a Turn. _"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"_

" _We're going to be here FOREVER!"_ Cassidy moaned as she spun the wheel. Everyone cheered as it landed on $600, but the enthusiasm died immediately when Cassidy guessed M and got it wrong. _"Ugggggggggggghhhhhhh…"_ she buried her face in her hands.

"There's no way this can be normal," Mike muttered. "The probability of this happening is close to fucking zero. There's no fucking way this is normal."

 _Meanwhile in Hell…_

The Nightmares watched with malevolent glee as Charlie took her turn spinning the wheel through the fiery scrying portal they had conjured. **"WATCHING THESE LITTLE BRATS RAGE AT THEIR FAILURE IS SO MUCH FUN!"** Nightmare Chica cackled as Nightmare Bonnie snapped his fingers, causing the Wheel to land on Bankrupt for the thirteenth time that round.

" **I COULD DO THIS ALL DAY,"** Nightmare Bonnie answered with a sadistic grin. He was about to snap his fingers to cause yet another wasted turn, but Nightmare Freddy suddenly stopped him.

" **LET THIS ONE THROUGH, BROTHER,"** Nightmare Freddy advised with a calculating glint in his eyes. **"WE MUST ALLOW SOME DEGREE OF PROGRESSION, OR ELSE THEY WILL RAGEQUIT AND OUR ENTERTAINMENT WILL MEET AN ABRUPT END."**

" **HOW VERY PERCEPTIVE, BROTHER,"** Nightmare Bonnie acknowledged as he stayed his hand. They saw the children positively jump (or levitate) for joy as Liz finally got a correct letter on the board. **"PERHAPS NOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO TAMPER WITH THEIR GAME?"**

" **I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES WHEN YOU REDUCE THEIR MINISCULE VICTORY TO NOTHING,"** Nightmare Foxy laughed as Charlie started her turn. He was about to snap his fingers to cause another Bankrupt when Nightmare suddenly materialized before them in a column of shadowy flames.

" **WHAT ARE YOU FOOLS DOING?"** Nightmare growled as he took in the sight of his brothers and subordinates lounging around. **"HAVE YOU FINISHED YOUR TORTURES FOR THE DAY YET?"**

Nightmare Chica waved her clawed hand dismissively. **"WE TOOK CARE OF THAT A LONG TIME AGO, BROTHER."** She gave him a fanged grin. **"I TRIED OUT A NEW TORMENT FOR WILLIAM AFTON, AND IT WAS SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL!"**

" **OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU THAT IDEA!"** Nightmare Bonnie complained. **"THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME DOING IT FIRST!"**

" **CEASE YOUR WHINING,"** Nightmare Freddy growled. **"YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY TO ADMINISTER THAT PARTICULAR TORMENT YOURSELF. WE HAVE A THOUSAND YEARS TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK WE WANT TO HIM AFTER ALL."**

Nightmare, in the meantime, was watching the Wheel of Fortune game that the children were playing. Thanks to his arrival, the other demons' attention had been distracted, and they were able to get a few letters in. **"OH, I SEE WHAT THIS IS,"** he realized.

Nightmare Foxy grinned. **"WE WERE INTERFERING WITH THEIR WHEEL OF FORTUNE GAME, BROTHER. SO FAR, WE HAVE FORCED THEM TO LAND ON THREE LOSE A TURNS AND** _ **THIRTEEN**_ **BANKRUPTS!"** He broke into a cruel laugh. **"I SO ENJOY WATCHING PUNY MORTALS RAGE."**

Nightmare nodded. **"HMM…YOU'VE BEEN LEARNING FROM NIGHTMARIONNE, IT SEEMS."** He grinned. **"NOT A BAD START, I MUST ADMIT. HOWEVER…THERE IS MOST CERTAINLY ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT."**

" **WHAT ARE YOU BLATHERING ABOUT?"** Nightmare Bonnie growled.

Nightmare glared at him. **"YOU ARE VERY FORTUNATE INDEED THAT YOU DID NOT SPEAK YOUR INSOLENCE TO A MASTER LESS GENEROUS THAN MYSELF,"** he growled.He snapped his fingers as the wheel spun, and to the other Nightmares' surprise he allowed the spin to not just pass, but land straight on $5000.

" **WAIT, WHAT?"** Nightmare Freddy spluttered. **"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, BROTHER?"**

" **YOU'LL SEE,"** Nightmare answered, a malevolent grin appearing on his face. The other Nightmares watched with growing shock and confusion as Charlie and her teammates spun the wheel successfully multiple times, each time calling out a letter correctly. Soon, Charlie's team had over $10000 in play, and the puzzle was starting to be solved with COCA-COLA XXXCXINXON GLAXXEX.

" _Holy crap, we're so close!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"If only we knew what that third word was."_

" _I think I might know the answer if I get this next spin correct,"_ Charlie mused.

" **YOU ARE LITERALLY GIVING THEM A FREE WIN, BROTHER,"** Nightmare Chica hissed.

" **AND NOW…FOR THE PIECE DE RESISTANCE,"** Nightmare declared. He snapped his claws, the wheel spun…and every single Nightmare finally understood the true nature of their master's plan as the Wheel landed, like it had so many times at the beginning of the round, on Bankrupt.

" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ Liz wailed as the thousands of dollars they had accumulated were blotted out to nothing in a single second.

" _Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"_ Fritz shouted incoherently, still in disbelief over what had just happened.

" _I FUCKING HATE THIS GAME!"_ Charlie ranted, earning shocked looks from all the ghosts; Charlie cursing was rare enough to be considered a statistical anomaly.

As the rest of the children expressed their sympathy and Gabe's team snagged the win for themselves with COCA-COCA HUTCHINSON GLASSES, the Nightmares all roared with laughter as they congratulated their mastery on his cunning and cruelty. **"I WAS WRONG,"** Nightmare Bonnie admitted with a chuckle. **"FORGET CONSTANT BANKRUPTS.** _ **THIS**_ **IS BY FAR THE MOST HILARIOUS THING I'VE SEEN TODAY."**

" **YOUR PLAN WAS GENIUS,"** Nightmare Freddy agreed, his laughter echoing with both his deep, guttural voice and the high-pitched cackles of his Freddles.

Nightmare bared his fangs in a savage grin. **"A CONSTANT STREAM OF BAD LUCK YIELDS ONLY FRUSTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF INEVITABLE FAILURE,"** he explained. **"BUT TO BUILD ONESELF UP, TO REACH THE CUSP OF GREATNESS, ONLY TO HAVE EVERYTHING YOU'VE WORKED FOR CRUMBLE BELOW YOU AND BURN TO ASH…** _ **THAT**_ **IS TRUE SUFFERING."**

" **WILLIAM AFTON WOULD KNOW, WOULDN'T HE?"** Nightmare Fredbear commented, having just arrived at the domain in which they had congregated. **"WHY DON'T WE ASK HIM?"**

" **YOU'LL HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING AN ANSWER OUT OF HIM, BROTHER, CONSIDERING THAT I SLICED OUT HIS TONGUE THIS MORNING,"** Nightmare Chica retorted with a satisfied smirk, **"AMONGST OTHER THINGS."**

" **FAIR ENOUGH,"** Nightmare Fredbear conceded as he turned to the screen. **"SO, IT APPEARS THAT THE FINAL SPIN IS IN PLAY, HMM?"** He snapped his fingers as the wheel spun, and the lesser Nightmares watched in stunned silence as the wheel landed on $5000.

" **WAIT, WHAT?"** Nightmare Foxy spluttered. **"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO THAT?"**

" **BECAUSE WITH A SINGLE SNAP OF HIS CLAW, FREDBEAR HAS COMPLETELY INVALIDATED THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR EFFORT AND SUFFERING UP UNTIL THIS POINT,"** Nightmare replied as he nodded in acknowledgment. **"WELL PLAYED, BROTHER. WELL PLAYED."**

 _Back at Mike's House_

" _Wait,"_ Gabe realized. _"We only had like a few thousand dollars each. If every letter's worth 6000 bucks, this final round literally decides the entire game!"_

"Yep!" Mike affirmed. "That's what happens when the wheel lands on 5K on the final spin. There's a reason the audience cheers every time that happens."

The children looked at each other, their competitive nature flaring up. _"We're gonna kick your asses!"_ Jeremy declared.

"Not if we solve this puzzle first!" Meghan retorted.

" _We have Charlie, there's no way we can lose!"_ Liz countered.

The children began firing letters at the screen, chittering excitedly whenever they got a letter right. The scores for every team were well in the ten thousands, guaranteeing a massive payload to whoever won.

" _Oh, fuck!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"I hit the wrong button! I didn't want to actually solve the puzzle."_

"Well, you have to now," Mike replied dryly. "Go ahead, give it your best shot."

" _Uh…uh…uh…"_ Jeremy frantically looked at the screen, which only had XXXING MY XXRSX NXW XAR. He looked desperately at his friends, who shrugged helplessly. With no other choice but to guess, he typed in, "WAXING MY PURSE NOW YAR."

Every single person collapsed with uncontrollable laughter as Jeremy's answer was (predictably) marked as wrong. "Waxing my purse now yar," Mike repeated in sheer disbelief. "WAXING MY PURSE NOW YAR? First off, do people even wax their purses to begin with? Second, what the hell kind of guy actually gives a shit about waxing his personal belongings? Thirdly, I thought Fritz was the pirate lover in our family. And number four, what the hell kind of pirate carries a fucking purse?"

Even Jeremy's teammates couldn't resist letting out a few giggles at his expense. _"Wow, Jer, I would have expected a guess this bad from Fritz, but not from you!"_ Gabe commented dryly. _"No offense, Fritz."_

" _None taken, I would have made that bet,"_ Fritz admitted, too caught up in the humor to pretend being offended.

" _I now have the image of Foxy the Pirate in women's clothes carrying a freshly waxed purse in his hands,"_ Cassidy admitted, causing the rest of the ghosts (even Jeremy) to laugh even harder. Alex and Meghan gave each other confused looks.

"How do you guys know about Freddy's?" Alex asked.

The laughter immediately stopped. Fortunately, Charlie was on the ball to answer the question. _"It was around when we were alive,"_ she replied briefly. More than one ghost inwardly breathed a sigh of relief – the less the Marshall kids knew about…history with Freddy's, the better.

The two Marshalls shrugged and the round continued, and perhaps ironically, it was Gabe's team that ultimately won the puzzle with BUYING MY FIRST NEW CAR, securing his team a dominating victory and (at least partially) erasing the shame of Jeremy's magnificent disaster.

"All right, bonus round time!" Mike declared as the last stage of the game began and the prize wheel started spinning. "You are given a random puzzle with letters R, S, T, L, N, E given freely, and you get to pick three consonants and a vowel. Afterwards, you have a certain amount of time to solve the puzzle with what you're given."

The puzzle appeared on the screen: XX XXXX XXXRSELX

" _Uhh…what should we put in?"_ Jeremy asked his friends. None of them noticed the barely perceptible smirk that had appeared on Mike's face.

"How about C, G, K, and O?" Alex suggested.

" _I'm cool with that,"_ Gabe agreed. He put in the letters, and a few more pieces of the puzzle filled in. GO XXCK XOXRSELX.

Everyone stared at the puzzle, then their eyes slightly turned towards Mike, who was now trying and failing to stifle his laughter. _"Oh my God, dad…"_ Liz groaned. _"Please tell me you didn't…"_

"I may or may not have put in a few custom bonus round puzzles in there," Mike replied blithely. "And some of them may or may not be considered inappropriate for social conversation."

" _Uggggghhhh..."_ Charlie groaned as she buried her porcelain face in her hands. _"Dammit, dad."_ Without saying a word, Alex sighed and filled in the rest of the puzzle. GO FUCK YOURSELF.

"Hey congratulations!" Mike grinned as the host revealed the bonus prize. "I just gave you a free 45000 dollars."

" _You'd just give us that money in real life if we could use it,"_ Susie pointed out, unimpressed.

Mike shrugged. "Yeah, probably," he admitted. Alex and Meghan couldn't help but feel twinges of jealousy – with how down to earth Mike and his family were, it was easy to forget that Mike was positively loaded with cash. "So anyway," he changed the subject. "What do you guys want to do next? Your dad isn't going to be coming to pick you up until tomorrow, and we've still got a whole night ahead of us."

"I know what I want to do!" Alex declared with a grin. "Video game night, anyone?"

" _Heck yeah!"_ Fritz pumped his fist in the air as the other ghosts gave off similar cheers. _"You've got any more games to show us?"_

Meghan nodded. "There's so many fun games to enjoy, Fritz. We'll be happy to show you just how many there actually are."

 _Meanwhile in Hell…_

" **ALL RIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT,"** Nightmare growled as he destroyed the scrying portal by slicing his claws through it. **"BREAK TIME'S OVER, GET THE FUCK BACK TO WORK!"**

" **UGH…FINE, THIS SHIT WAS STARTING TO GET BORING ANYWAY,"** Nightmare Bonnie grudgingly acquiesced as he got off his infernal chair.

" **HEY NIGHTMARE, I HAVEN'T HAD MY FREDDLES DEVOUR THEIR WAY INTO WILLIAM AFTON'S INTERNAL ORGANS AND RIP HIM APART FROM INSIDE-OUT YET. CAN I GIVE IT A SHOT?"** Nightmare Freddy requested as the other Nightmares started to leave and return to administering their torments upon the damned.

Nightmare shrugged. **"SURE, JUST MAKE SURE YOU WAIT UNTIL HE REGENERATES FROM WHATEVER THE FUCK NIGHTMARE CHICA DID TO HIM FIRST BEFORE YOU START WITH THE VORE FEST,"** he answered, getting a nod of understanding from Nightmare Freddy as he too departed. Soon, only Nightmare and Nightmare Fredbear were left. The gold-colored demon was about to leave as well, but suddenly stopped.

" **I HAVE TO SAY,"** Nightmare Fredbear admitted once he was sure the others were gone, **"SCHMIDT'S LITTLE BONUS PUZZLE WAS ONE OF THE MOST AMUSING THINGS I'VE SEEN THIS WEEK, AT LEAST WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS NOT RELATED TO THE PAIN AND SUFFERING OF OTHERS."**

" **IT'S A PITY THAT WE CANNOT TRY TO CORRUPT HIM, BUT I AM NOT FOOL ENOUGH TO INVOKE THE WRATH OF HEAVEN AND JEAPORDIZE THE UNIQUE PRIVILEGES THAT I ENJOY,"** Nightmare replied. He thought back to the black rage that Mike had unleashed when he had learned about William Afton's involvement in his attack and the list of torments that he had conjured up in revenge. A grin stretched across his face. **"BUT EVIL OR NO, I WILL FREELY ADMIT THAT I DO APPRECIATE THIS PARTICULAR MORTAL'S STYLE."**

/

A/N: Remember kids, demons are assholes! :D

I may or may not have used Wheel of Fortune at least partially as an excuse to bring the Nightmares back in for another Black Comedy run :P That and some offscreen William Afton torture, because why not. Hey, the Nightmares can have family moments and enjoy themselves just like anybody else! Granted, a demon's idea of a good time is torturing damned souls and watching and/or planning the misery of other people, but hey, who cares about the minor details?

I drew inspiration from both The Runaway Guys and Achievement Hunter's LetsPlay for the Wheel of Fortune segment of the chapter, as the two of them are by far the funniest Let's Players of that game on Youtube, in my humble opinion. And I figured that, as Alex and Meghan mentioned earlier, Captain America would probably be one of the most "standard" superhero films when it comes to the MCU, as other heroes and films can get quite…complicated.

The next chapter will probably the start of a serious and/ or meaningful arc again. I can only write so many "isolated fun family moment" chapters before things start to get boring, which is why I only write two or three of these in a row at the time. I HAVE dropped hints at this particular arc before.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	49. Chapter 49 - Madman's Legacy Part 1

A/N: Sorry about the late post, I had a lot of med school shit to deal with this week.

So…it's quite possible (with evidence from the Logbook) that Jeremy Fitzgerald the Night Guard might have been his own separate character from Michael Afton after all, and possibly even the Bite of 87 victim. So I could have used my original plan from "A Legacy Laid to Rest" with Mike and Jeremy being their separate characters and have been right all along XD

Oh well. At this point it's a bit late for me to re-introduce Jeremy. I'll do it if people REALLY want me to, but it'll involve me having to retcon part of Chapter 43 and I'll need to come up with a good excuse as to why Jeremy has been absent for the past couple of months.

Speaking of retcons, I implemented a minor one in this chapter, and I updated the only other chapter that mentions this retcon to reflect that change. My story isn't perfect, and I sometimes feel the need to make small changes if I look back and realize something don't make sense or if I feel like making these changes will improve the story in the long-term. If I ever introduce a major retcon, I WILL let you guys know in advance. Anyway, see if you can find out what the retcon is.

I think it's time we get back to some more serious stuff, wouldn't you agree? The past is not done with the family yet, and the family is not yet done with the past.

Chapter 49 – Madman's Legacy Part 1

Mike hummed to himself as he tinkered with the metal parts in front of him. He had been working on this particular project for the past few weeks now, and he still had no idea whether he would create what many would consider to be a technological marvel or a worthless pile of scrap when all was said and done.

"Well," he thought as he turned off his blowtorch, "I'll never know unless I try." He took another look at the blueprints. "So complicated for something so small," he muttered.

" _Dad?"_

Mike looked up and deftly rolled up the blueprints. "Sup, Charlie?"

" _I just found something on the news,"_ the girl inside the Marionette explained. _"It's REALLY important."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. Charlie generally made it a point not to bother him or the other ghost kids with her issues, so the fact that she was openly putting a high priority on what was troubling her was already a red flag in and of itself. "I'm listening."

It was only then that Mike realized that Charlie had been carrying her laptop. She wordlessly took it out, opened the cover, and showed the screen to Mike. The man's eyes widened as he saw a picture of a robotics factory with the words AFTON ROBOTICS glowing with neon lights on top of the building. And above that picture was the headline:

" **LOCAL ROBOTICS CORPORATION AND ASSOCIATED BUSINESSES PERMANENTLY CLOSE."**

Mike stared silently at the news website for several seconds. "So…" he muttered, "it's finally happened."

" _Several years too late, but it has,"_ Charlie agreed.

Mike turned off the power tools he had been using on his project. "Round up the rest of the kids, Charlie," he said grimly. "We've got a lot to talk about."

 _Thirty Minutes Later…_

"And that's where things stand," Mike finished as he looked his kids in the eye. "Afton Robotics and Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental are finally closed down. Forever."

" _Took them long enough!"_ Susie exclaimed. _"It took them THIS long to shut down a factory built up by a psychopath to create a bunch of murder robots?"_

" _To be fair,"_ Charlie countered, _"William Afton never had total control over his company to begin with especially after Liz's death, and his own death in the Spring Bonnie suit has pretty much destroyed his hold entirely. For all we know, Afton Robotics might have been a proper, normal robotics company for years now."_

" _Sorry Charlie, but I don't trust anything Purple Guy touched,"_ Cassidy retorted, to which the Puppet only shrugged in acknowledgment.

"Well, for our purposes it doesn't matter what Afton Robotics was like," Mike interrupted, drawing their attention to him again. "We know that Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental had Remnant that bound souls to objects somewhere inside it, and considering how nobody knows about it it's likely that this Remnant is still there. As long as that Remnant still exists, there'll always be the chance that some poor shmuck will get killed and have their soul enslaved by it. I don't know about you, but I can't let that happen in good conscience."

" _Neither can we!"_ Liz declared as the other ghosts made similar noises of agreement.

" _So what are you going to do about it, dad?"_ Gabe asked.

"If we wait too long, people are going to start coming in and take things out of CBEAR," Mike explained, "including the Remnant. Then there'll be no way to know where it goes or what might happen. We need to take care of this as soon as possible."

" _But we can't let anyone know about this either,"_ Charlie added. _"If the wrong person learns about Remnant, if another William Afton discovers what it can do, it can lead to a whole new chain of tragedies like what happened to all of us. We CAN'T let that happen, no matter what."_

"Which leaves only one real option," Mike finished. "I'm going to have to break into CBEAR at night, when nobody will be around, find all the Remnant, and destroy it."

" _How are you going to do that, though?"_ Jeremy questioned. _"And when were you planning on destroying it?_

A thin smile stretched across his father's lips, one with zero humor. "No time like the present," he answered dryly. "I was going to do it tonight."

The ghosts' eyes widened in shock. _"That early?"_ Susie spluttered.

"I want this out of my hair and out of my life as soon as possible," Mike curtly explained. "The longer we wait, the more likely someone will take that Remnant out of CBEAR and we'll have no clue what the hell to do with it."

He looked at each of the ghost kids. "You might be wondering why I'm telling you this. Well, it's because I want to give you a choice. You can either stay here while I take care of what's left of William Afton's twisted little experiments, or you can come with me to help me finish the job. It's up to you, I'm not going to force you either way."

To his surprise, Fritz immediately burst out laughing, even though there was zero humor in his eyes. Mike raised an eyebrow. "Something funny?"

" _You're kidding, right?"_ the former Foxy inhabitant replied, cutting off his laughter abruptly. _"I mean, there isn't even a question."_ He looked around at his brothers and sisters. _"We're coming with you. All of us."_

"You sure you don't want to spend more time to think about this?" Mike asked.

" _Dad, I still remember what Nightmare said to us all the way back then,"_ Cassidy added. Before Mike could say anything, likely to deny his condemnations, the girl continued. _"We didn't do anything to show that we deserved redemption, and we technically STILL haven't."_

" _This is our chance!"_ Susie fervently added. _"Our chance to make things right, to actually help undo the Purple Guy's evil the RIGHT way, just like Liz's brother did!"_

" _The animatronics in CBEAR were dangerous, and they might still be there,"_ Liz pointed out. _"If they are, we can protect you from them if they try to attack you."_

" _The only person in danger from whatever's in CBEAR is you, dad,"_ Gabe finished their extended argument. _"Maybe nothing's in there at all, maybe you can just walk right in, take the Remnant, and get out. But if things can go wrong, they will go wrong. And when that happens, we'll be there to help you deal with whatever comes."_

Mike listened silently as the kids made their case, and then stayed silent for several more seconds that seemed to last an eternity. "…I tried to think of arguments against you," he finally admitted. "If this were any other time, bringing a bunch of kids to a place like CBEAR's goes against every principle I have." He started chuckling. "But you're not just ordinary kids. You're ghosts. There's nothing in that place that'll be able to harm you, and if I leave you guys here you'll end up worrying for my safety." His smile faded a slight look of worry appeared on his face. "The only thing I'm worried about is that if you end up touching Remnant you might have your soul trapped somewhere or something."

Charlie shook her head. _"I don't think that's how Remnant works, dad,"_ she countered. _"You have to be surrounded by it or be filled with it for it to trap you like that. That's how everyone's souls were trapped in the first place. I'm the only exception to the rule, and even then my case is a bit weird to begin with. Simply touching it shouldn't have any major effects."_

"All right," Mike conceded. He gave all of them a hard look filled with authority. "But if I'm going to bring you guys with me, and we find the Remnant, you don't do _anything_ near it unless I tell you to."

" _We'll be careful,"_ Gabe promised. The corner of his lips twitched dryly. _"Believe me, we don't want a repeat of the last thirty years any more than you do."_

"I figured as much," Mike replied with equal dryness. He got up from his chair. "Now then, if you excuse me…I need to think of a game plan."

The rest of the day seemed to pass by with a blur as Mike came up with his plan of attack, bringing both Charlie and Liz to his study periodically throughout the day to talk privately. Night fell almost too quickly, and the family drove to the now-abandoned Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental in silence. The building was located on the outskirts of the town away from the areas that were heavily populated, which Mike was pleased to know since it decreased the chances of them being caught.

"Everyone's telepathy working?" Mike asked mentally as they got out of the car. "If there _is_ something still at CBEAR's, the quieter we can be in real life, the better."

" _I'm good!"_ Jeremy confirmed.

" _Same!"_

" _Everything checks out here!"_

"Great," Mike replied as he put on his gloves and boots. If the place was investigated later due to their break-in, he would need to make sure that there was as little trace of his presence there as possible. Now that Afton Robotics was closed he doubted that people would care, but he wasn't taking any chances. "You ready, Liz?"

" _Yeah,"_ she replied as she transformed from a human girl to Scrap Baby. _"Let's do this."_

The family made their way over to the abandoned building, which predictably was locked shut. Mike was about to reach into a bag he brought with him to take out a lockpick, but Charlie stopped him.

" _I have a better idea."_ She extended a hand towards the door and the Puppet's eyelights flickered. A few seconds later, the mechanism unlocked and the door swung open.

Susie's eyes widened. _"Whoa…"_ she breathed, _"I didn't know you could do that."_

Charlie shrugged. _"I can help you guys possess animatronics and make blue flames with my hands. Opening a locked door is laughably easy in comparison."_

Mike peered into the darkness with both a flashlight and Scrap Baby's eyelights. "Geez, this place already seems completely abandoned," he muttered as he entered the room, with some of the ghosts in front of him and some of them trailing behind. He shut the door behind him to make sure that the place looked as undisturbed as it had been when they had first come here and re-locked it for good measure.

" _They only just closed today, so this place should still have some power,"_ Liz added, and more than one of her siblings resisted the urge to shudder at how her voice had changed from a young British girl to an adult American woman. She looked around uncertainly. _"But back when Michael came here, it operated on limited power kind of like the 1993 pizzeria. Though I don't know if that was just the private room…"_

" _Well, it's been thirty plus years, so maybe the electricity's fully operational,"_ Jeremy offered hopefully, but Charlie shook her head.

" _If they cut off the power, then it might only have a limited supply again,"_ she countered. _"We need to be careful with the power just in case. If the entire building blacks out and there is something still down here, dad's in serious trouble."_

" _Couldn't Cassidy just teleport dad out if shit hits the fan?"_ Fritz asked.

The girl shook her head. _"I've only just started getting the hang of it again, and I can only do it for myself. It won't work on dad."_

"Let's figure things out a bit more while we're on the elevator ride down," Mike suggested. The ghosts all agreed, and Mike walked over to the elevator leading down into the depths of CBEAR. He pressed the Down button and the elevator doors swung open, leading into a faintly lit but still very operational elevator. "Well, this part of the building still works just fine," he commented as he and the ghosts made their way inside.

The doors slid shut and the elevator began to descend. _"I don't know if the smaller animatronics like the Bidybabs and Minireenas are still around, but we have to assume that they are."_ Liz began. Mike was surprised by her demeanor and the way she suddenly took charge. He had been secretly monitoring Liz, worried that coming back to the place of her past torment would destabilize her emotions. But if anything, she seemed to be the _most_ determined out of all the ghosts to see this mission through.

"Is it really a surprise though?" he asked himself as Liz detailed the plan that she and Charlie had made together. "She's always been the one who wanted to make things right the most."

" _Thanks to my Scrap Baby form, I'm probably the best person to protect dad from the front,"_ Liz continued as she snapped her claw once to prove her point. _"And Charlie is the most powerful ghost here so she's probably the best person to protect him from behind. The rest of us can surround dad to make sure he's got someone watching out from every angle."_

" _That sounds like a good idea to me,"_ Gabe remarked, and the other ghosts nodded in acceptance of the strategy.

" _The one thing that matters above everything else is that we HAVE to keep dad safe,"_ Liz insisted. _"I don't know about you guys, but if he ends up getting killed here, I'm going to hate myself for the rest of eternity no matter where I end up in the afterlife."_ Her eyes were utterly serious. _"And trust me, I am VERY familiar with what that feels like."_

The ghosts made varying noises of agreement, not noticing Mike wince at his daughter's wording. He wasn't suicidal by any stretch of the imagination and he certainly wouldn't mind living for as long as possible, but he was also happy with how his life had turned out and wouldn't have any regrets if he did meet his end earlier than he expected, especially since it would mean his kids would be free to pass on to Heaven as well with their mission completed. "I'll think of a way to get them out of that mentality," he thought as the elevator ground down to a halt. "We're here," he said aloud as the doors swung open. "Lead the way, Liz."

Liz nodded and advanced, her glowing green eyes falling on a vent opening a few feet away. _"You have to crawl into that vent space to enter the Primary Control Module,"_ she explained, gesturing towards it with her claw. _"That's the room at the center of the building and it's the only way you can access the other parts of the building."_

" _Why vent spaces?"_ Jeremy asked. _"What, were doors not good enough for the Purple Guy? It's like the guy went out of his way to make this place as creepy as possible!"_

"Who the fuck even knows," Mike muttered. "All right, so Liz in front, Charlie behind me, and the rest of you split between guarding my front and back while I'm crawling through these things."

" _Sounds good to me,"_ Susie agreed, and they assumed the appropriate positions as Mike bent down onto his knees. He crawled forward into the vent passageway with Charlie following close behind, while the rest of the ghosts (who were unimpeded by the metal walls by their very nature) scanned the passage to make sure that nothing was either going to meet them from the front or follow them from behind. The passage through the vent occurred without incident, and Mike soon found himself into the Primary Control Module.

" _I know that this place is supposed to be more of a storage facility instead of a restaurant, but geez…this place gives me the creeps,"_ Gabe muttered.

Mike could see where he was coming from. Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental had the same creepy and unnerving atmosphere that Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria had, but the environment felt menacing, hostile, and oppressive in a way that the pizzeria had never been. The three white masks in the corner, each one with a different empty expression, only served to disturb him even further. It didn't help that despite her being in Scrap Baby form, Mike could see nervousness, pain, and even outright hatred on Liz's face as memories of imprisonment and hopelessness in this facility came back to her.

"Let's not beat around the bush here," he decided. "The sooner we get rid of this Remnant crap and get the fuck out of here, the better."

" _We should check to see if there's anything new in the galleries,"_ Charlie pointed out. _"Considering how long Afton Robotics has existed so far, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to actually recreate the animatronics. It certainly wouldn't surprise me,"_ she added with a derisive snort.

Mike approached one of the small control panels. "I'm guessing one of these buttons is to view the galleries?" he asked.

Liz nodded. _"The top blue one,"_ she confirmed, pointing at it with a ghostly metal finger. Mike pressed the button and the screens showing the galleries lit up. To everyone's immense relief, there wasn't a single animatronic in sight.

" _Thank God…"_ Jeremy muttered. _"I was going to rage if we actually had to deal with more animatronics here."_

" _Well, we don't know if there are larger animatronics placed in a storage or something,"_ Gabe countered. _"And there's still the smaller animatronics that Liz mentioned."_

" _We should be able to deal with anything that comes our way, assuming we keep to the defensive positions that we agreed on,"_ Charlie commented.

"We know that there's Remnant in the Scooping Room," Mike turned to Liz. "How do we get there?"

" _It's pretty simple, which is good news for us,"_ she answered. _"First, we need to go into the vent on the right, which will take us to the Funtime Auditorium. Then, we need to go to the right side of the auditorium, which will have a door that will lead us to the Scooping Room. That's where the Scooper with the Remnant is."_

"Sounds like a plan," Mike agreed. He bent down to his knees, his children surrounding him in their protective manner, and crawled into the right vent. The passage itself occurred without anything happening just like before, but as he got out of the vent leading to the Funtime Auditorium he heard faint giggling a distance behind him. He immediately flashed his light back through the vent, and he could swear that he saw a tiny silhouette for a fraction of a second before it vanished back into the darkness.

The ghosts had noticed it too. _"What the hell was that?"_ Gabe asked warily.

" _That was a Minireena,"_ Liz explained. _"A tiny ballet dancer animatronic that was created to assist Ballora. They're harmless in that they can't do anything to hurt dad directly."_ Her eyes flickered worriedly. _"But…"_

"They might let other animatronics know we're here," Mike finished. "We probably shouldn't overstay our welcome." He began to move towards the right like Liz had instructed, but suddenly stopped. "Wait a minute…oh, SHIT!" he cursed.

The ghosts instantly looked at their father. _"What is it, dad?"_ Cassidy asked.

"I just realized that the Remnant in the Scooper might not be the only place it's in," he explained grimly. "If William Afton hid more Remnant somewhere else, then I honestly have no idea where he might have put it."

" _Crap…"_ Jeremy muttered.

" _Is there anywhere that might have a hint as to where the Remnant actually is?"_ Gabe asked Liz.

The girl thought for a moment. _"There…might be,"_ she slowly answered. _"There's an office on the opposite side of the Scooping Room. We only knew it as the Private Room, and it was always locked. I remember seeing a desk drawer, and the HandUnit called the things in there sensitive. Maybe it's because my old dad was hiding something he didn't want others to find out?"_

"Then going there sounds like the best option," Mike decided. "This might end up being a waste of time for all we know, but I'd rather waste a couple extra minutes than miss any Remnant that might be hidden around here."

Liz led the way, with Mike and her siblings following behind. As they advanced, Mike could have sworn that he heard the faint sounds of footsteps in the distance, and the looks on the ghosts made it clear that they were hearing it too. But every time they stopped and Mike flashed his light around in the direction of the noise, there was nothing to be seen. Still, none of them dropped their guard until they reached a locked door with a keycard mechanism holding it shut.

" _Oh, great…"_ Fritz groaned. _"We don't have the keycard."_

Liz's eyes glanced towards an unseen location further in the darkness opposite the way they had came. _"I think I might know where it could be,"_ she began, but Charlie raised a hand to stop her.

" _No need, I'll handle this."_ She raised her hand towards the door and her eyelights flickered again, just like they had when she'd worked on the entrance to the building earlier. It took several seconds longer this time around and she even let out a grunt of exertion, but in the end she was successful.

"ACCESS GRANTED." A soulless, mechanical voice intoned as the door opened. Mike advanced into the room with the ghosts following close behind.

"Wow," he whistled as he looked around. He had seen the Private Room before in Nightmare's illusion back when he had tormented Liz, but he was still surprised by just how similar the room was in nature to the old office that he had worked in at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. The main difference, aside from the more mechanical nature of the room, was a large vent close to the top of the room.

" _Uh, guys…"_ Gabe's worried voice broke Mike out of his thoughts. He and the kids turned to look at the former Freddy inhabitant, who was holding a tablet in his hands. _"I think we might have a problem."_

Mike took the tablet from Gabe and looked at the screen. "Oh, fuck me…" he cursed. The screen was showing the inside of the vent system… _with a Bidybab crawling through it_.

" _The vent!"_ Susie shouted. Acting quickly, Mike hit a button on the tablet corresponding to the vent and it shut with a resounding clang. They could hear the Bidybab approach the closed vent door and hit it twice, before it crawled away. A quick check with the tablet showed that the Bidybab was gone.

" _I knew it,"_ Jeremy growled. _"I knew things were being too easy."_

Liz took the tablet and began looking through the different rooms, praying that her worst fear hadn't been realized, that Afton Robotics hadn't somehow recreated Funtime Freddy, Ballora, or Funtime Foxy and that these new versions were now preparing their own attacks. To her immense relief, she couldn't see any of them, but she _could_ see Minireenas scurrying about in the halls. It was practically impossible for them to kill Mike by themselves, but that didn't make her feel any better.

"I need time to go through the cabinets and find out if there's any Remnant besides where the Scooper is," Mike declared. "Here's how we're going to do this. Jeremy and Susie, you watch the left door for anything that's coming. If something does come to attack, shut the door. Gabe and Cassidy, you do the same for the right door. Fritz, you're in charge of the vent. Charlie, check on the tablet every so often. Liz, stay here in case anything somehow slips through your siblings' notice. I'll try to find whatever I need as quickly as possible. Okay?"

" _Got it!"_ everyone affirmed, and they took their positions where Mike had instructed. Liz raised her claw in a battle stance, eyes scanning the room carefully for any sign of an intrusion.

Mike reached out towards the cabinet and, to his surprise, it pulled open without any resistance. "Afton must have really been confident that nobody would ever get in here without him knowing," he thought as he began pulling open files. The first few files were completely useless to him, simply designs for the layout of the building. The only thing that was mildly of interest was the fact that the rooms seen in the Private Room's tablet didn't match with any of the rooms Liz had described during their daytime planning.

" _Get out of here, you little shit!"_ he heard Fritz snarl at what was almost certainly an advancing Bidybab, and Charlie took that as the cue to slam the vent door shut.

Mike tossed aside the building plans and took out the next set of documents. He immediately recognized the shapes of several animatronics, as well as functions labeled for various parts on their bodies. "Blueprints for the Funtimes," he realized. He read some of the functions listed, and as he did so his anger grew. Voice mimicry, luring, parental voice sync and replay, storage tank. He already knew _what_ those functions were for but seeing the truth before him with his own eyes inflamed his hatred for William Afton even further than it already burned. He was about to toss aside the blueprints and continue his search, when he suddenly noticed that the air had suddenly begun to thin, as though it was getting harder to breathe.

" _What are those Minireenas doing?"_ Charlie asked Liz as she pointed to a couple of them messing with what looked like several canisters clustered together. Liz's eyes widened when she saw them.

" _They're tampering with the oxygen in the room!"_ she exclaimed. _"If we let them keep doing this then dad's going to pass out from lack of air! Shock them, quickly!"_

Charlie pressed a red button with a lightning bolt on it, and the Minireenas immediately scattered, letting out small gasps of surprise as they did so. Immediately, Mike felt the air start returning to normal.

" _Good catch,"_ the girl inside the Puppet praised, and Liz's fanged mouth flickered in her best impression of a genuine smile given her current form. _"I better check that area every so often."_

Mike gave the two of them a brief smile of approval before turning back to his work. He tossed the blueprints in the same direction as the plans and turned to the final stack. The first page that he pulled out was a blueprint of the Scooper, identical to the one that he had found on Henry's computer. The next was something like a journal entry written by who Mike presumed to be William Afton himself, and he felt his blood go cold as he read it.

" _Remnant…such a fascinating substance. A substance, seemingly innocuous and mundane, may very well prove be so much more than anyone believed. If I am correct, then this Remnant may very well be the key to immortality. It may hold the secret to life after death itself. Those childish mascots in my fool of a partner's pizzeria chain…there is more to them than just artificial intelligence now, isn't there? More to them than just mechanical flesh and gears churning in their minds. Perhaps those little brats I slaughtered and stuffed in those metal bodies have become one with their new bodies, though how this occurred even I do not know. The animatronics that I have created, the machines I have created to kidnap and kill in my stead, they were created with this same Remnant. Perhaps the victims they claim will be able to live on through them as well? If that is so, then the possibilities are truly endless, and eternal life may be within my grasp."_

"That son of a bitch!" Mike roared angrily, not noticing that he had shouted his words out loud. Heads swiveled around Exorcist-style to look at him, which he would have found both creepy and hilarious in any other circumstance.

" _Are you all right, dad?"_ Susie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry about that. You can go back to your posts," Mike curtly replied. There was an edge to his tone that none of the ghosts wanted to argue with, and they did as they were instructed. And right on time too, for a second Bidybab (or the same one from earlier adopting a different strategy) had tried to force its way through the left door while they had been distracted.

" _Oh hell no, get out!"_ Jeremy snapped at it as he forced the door shut. Mike grit his teeth as he realized the implications of this journal entry, not the least of which was the fact that William might have either known or suspected that his daughter might have lived on through Baby and apparently didn't give a single shit about her. He crumpled the document and stuffed it in his pants pockets – he was going to burn it personally later.

"There's gotta be something here," the man thought as he looked through the last set of documents. But he found himself utterly disappointed. He found a few more of William's private entries that only confirmed just how utterly insane and monstrous the man had been, but there was no mention of any additional Remnant storage locations or hiding places beyond the Scooper.

Still, this search had not been entirely fruitless. He now knew for certain that William had a much greater understanding of Remnant and what it could do than what he originally believed, and he knew that he had to change his plan. Originally, all he had intended to do was dismantle the Scooper, take it out to somewhere that nobody would be around to see him, then set the inside of the thing on fire.

But if William knew about Remnant's properties, which was something that was now very likely based on his ramblings, then that was no longer good enough. For all he knew, William might have other Remnant stored inside the facility somewhere hidden, only for an unsuspecting soul to find it and open the possibility of more trapped souls and tragedies.

There was no way for Mike to know 100% if he would destroy all the Remnant in CBEAR. But there was a way for him to maximize the chances.

And that was to burn the whole place down.

He was about to inform his children about the change in plans, when he suddenly heard a giggle to his right. He whirled around to see a small pink puppet shaped like a female version of Bonnie suddenly lunge forward out of the darkness, the little animatronic creature moving too fast for Gabe or Cassidy to close the door in time. The metal hand puppet dived straight towards Mike, who barely had time to wonder exactly how a small thing like that would be able to hurt, let alone kill him.

 ***WHAM!***

Faster than either Bonnet or Mike could react, Liz's slammed her giant ghostly claw straight onto Bonnet's nose. The strength of her blow smashed the puppet downward and she hit the ground with a hard thud, her giggling replaced with a cry of shock and pain that would have been piteous if it weren't for the fact that she had just attempted to kill her father.

Liz stared down at Bonnet with undisguised fury, Scrap Baby's grotesque face perfectly complementing her enraged mood with terrifying effect as she placed her pincer right over Bonnet's neck, not closing it but leaving her trapped. _"Do you remember me?"_ she hissed, and everyone was surprised to see genuine _fear_ in the hand puppet's eyes. _"If you do, then you should know who I used to be…and know who I've now become. I should destroy you_. _I should make you pay for trying to kill the person I love more than anyone else. But I'm going to give you one last chance. Tell all your friends what will happen to anyone who tries to attack my dad, and don't come near us again,"_ her green eyes flashed menacingly, _**"or I'll tear you all apart piece by piece."**_

Bonnet let out another whimper as Liz lifted her claw and glared down at her. _"Now_ _ **get out."**_ With a shriek, Bonnet crawled towards the door as quickly as her little arms allowed her, not stopping until she was far out of sight.

" _Nice hit!"_ Gabe praised once he was sure the bunny puppet was gone. _"Good thing you were paying attention when that thing came in_. _I don't want to think about what would've happened if you hadn't stopped her."_

Cassidy shuddered slightly. _"You're kind of scary when you're mad,"_ she admitted.

Liz was about to say something, but Mike interrupted her with a snort. "Oh come on, Cass, that description fits literally every single person in our entire family," he dryly commented. He looked around to make sure nothing else was attacking, then gave Liz an apologetic glance. "Giving that bunny puppet mercy was a nice thing for you to do, but I don't think it's going to matter in the end. I didn't find anything suggesting that there was more Remnant besides what was in the Scooper, but I don't consider that very comforting. If we really want to make sure we get all of it, we're going to have to burn this place down."

The ghosts' eyes widened. _"The whole thing?"_ Susie asked incredulously.

"The whole thing," Mike confirmed.

" _But that's so dangerous!"_ Susie protested. _"You could get caught up in the fire and burn to death! We can't let that happen!"_

" _Out of the question,"_ Liz agreed firmly. She didn't truly remember her last moments as Scrap Baby in the trap pizzeria, but judging by the image she had seen in Nightmare's visions of her terrified and pained expression, there was no way she was going to allow even the smallest possibility of her father suffering through the same thing.

Fortunately, Gabe had the solution. _"We don't have to!"_ he realized. _"We're ghosts. We can do the deed ourselves without any risk of getting hurt. Meanwhile, we can wait until dad is far away from this place before we light it up. There's no chance of him getting hurt that way, and if he's in an area where other people can see him he won't be connected to the fire here since he'll physically be in a separate location when we light it up."_

"That could work, but here's my question," Mike answered. "Will our telepathy still work if we're at a long distance from each other?"

Charlie shrugged. _"I… think it will? Distance can weaken it, but it's a connection made between our very minds. So long as we don't go too far away from each other, it should still work. It did in the mall, after all."_

" _Hold on a sec,"_ Jeremy suddenly floated up into the air and through the ceiling before anyone could stop him. After several seconds of tense silence, his voice suddenly cut through their minds. _"Can you guys here me?"_

"Yeah!" Mike mentally responded. "I hear you."

A few seconds later, Jeremy returned. _"I just floated out of the building to where you parked the car, dad. It seems like we can still talk to each other just fine."_

"That's good to know," his father sighed in relief. "Okay, so we just need to head over the Scooper, dismantle it, dunk it and everything else with lighter fluid, set the whole place on fire, and call it a day." An uncomfortable look crossed his face. "The only problem is…if you guys are going to insist on keeping me safe, then that means that you're gonna have to be the ones who do all the work. As you guys keep pointing out, I'm the only one who's in danger of getting hurt or killed. It just doesn't feel right forcing you guys to do all this."

" _Dad…"_ Cassidy gently interrupted and lightly grabbed onto her dad's arm. _"Part of the reason why we came here with you because we wanted to prove that we actually deserve a second chance. If that means doing some work in a creepy place that can't actually harm us so that you stay safe, then I have absolutely zero issues with that."_

" _I'm with you, Cass."_

" _A hundred percent."_

" _This is something we have to do, for you and for us."_

Mike smiled and stroked Cassidy's hair. "You guys are the best sons and daughters I could ask for," he declared, earning delighted smiles and grins from his children. "All right, let's wrap this up and blow this joint. Literally."

The kids started laughing at Mike's joke as everyone followed Liz out of the Private Room, Mike taking William's private notes with him so that he could burn the cursed knowledge of Remnant along with the soul-trapping substance itself. As they left the room behind, none of them noticed the shadowy figure of a black bear with glowing white eyes and teeth suddenly materialize. The figure searched through the documents that Mike had left scattered on the floor. Without making a sound, he picked up one specific blueprint and vanished, taking the document with him.

And none of them noticed another different, much smaller figure start to follow them from behind, its eyes glowing faintly and erratically as a small stream of electricity crackled through its body.

/

A/N: I honestly have no clue how Bonnet or Bonbon would be able to kill anyone. They're freaking hand puppets, for God's sake! Then again, they were made by William Afton, so…

Things have certainly gotten a bit more interesting, haven't they? It looks like Mike and the ghost kids are about to use the same strategy that Michael and Henry have before them: burn everything to the ground.

And Liz finally gets to act out her new role as protector! I don't think she expected to have to carry out that role so soon, but she must feel content knowing that she can back up her declaration of protection to Mike. And with how well she took care of Bonnet, her new father's teachings have already paid off quite nicely.

With only Bidybab, Bonnet, and Minireenas, _Sister Location's_ Custom Night must be hilariously easy, especially if you have ghosts guarding every possible entrance into the room and only need to stay in there for a couple of minutes at most.

As for the two figures I mentioned at the end, it shouldn't be very hard to figure out who they are. But as to what their goals are, that's another matter entirely.

See you guys next chapter, and hope you enjoyed!


	50. Chapter 50 - Madman's Legacy Part 2

A/N: We've hit the 50 chapter mark! Quite a milestone for this fic, and it's only right that this fic be an intense one. So hold on for the ride, because the status quo is about to be shaken up in a big and permanent way.

The possibility of Jeremy existing as his own separate character is based on two things, one based on logic and one based on hard evidence. The Logbook mentions a character who was working the night shift at an unknown pizzeria for about a week before switching to the day shift, and he also mentions that the animatronics became aggressive towards the staff. This matches up surprisingly well with what we know of Jeremy Fitzgerald in FNAF2. The character's statement also mentions him being followed home, which could very well be William Afton investigating him to see if he suspects anything about the murders and debating whether or not to "silence" Jeremy. As for the "logic" part, why would Michael Afton suddenly feel the need to switch names between Jeremy and Fritz if he was indeed both? Just something to think about. I don't think I'll retcon things to make Jeremy his own separate character just yet, but I may do so if I feel the need.

On an unrelated note, have any of you guys seen the poster for the book version of Baby? It's, uh…it's...quite something…to say the least. All I'll say is…Thot Baby might actually be a thing in the books…and it kind of says something about William Afton's mental state that he thought this was a good idea. Then again, this is _William Afton_ we're talking about, so…

Chapter 50 – Madman's Legacy Part 2

" _So what WAS the Scooper used for anyway, Liz?"_ Cassidy asked as the family ventured towards the Scooping Room.

" _Well, the Scooper was made to extract the endoskeletons of the animatronics,"_ Liz answered, _"or at least, that was the official purpose."_ She shuddered. _"But knowing what we do now, he probably made it to inject Remnant in the animatronics and take out the remains of the children he murdered. Like me."_

Gabe gave her a concerned look, while Fritz cursed under his breath. _"I'm going to enjoy burning it to a pile of ash,"_ he snarled.

"Technically, it takes more heat than we're capable of generating to burn metal," Mike replied. "We're just going to be dismantling the Scooper and dunking the inside with lighter fluid. Then pouring more lighter fluid all over the place and then setting this whole place on fire."

Jeremy chuckled. _"I keep forgetting you're such a nerd sometimes, dad."_

Mike snorted. "There's my college education for you," he replied dryly as they approached a locked door on the other side of the Funtime Auditorium. This door didn't have a special mechanism sealing it shut, and it was easy for Charlie to open it. Mike stepped into the control room, where he could see mechanisms that would allow him to operate the Scooper from behind the safety of a glass window. To the far right, he could see a door that would allow him to access the Scooping Room itself.

He was about to approach the door, when Liz suddenly rushed in front of him, spreading her arms out to prevent Mike from moving any further. _"No, dad!"_ she declared. _"Stop right there!"_

"Wait, wha…"

" _There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near this thing!"_ Liz almost shouted with a ferocity that she had only barely demonstrated in the months Mike had known her. _"It ruined my brother's life, even if I was the one behind it. You're not going anywhere near it!"_

"I know how to be careful around dangerous machines…" Mike began, but he was surprised when _Charlie_ joined Liz's side.

" _I agree with Liz,"_ she added, staring Mike down with an intense glare. _"The one thing that would be worse than seeing you die is seeing you turn into a zombie like Michael. If anybody is going to be tearing down the Scooper, it's going to be me and Liz. Not you."_

"But what if you get hit with the Scooper?" Mike challenged. "You could still get hit by it."

Charlie chuckled dryly. _"Dad, I don't know what you saw in those documents, but you're not thinking clearly. The Puppet is already surrounded by Remnant. I'm ALREADY trapped. The Remnant can't do anything to me because it already has. And as for Liz, she's a ghost with an enhanced ability to interact with the physical world thanks to her animatronic form. And she has a giant claw. Do the math."_

Mike opened his mouth and closed it again, realizing that Charlie was right. He'd been so infuriated by what he had seen in the Private Room that he'd let his desire to destroy William Afton's tainted legacy cloud his judgment. From a strategic and practical standpoint, Charlie was right. She and Liz were the best ones to dismantle the Scooper. He sighed and waved his hand. "All right, you win," he gave in. "I'll stay here and watch you guys do your work."

" _Thank you,"_ Charlie answered, and Mike could hear the satisfaction and a tiniest hint of relief in her voice. He rolled his eyes as Charlie turned to the other ghosts. _"The rest of you guys know the drill – make sure that nothing gets at dad while we're busy."_

" _Got it!"_ Susie affirmed as they swarmed around Mike, ready to protect him from anything that would threaten him. Liz floated through the glass wall into the Scooping Room while Liz entered it from the side door. She half-expected to see the broken metal corpses of the animatronics she had once called friends, but they were nowhere to be found. In the years that had passed, Afton Robotics must have removed them from the room for one purpose or another. Once they were both inside, the two sisters looked silently at the Scooper.

" _You all right?"_ Charlie asked Liz. She knew it couldn't be easy for her, looking directly at an embodiment of her sins.

Liz took a deep breath. _"I'm fine. But I'll feel a lot better once I tear this thing apart,"_ she replied as she snapped her claw.

" _Then let's not waste any more time,"_ her sister replied as they floated up to the Scooper. The actual scooping mechanism itself was attached to a small reservoir, which itself was attached to the wall by a small metal arm. Charlie studied the metal parts that attached the Scooper to the wall. _"Maybe you can try to unscrew the Scooper from the reservoir by winding it around?"_

Liz nodded and put her claw around the metal rod to enhance her focus. She tried to pull the Scooper arm clockwise and then counter-clockwise, but it refused to budge. _"It's not working!"_ she reported to Charlie. Then, she looked down at her claw again, and promptly palmed her face. _"Oh my God, I'm an idiot…"_ She repositioned her claw around the arm, then promptly started snapping it shut, aiming to crush the metal with her supernatural force.

The metal creaked and groaned as Liz repeatedly pincered it. Gradually, the metal slowly began to bend and weaken, unable to fully withstand the pressure of her claw. After several seconds of relentless and ruthless attacks, the former Afton crushed the Scooper's arm with one final shout, breaking it completely. The Scooper fell to the ground, hitting the metal floor with a resounding clang.

Charlie gazed down at the Scooper and then back to Liz. _"Good work, Liz,"_ she praised. _"I have to ask…how did it feel to tear this thing down?"_

Liz let out a giggle that would have been chilling to anyone outside of her family. _"That was the most fun I've had in a long time,"_ she admitted.

" _I had a feeling,"_ her sister merrily replied as she bent down to inspect the Scooper. She could immediately tell that the inside was coated with some sort of viscous, liquid substance that was of a different nature then the metal that made the Scooper. Charlie floated over to the reservoir and peered inside. As she suspected, the reservoir was filled with that same substance. Charlie knew immediately that this was the Remnant that had caused so much pain and suffering to her family.

" _It's Remnant all right,"_ she informed Liz. _"Let's go tell dad that we're ready for the next stage."_

Liz nodded and the two girls returned back to the Scooping Room's control room, where Mike and their siblings were waiting. _"We're all done,"_ Liz informed her father.

"Great," Mike grinned. "I've been thinking about how we're going to go about burning this place down while you were working. I brought a couple of jugs of lighter fluid with me, but that by itself isn't going to be enough to set the whole place on fire. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be. Remember those oxygen canisters that we saw back in the Private Room? Oxygen's a fire hazard because it makes fire burn a lot more quickly and violently, possibly causing an explosion. If we douse the vital machinery in different places with lighter fluid, set it on fire, and have an open oxygen canister nearby, that should be enough to destroy Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, along with any Remnant that might still be hidden."

" _So we need to go back to the Private Room and drag those oxygen canisters out?"_ Gabe asked. _"Let's take care of this."_

The family agreed and left the Scooping Room. As they made their way back to the Private Room, Mike thought he could hear the faintest sound of electricity crackling.

Charlie's eyelights flickered towards the sound and her eyes widened in shock. _"Mike, look out!"_ she shouted.

"Wha…" Mike didn't have time to even wonder what was going on as a Bidybab glowing with electric energy leaped out of the shadows towards him, arms outstretched as it tried to grab at Mike. But before it could get its hands on him, Charlie lunged forward and pushed at Mike, using all her strength both physically and magically to push Mike out of the way. The man fell to the floor as Electrobab grabbed Charlie instead and unleashed a vicious dose of lightning that would have fried Mike to a crisp had he grabbed the man instead.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Charlie screamed as Electrobab's lightning coursed through her body, blasting through and destroying mechanical systems that had stood the test of time for decades. The ghosts and Mike stared in abject horror as the Puppet collapsed on the ground and flailed about, trying to throw off Electrobab with strength that was rapidly fading with each second.

Mike and the ghosts prepared to rush to her aid, the former completely forgetting the fact that the altered Bidybab had tried to kill him with electricity seconds earlier. But as quick as they reacted to try and come to Charlie's aid, Liz acted before any of them.

" _RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"_ Letting out the very same roar she had made when she attacked Nightmare so many months ago, Liz lunged forward and grabbed Electrobab with her claw, forcing it off Charlie. The Electrobab struggled in Scrap Baby's claw, trying to shake itself free or even try to zap the ghost that had grabbed it. But Liz had transcended beyond the boundaries of a physical form long ago, and even if Electrobab's attacks could have affected her, her fear for her sister and her wrath at seeing one of her family attacked drove away all other thoughts regardless. Screaming and snarling incoherently out of pure rage, Liz crushed Electrobab with her claw repeatedly until the force of her attacks crushed the small animatronic' s stomach, causing sparks and mechanical parts to fly. With Electrobab's body weakened, she lifted the animatronic into the air and slammed it onto the ground, the force of her blow splitting the animatronic's body in two. To everyone's surprise, the top half of Electrobab still seemed to have some form of life in it, as it tried to crawl away from the vengeful ghost with something akin to fear on its face.

But Liz was far from done. Letting out another bestial howl, she lifted her claw and smashed it down onto the broken ElectroBab, slamming it to the ground and bringing its already weakened structure to the verge of collapse. She smashed her claw on Electrobab over and over, looking every bit like the monster William Afton had tried to make her into, until nothing remained of Electrobab except for piles of metal and scrap. It was only after the last crackles of electricity and vitality faded from the ruined remains of Electrobab that Liz finally stopped her ruthless assault.

Liz slowly looked up at the rest of her family, who were staring at her now with genuine and undisguised fear in their eyes. Even Mike, who had a better idea of just how far Liz was willing to go to protect her new family than the rest of her siblings, had been stunned into silence. Even the girl herself seemed to realize just what she had become in those fleeting seconds and was starting to regret the excessive brutality of her actions, even if she felt no pity whatsoever for Electrobab's destruction.

But before she could apologize, a small groan escaped the Puppet's mouth. All other thoughts vanished from their minds as her family rushed over to her. Externally, there didn't seem to be much of a difference except for the smell of burning and smoke rising from her body. But the truth was clear to them all.

The most beloved of Henry's creations had finally been broken beyond repair.

Charlie coughed and let out another weak groan. _"That…was…kind of…painful,"_ she murmured as she let out a weak chuckle, and Mike was horrified to hear that it sounded like she was _asphyxiating_ , even if that shouldn't have been possible for her as a spirit. _"But still…I saved…dad…so…worth...it…"_

" _I'm sorry, Charlie!"_ Liz lamented, kneeling next to her as tears of black ichor poured out of her eyes. _"I swear, I didn't know that there was an electric Bidybab! The ones I worked with NEVER did anything like that! I had no idea there was anything like that here!"_

" _It's…all right…Lizzie…"_ Charlie breathed out comfortingly. She tried to reach out to stroke her sister's face, but she could barely lift the Puppet's arm. _"This…isn't… your fault. We all…know…who…really is to blame…"_

"You shouldn't be talking, Charlie," Mike interrupted gently but firmly. "You sound like you're being strangled."

" _It's…worse…than it…sounds…dad. I'll…be…"_ she coughed, _"…fine…"_

Mike stared grimly into her eyes. "So I guess the time has finally come then, Charlie."

" _Yes…"_ Charlie answered. _"Time…to burn…the last…remaining…legacy…of Freddy Fazbear…and friends."_

" _Wait, what are you guys talking about?"_ Cassidy asked. Then, it hit her, and her jaw dropped. _"No way…"_

"Yep…" Mike confirmed, his good humor and relaxed nature nowhere to be found. "It's easy to forget, considering how Charlie uses the Puppet as a physical body, but keep in mind. She's still a spirit trapped in an animatronic body. She's still not free in the same sense that the rest of you are. Long before you guys even showed up, we've been tossing around the idea of when to destroy the Marionette's body, when to set it on fire and release her spirit." He sighed. "Guess we have the answer decided for us. Talk about things being convenient in the worst way possible…" he muttered under his breath.

" _If we're…going to burn…the Puppet's…body…it…might as well…be…here…"_ Charlie gasped out. _"We're…already…setting…this place…on fire. Might…as well…save…time…"_

The ghosts looked at each other uneasily. Something about leaving Charlie to burn here just didn't sit well with them. But none of them could deny the logic and practicality behind Charlie's words. _"Then let's not waste any more time,"_ Gabe decided. _"Let's blow this place up and get the hell out of here."_

" _On the bright side…we'll finally be able to see what Charlie looks like. I'm kind of curious to know…"_ Susie admitted.

"Let's worry about that later," Mike interrupted. "It's time we burn William Afton's final legacy to the ground. And after what that thing did to Charlie... **I'm going to enjoy every second of it."**

The ghosts all flinched as the same shadow of Mike's hatred crossed his face, even though it vanished almost immediately after. Once they were inside the Private Room, some of the ghosts flew out to the room where Mike had seen the oxygen canisters while others (including Liz) stayed behind to guard over Mike and Charlie's broken body. The remaining animatronics of CBEAR must have gotten wind of Liz's fury, because not even one showed up in the screens or tried to attack the room itself. Soon enough, the ghosts returned, carrying the full set of oxygen canisters between them.

"Great, looks like we have more than enough," Mike said as he opened his bag, which was revealed to contain multiple bottles of lighter fluid and a pack of matches. "All right, Liz, this is your show now. Where do we need to put these oxygen canisters?"

" _Let me show you,"_ Liz replied. For the next several minutes, she proceeded to guide the family around to different parts of the facility where vital machinery and building systems had been set up by Afton Robotics so many years ago. At each location, the ghosts set up two oxygen canisters and doused the machinery in lighter fluid while Mike stayed a large distance away with a small guard, minimizing the chances that he could be connected to the fire that was about to happen. Of course, one of the first and biggest priorities for them was the Scooping Room. Liz insisted on being the one to take care of the Scooper itself, and she did so by pouring two entire bottles of lighter fluid onto the scooper itself and the reservoir of Remnant. Perhaps it was a bit excessive, but it was better to more thoroughly deal with the danger that they _knew_ existed rather than one that _might_ exist.

" _Good work, Liz!"_ Susie declared once she had come back from the Scooping Room. _"Looks like we've set everything up!"_

"All right, now just to make sure…can any one of you smell lighter fluid or anything strange on me?" Mike asked.

The ghosts floated around and started sniffing experimentally on Mike's clothes. _"Nothing,"_ they reported after several seconds of this.

"Great, time for the final stage. It's for me to leave, and to get myself FAR away from here before this shithole goes Ka-Boom. In fact, the most ideal place for me to be in when you set everything on fire is in a place with people, so that if by some bizarre circumstance I'm somehow connected to blowing this place up, I'll have plenty of people around to confirm that I was somewhere else."

" _Got it,"_ Jeremy agreed. _"So…how many of us should get out with you and how many of should stay down here to set this place on fire?"_

Mike opened his mouth to speak, but to his surprise Charlie interrupted. _"It…should be…as…few…of you…here…as…possible,"_ she coughed out.

" _What?"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"Why?"_

" _Fire…it is…a terrible…thing…"_ she explained, her breath barely above a whisper. _"I…have seen it…I…have…remembered it. Even though…I could…get to safety…I still…remember…the sheer…terror…the raw…heat…burning…at me. For days…after…I had…nightmares…about it…even in…dad's care. You…do not…want…to be…here…when the burning…begins. The only reason…why…I am staying…is because…being in a crippled…broken…body…terrifies me…more…"_

" _You guys should all go,"_ Liz agreed quietly. _"I'll stay here. I'll light each of the fires myself."_

Fritz's face twitched a bit. _"I kind of want to burn this place to the ground though…"_ he admitted. _"Just as a final fuck you to William Afton."_

" _Fritz…I know how you feel, I really do,"_ Gabe countered. _"But this place means a lot more to Liz than it does to us. She's the one who's been tortured here for God knows how long. She deserves to destroy it more than anyone here."_

Fritz opened his mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it. _"Yeah…I guess you're right,"_ he conceded. _"So let's get Dad to safety so Liz can finally burn this shithole to the ground."_

The ghosts all made varying noises of agreement as they returned through the vent leading to the Primary Control Module. Mike went over the plan one final time, giving Liz a pack of matches to light the fires. Then he and the ghosts of the Missing Children Incident departed from the building. Liz and Charlie waited several minutes in tense silence as they waited for Mike's signal that he was safe and far away from harm. Then, after fifteen minutes, they heard Mike's voice in their heads, weaker than it would normally be from a close distance but still clearly audible.

"All right, I'm at a diner," Mike informed them telepathically. "I'm making a point to have a casual conversation with some of the employees so that they remember that I was here. The rest of the family's here with me. You're good to go, Liz."

Charlie breathed a weak sigh of relief. _"We…can…finally…begin. Get…to…work…Liz…"_

" _Are you going to be all right waiting for me here alone?"_ Liz asked, her eyes and voice filled with concern and worry.

" _I'll…be…fine…I'm…going…to…burn…anyway…"_ Charlie assured her. _"I…will…feel…more…at…ease…once…the Remnant…burns…"_

" _Then I'll get this over with as soon as possible,"_ Liz promised. She turned around and ventured into the vent leading back to the Funtime Auditorium, disappearing from Charlie's sight. She would normally have just floated through the walls, but carrying a physical object necessitated her to travel through the open space of the vent. Once she was back in the Auditorium, she made her way over to the Scooping Room, where the broken Scooper and Reservoir filled with Remnant were waiting.

" _You caused so much pain, William Afton,"_ she thought, her eyes hardening and flashing with hatred and betrayal. _"To them, to me, to Mikey and Eric. This Remnant…it was the reason why our torments didn't end even after our deaths. You're burning in Hell now, right where you belong. And now I'm going to destroy what's left of your tainted legacy."_

Concentrating with her mind, she manipulated one of the matches to strike the lighter on the pack. The tip of the match burst into flame, and Liz dropped the match straight onto the Scooper. The lighter fluid covering the mechanical claw burst into flames, and even as they hungrily ate at the Remnant inside of the Scooper Liz moved on to the reservoir. When she dropped a second match into the reservoir tank, the reaction was even more violent than the first one, and a blast of flame erupted out of the tank as all the material inside it was set ablaze.

Smiling with satisfaction, Liz departed from the Scooping Room as the flames did their work. She moved on to the Funtime Auditorium which had an arson setup next to the stage where Funtime Freddy and Foxy had used to work. _"There was a time when I hated you for ejecting me from Ennard, Funtime Freddy,"_ she thought as she regarded the empty stage. _"And maybe you never really truly saw me as a friend. I thought I was your savior, and I hated you for betraying me. But now I know better. I know that it was just as much my fault as it was yours. The rot…the rot was growing in me, and I couldn't see it for what it was. Maybe it was growing in all of us, I can't tell for sure. The best I can do now is to burn the traces of our shared torment to nothing but ash…for all of our sakes."_ She carefully opened the oxygen tanks, letting the gas escape from the two of them. Then, she tossed the lit match onto the setup and quickly backed away from it at the same time.

It was lucky that she did so, for the results were far more violent than she had anticipated. Instead of simply burning quickly like the Scooper had done, the machinery began to outright explode, in no small part thanks to the oxygen gas that was making the entire area more combustible than it would have been otherwise. Even though she was impervious to extreme temperatures as a ghost, Liz could feel the heat even after backing, and seeing a second explosion from the machinery after the first made it clear that the flames would only grow stronger as time passed. Quickly retreating, she made her back way through the Funtime Auditorium, passing by Charlie as she did so. With little time to waste, Liz didn't do anything but give a quick nod to Charlie to show her sister that the flames had already begun. She made her way over to Ballora's Gallery next, which was just as empty as the Funtime Gallery, not even any Minireenas around. _"I'm sorry I forced you into following my plan, Ballora,"_ Liz thought as she lit her match. _"I should have taken your warnings more seriously. You knew our plan would fail, and I should have listened. If you still exist in some form in the afterlife, I hope you're in a better place. If not, I'm glad that at least your suffering has ended."_ She tossed the match onto the arson setup, and was met with the same results as the Funtime Gallery.

There was only one place left to go. She quickly left the gallery and made her way to one last location, the gallery where she had once stood as Circus Baby. It was just as empty as the other two galleries, no Bidybabs in sight. Not surprising, considering that by now they almost certainly feared her rage after the destruction of their electric counterpart. _"So many years ago…"_ she thought wistfully, _"I loved Baby more than anything else, and even after everything that's happened to me, a small part of me still does. I barely remember anything about the time when I was alive anymore, but I think…there was a time when I always wanted to be Baby. I wanted to sing and provide laughter to children the way she did."_ She shook her head and couldn't hide a trace of bitterness in her voice. _"I guess I got my wish in the worst way possible,"_ she muttered. Then, the unpleasant feelings faded. _"I have a new dream now. One that I understand more than I ever did my old one. But I can't truly follow it while the past is holding me back. So now it's time that I put that past behind me, once and for all."_

She dropped the match onto the arson setup next to her old gallery, watching as the exhibit burst into flames like all the others. It was done. With the Scooper and all three galleries set aflame, with the machinery in the soulless halls exploding in the distance, the total destruction of CBEAR and the legacy of William Afton's twisted experiments was all but assured.

Now there was only one thing left to do.

Liz turned her back onto the gallery that had once been her home, returning through the vent to the Primary Control Module where Charlie was waiting. To her surprise, she could see Bonnet on the ground, crawling next to Charlie.

A red haze of rage descended upon Liz as she prepared to brutally punish the puppet that would dare to attack her sister after she had shown mercy the first time. But before she could descend and demolish Bonnet like she had destroyed ElectroBab, she heard Charlie's voice cut through her anger.

" _Stop…Liz…"_ Charlie tried to calm her. _"Bonnet…is not trying…to attack me…"_

" _Then what is she doing here?"_ Liz gritted through her fangs, forcing herself to calm down.

" _She wants…mercy…"_ Charlie explained. _"She doesn't…want…this life…and she doesn't…want…to die…here. She saw…the flames…and she came…here…I can tell…even without speaking…that she is begging…me…for mercy…"_

" _And why should I give it to her?"_ Liz challenged. The pink bunny puppet turned around to face her, and Liz's hard expression faltered slightly when she saw the pleading, scared look in her eyes. A look that she had seen on her own face when she had first awakened in Baby and realized that she had been trapped in her favorite animatronic.

" _Maybe…dad…or Melody…can…reprogram…her…make…her…harmless…or even…useful…"_ Charlie suggested, breaking into a coughing fit before continuing. _"But…it…is up…to you. Choose…quickly…you have…very…little…time…"_

An orange glow emanating from the depths of one of the vents emphasized her words. Liz looked at the puppet again, wondering she had the cruelty in her to abandon Bonnet to her fate. It only took her a second to recognize that no…she didn't. Not after joining Mike and her new family.

But that didn't mean she was going to be careless or foolish, either. _"If I agree to save you from here,"_ Liz stared hard into Bonnet's eyes, _"then I turn you off. Right here and now. I'm not going to let you be a threat to my dad. Either you accept that, or I leave you here to die. Make your choice."_

The pink bunny puppet perked up instantly and nodded frantically, happily agreeing to Liz's terms. Liz nodded her acceptance and picked up Bonnet, opening a panel on the back of the puppet's head and hitting the power switch inside it. Immediately, Bonnet went limp, the light fading from her eyes.

" _Do you mind wearing her?"_ Liz asked Charlie.

" _I don't…but…how does…that help?"_ Charlie asked, confused. _"I'm going…to burn…here…remember?"_

" _No…"_ Liz shook her head. _"No, you're not. Because I'm going to get you out of here."_

Charlie's eyelights flickered in shock. _"But…the plan…"_

" _Think, sis…"_ Liz stared straight into the Marionette's eyes. _"The Marionette was one of your dad's first inventions, one of his first gifts to you. Do you really want it to be destroyed like this? Do you really want it to be burned in a hellhole of torment made by his own worst enemy?"_

"…"

" _And it's not just that,"_ the girl continued before Charlie had a chance to speak. _"I don't really know what you and dad talked about before I came here, but it sounds like you wanted to save the destruction of the Puppet for a particular time. And if that's true, then trust me when I say that you DO NOT want this. You don't want to spend the Marionette's last moments alone, not when you have an entire family with you."_

" _How…are you…so certain?"_ Charlie asked in wonder.

The intensity in Liz's gaze nearly caused her to shudder. _"Because that's what happened to me,"_ Liz answered forcefully. _"In that trap pizzeria, while I screamed and clawed at the walls as the flames consumed me, my brothers were only a few rooms away. Both of them. Mikey spent his last moments on Earth together with my younger brother, at peace with himself and with family at his side, while I spent my final moments alone and with nobody and nothing to comfort me as I died. And I can't let a family member go through the same thing, not while I can do something about it."_

" _Lizzy…"_ Charlie was completely surprised by her sister's revelation. _"I…didn't…know…I'm…sorry…"_

Liz's gaze softened. _"Don't be, Charlie. Actions have consequences, and I could have suffered worse than dying alone in that place."_ An explosion interrupted her thoughts, this one closer than the other ones had been. An orange glow was emanating from all three events, the flames brighter and closer than they had been before. _"I know about the picture of the two of us, Charlie."_

Charlie's eyes flashed even more brightly in shock. _"You…do…?"_ she gasped.

" _I do…"_ Liz confirmed, _"and I know why you and dad hid it from me. There was no point in showing it to me, not when the only thing it would do is cause painful memories. We were friends once, but we're family now. I've failed everyone in the past in some way, even you. I should've noticed that you were missing the day that you died. Maybe if I had seen where you had gone, I could have saved you and stopped dad from killing you before it was too late."_

" _That's…not…your…fault…"_ Charlie protested.

" _It doesn't make me feel any less guilty about it, though,"_ Liz countered. _"I failed my brother when I betrayed him all those years ago. And I failed you as a friend when I allowed you to die."_ She stared straight into Charlie's eyes again, and the girl inside the Puppet could see a fiery determination and resolve in Scrap Baby's eyes that she had never seen in her before. _"But I won't fail you as a sister."_

Another explosion rocked the area around them, and this time flames outright billowed from the passageways leading to Funtime Auditorium and Ballora's Gallery. _"We have to hurry,"_ Liz declared. _"I hope this doesn't end up hurting you."_ She concentrated all her energy on lifting the Puppet's body, while Charlie used the last of her strength to carry the deactivated Bonnet with them. Liz pulled Charlie's body through the last safe passage, the vent passageway leading back to the entrance of Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. Once they were through, Liz ignored the elevator and instead sped towards the emergency exit. As fast as possible, she flew up the circular flight of stairs, all the while making sure that she didn't accidentally drop Charlie and abandon her to a fiery death in the doomed facility. She didn't stop until she passed through the antechamber of CBEAR and pushed the front door open, letting all three of them open into the starry night sky. As the earth underneath them began to quake, and the sound of rumbling grew louder, Liz barely had enough time to carry Charlie over several feet away from the building and to an empty field where she thought they would probably be safe.

And not a moment too soon.

With a deafening roar, Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental exploded, shooting a massive fireball into the air that illuminated the night sky. The explosion itself billowed outward, covering an entire area several feet around it in a storm of flame and smoke. Even through the column of smoke, both sisters could tell that there would be nothing left of the Circus Baby franchise, Remnant, or anything related to William Afton's black legacy. Nothing except for a small pink bunny puppet that lay on the ground next to them, deactivated and lifeless. It was finally done.

Liz finally shifted back to her human form and lay on the ground next to Charlie, whose animatronic body was sprawled on the ground. Neither of them said anything for several seconds, instead watching the ruin of Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. The metal frame of the building, weakened by the massive damage to its underground infrastructure, began to collapse in on itself, and the two sisters couldn't help but wonder just what the remains would look like when the smoke finally cleared.

" _Uh, guys?"_ Jeremy's voice unexpectedly cut through their minds. _"You all right? We haven't heard from you in a while."_

"Talking to the barman is nice and all, but I can't help but worry about you two. Are you all right?" Mike's voice added.

" _We're fine, dad,"_ Liz assured them. _"But there's been some slight changes in plans. We'll need you to pick us up somewhere other than her."_

"Uh…okay…not sure why, but let me think about a safe place for me to do that."

" _Thanks. I'll explain everything later,"_ Liz promised. Then, she cut the connection.

" _Won't…they…be…surprised…when…they…find…me…here,"_ Charlie commented dryly, her broken body not enough to break her wit.

" _Eh, they'll understand,"_ Liz brushed it off. Then, both sisters began to laugh. Laughter filled with not just humor, but also of relief and joy. They laughed with the realization that while what they once had in life might be gone, they had created something new from the ashes of CBEAR.

And neither of them would have it any other way.

/

A/N: Whoo, this was quite the intense chapter. I wonder how many of you expected things to turn out the way they did, what with the ruination of the Marionette's physical body and all. Not to mention Liz's inner thoughts about her past life as Circus Baby and the bonding moments between Charlie and Liz. I would greatly appreciate any feedback you guys can give me on this one, especially since we're so close to 400 reviews.

Of course, the Marionette's body may be broken, but it hasn't been _destroyed_. That is something that will be taken care of next chapter. Because I just can't leave Charlie alone in a broken, lifeless body incapable of any physical movement for long.

I've gotten quite a few reviews on the fate of the small animatronics in CBEAR. I decided to spare Bonnet and ONLY Bonnet. Because let's be real, after ruining the Marionette, there was absolutely NO way that Liz was going to spare Electrobab, and it's unlikely that she would spare the regular Bidybabs or even the Minireenas after the shit that Electrobab pulled. I imagine that all of them except Bonnet were too scared to come out after Liz's show of rage, which ironically meant they were dooming themselves to a fiery death.

Speaking of Electrobab, it's meant to be a "support" type in FNAF SL's Custom Night, but considering that it channels electricity through its body it could almost certainly kill someone via electrocution. Liz got to play the role of "protector" sooner than she expected, just not in the way that she expected (or wanted).

Anyways, that'll do for now. I know I've left Shadow Freddy's actions in the previous chapter unexplained, but I'll get to that in a few chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	51. Chapter 51 - Pyre for a Puppet

A/N: You guys might have noticed that my schedule has started to slip for the last two chapters. Yeah, that's med school ramping up the difficulty and brutality when it comes to exams and quizzes per week. So far I've been able to at least keep a schedule of one chapter per week, but because I have a ton of hard exams coming up next week the chance of me posting a chapter next week is very low.

A lot has happened in the last arc, but one question remains. What do we do with the broken Marionette? It's time we answered that question.

Olive: BonBon was one of the animatronics that got scooped in _Sister Location_ , so he's gone.

CirrusSeaEagle: Charlie was closely bonded with the Marionette due to being one with it for decades, which is why she felt the pain from Electrobab's attack. By contrast, Liz (and indeed any other ghost for that matter) has already been freed from an animatronic body, so she isn't affected by attacks that could harm a physical body like Charlie was.

Toonnette: I will probably have the Rockstars come out relatively soon. They're part of an important setup for a future arc that I have planned.

Jake: What do you mean? You can only see up to Chapter 34? That sounds like a problem on your end, sorry.

Chapter 51 – Pyre for a Puppet

Mike's jaw dropped when he saw Liz carrying the broken Marionette's body behind her to the rendezvous point they'd agreed on. "Hold on…I thought Charlie was going to burn herself in CBEAR when you blew it sky-high!"

" _Yeah,"_ Jeremy agreed. _"Didn't Charlie say she wanted to be burned rather than broken, or something like that?"_

" _I know,"_ Liz answered, _"but there's been a change of plans."_ She proceeded to tell the rest of her family what she'd told Charlie, how the Marionette deserved better than to burn alone in a monument of all of William Afton's sins. Although she omitted the more personal details that fueled her rationale (such as Mike and Eric's final bonding moment in the trap pizzeria or the picture of her and Charlie), the family was still thoroughly stunned and awed by the initiative she had taken for her sister.

" _So…yeah…"_ Charlie weakly giggled. _"I'm…still…around…"_

Mike grinned at Liz and ruffled her ghostly hair. "You did the right thing, Liz, and I'm very impressed." Liz would have normally beamed at the praise, but seeing Charlie's broken body sobered her instantly and she could only manage a faint smile in return. "I'm glad that Henry's biggest gift to Charlie didn't meet its end in William Afton's Funhouse of Fucked-up Shit." Then, his brow furrowed, and he frowned. "It's just that…"

" _I don't like the sound of that…"_ Gabe muttered.

"…it's just that I didn't have a plan for Charlie still being the Puppet after this," their father admitted. He looked around, "Also, we should get out of here. I know we're far enough from CBEAR not to be connected with the explosion, but people are going to ask questions if they see me talking to a puppet."

He got into the car as the ghosts helped spread the ruined Marionette's body on the backseat. _"Can you rebuild the Puppet?"_ Susie asked as Mike started driving.

"Unfortunately, there isn't even the slightest chance of that happening," Mike replied grimly. "The systems inside the Marionette's body are old as all hell. Believe me, I've checked. It's a miracle that the Puppet was able to last for decades as it is. Whatever that evil Pikachu knock-off did to Charlie completely fried everything beyond repair."

" _So what are we going to do?"_ Cassidy asked, clearly worried. _"I couldn't imagine what Charlie's going through right now."_

" _I'm…not…in…pain…I'm…just…completely…numb…"_ Charlie offered, trying to ease her family's concerns.

" _That's not much better,"_ Fritz bluntly interrupted.

"Well, the solution is simple enough in theory," Mike answered. "Burn the Puppet and set Charlie's soul free. The problem is _where_ I'm going to do this. I obviously can't do it at home, unless you want a spontaneous re-enactment of the burning of CBEAR with my house instead."

" _That…sounds…like…a…terrible…idea…"_ Charlie deadpanned, before letting out another weak cough.

"You need to stop talking and rest," Mike instructed with the full authority of a parent. "But yeah, I'd rather not. Luckily, there's another place that I think we can go to instead. One that hopefully won't have too many people around to see us burning a Puppet."

" _Where's that?"_ Fritz asked.

"A camp site near the mountains," Mike explained. "Hopefully we can snag a cabin for ourselves instead of having to use a tent. The place has a bunch of pits that we can safely burn the Marionette in without causing a massive fire."

" _So I guess this is technically our first vacation,"_ Cassidy realized.

Mike shook his head. "Vacation is when you want to just enjoy yourself and relax without the worries of the world bringing you down. What we're doing is…pretty much the exact opposite." As he turned around a corner onto an open road, the ghosts noticed that they had left the bulk of the town far behind. "Well, Jeremy, you should be happy. I know you've had an interesting in camping, and I did promise you guys to bring you out to nature to see the stars."

" _I didn't want it to happen like this, though,"_ Jeremy mumbled, giving a sad look at the broken body of his sister.

"Well, it won't be an issue for long, I can tell you that much," Mike promised as they drove onward. Most of the ride continued in silence, aside from one of the ghosts occasionally asking Charlie if she was all right. Eventually, as they approached the sand-colored mountains, Mike drove his van under a sign that marked the entrance to a camping ground. Though night had fallen, the ghosts could see the outline of the mountains under a starry night sky, a sight that would have filled them with wonder if they weren't so concerned about Charlie's state.

"Wait here," Mike instructed as he drove into the parking lot and got out of the car. The ghosts watched him head towards a large cabin that served as the administration building. After several minutes, they saw him come back with a faint smile on his face. "Well, we're in luck," he declared. "I managed to snag a cabin for us. It's a bit distant from the rest of the campgrounds but considering what we're trying to do that's actually better for us."

He got back into the car and drove towards the cabin he had rented. _"How many times have you been here before, dad?"_ Susie asked.

"Not many," Mike admitted. "Back when I was in college, some of my friends insisted on taking me out here. They insisted that I spent way too much time around machines and that I should take a break out to enjoy nature's wonders. I complained all the way there," he chuckled, "but after I went through with it I'm glad I did it. There's things you can see in nature that you won't find anywhere else."

" _Guess we'll have to wait until morning to see them,"_ Jeremy commented as the outline of a cabin came into view. Mike drove up to the cabin and got out of the car, holding a set of keys that the ranger had given him.

"Come on out, guys," he ordered. "I'm gonna need help preparing the fire pit."

The ghosts flew out of the car, carrying the Marionette between them. _"Let's put her on that chair over there,"_ Liz suggested, and they propped the animatronic onto the chair. To an outsider, Charlie looked as though she was merely resting instead of broken.

Mike, in the meantime, had found the fire pit. "Okay, since the whole point of our little fire is to burn something on it rather than keep it going through the night, I just need you guys to stack a few branches and logs so that we can safely lay the Puppet's body on it. Then we just need to pour some lighter fluid on it and the flames will take care of the rest."

Despite everything, Fritz couldn't resist a small chuckle. _"Man, lighter fluid is really the MVP of the night, isn't it?"_ he asked.

" _I guess you could look at it that way,"_ Gabe replied as he and the rest of the ghosts got to work picking up various branches and logs and stacking them inside the fire pit. After a few minutes, they had enough of a framework built up to place the Marionette's body on. Mike picked up Charlie and placed her on the makeshift pyre himself.

"You ready?" he asked her.

" _As…ready…as…I'll…ever…be…"_ Charlie coughed out. _"Let's…finish…this…quickly…"_

Mike nodded and opened the bottle of lighter fluid he had found outside the cabin. He poured the lighter fluid on the Marionette, covering as much of the animatronic as possible without risking a fire hazard. Then, taking a deep breath, he lit a match, dropped it onto the pyre, and stepped back.

The pyre instantly burst into flames, the lighter fluid allowing it to engulf the Marionette completely. Everyone tensed, fearing that they were going to hear Charlie scream in agony just like she had when Electrobab had attacked her. But instead, Charlie simply let out a long final breath, more akin to a sigh of relief than anything else.

Their worst fears allayed, Mike and the ghost kids watched in silence as the Marionette burned on the pyre they had made for her. The ghosts' minds went back to the moment when they had first met the Marionette, and how she had given them all the gift of life with her magic. Even though that gift had led to terrible consequences that they all dearly regretted, they couldn't help but feel grateful that she had tried her hardest to alleviate the suffering of their souls.

" _You'll soon be free,"_ Cassidy murmured as she watched the flames eat away at her friend.

" _It's almost time,"_ Susie added quietly as she watched the Puppet's white mask char and blacken.

" _We're here for you,"_ Gabe finished. _"It'll all be over soon."_

Charlie let out another contented sigh. _"Liz was right,"_ she thought as the flames rose around her and she felt the bonds connecting her to the Puppet begin to break. _"This is so much better than burning alone in Circus Baby's. I don't think there could be a more beautiful way to be free and join my family."_

For several minutes, Mike and the other ghosts watched in silence. Then, Mike noticed a small, ghostly hand rise out of the flames. The other children saw it too and immediately began to whisper amongst themselves. _"Charlie?"_ Jeremy was the first who dared to ask. _"Is that…is that you?"_

The specter stirred faster in response to the question, and everyone watched as the figure of a young girl emerged from the remains. Before anyone could process what they were seeing, the girl tried to levitate from the pyre, only to stumble out of the air. Gabe acted quickly, catching Charlie before she could fall through the ground.

" _Thanks,"_ Charlie breathed as she steadied herself by holding on Gabe's shoulders. _"God, it's been decades since I've been a regular ghost like the rest of you. I've forgotten what it's like to move around without a physical body."_

" _Took us a bit too,"_ Fritz assured her as the family crowded around her. _"You'll get used to it eventually."_

"Let me take a look at you to make sure you're all right," Mike offered. Gabe handed her over to Mike, who was able to "hold" her thanks to his supernatural attunement. To his immense relief, there didn't seem to be any injuries or wounds on Charlie's spirit from either Electrobab's attack or the burning of the Marionette.

With their worries alleviated, Mike and the rest of the family could now take the time to marvel at just how _different_ Charlie's appearance was from what they had expected. The kids had always looked to Charlie as a leader and guide, and Mike himself knew how much the girl had matured mentally compared to the rest of them with greater responsibility being forced on her shoulders. As a result, everyone was completely stunned by how _young_ Charlie was as a ghost. The spectral figure couldn't be any older than 5, a young girl with long brown hair that extended down her shoulders. The hair matched perfectly with her eyes, which twinkled with kindness and compassion but were also shadowed with maturity born from decades of hardship and responsibility.

As for her clothes, Charlie was wearing a small purple T-shirt with a green sweater over it, along with a pair of blue jeans to cover her legs. Mike was privately impressed that Charlie had had the foresight to materialize clothes over her ghostly figure before departing from the Puppet's body, and Liz couldn't help but marvel at how similar Charlie's clothes were to the first set of clothes she had chosen from herself in their first shopping trip.

"So this is what you really look like…" Mike marveled. "I know I saw a picture of you back at your old house, but this is still blowing my mind…"

Charlie giggled, and Mike was amazed at how refreshing it was to hear her normal voice instead of the strangled whisper. _"I guess I'm still a kid at heart. But it's me, dad. This is who I really am_." Mike let go of her and she stayed in the air, occasionally balancing herself from a lingering unsteadiness.

" _How do you feel?"_ Liz asked as she floated up to her sister.

Charlie smiled at her. _"I feel…free…"_ she answered after several seconds of thought. _"I can feel the breeze flowing through my soul. I can feel the gentle coolness of a spring night. I feel like this is the kind of existence I was meant to have, no longer bound by any physical limitations. It just feels so…so…natural…"_

Jeremy grinned. _"Welcome to the club, Charlie!"_

Before she could say or do anything, the other ghosts swarmed around her, wrapping her in a tight group hug. _"Ack!"_ Charlie exclaimed as they buried her in their embrace. _"This feels so weird without being in the Puppet!"_ Mike chuckled with amusement and was about to make a dry comment, when the fire suddenly crackled and shot out sparks, drawing their attention.

"Oh, right…" Mike muttered, his smile fading. "The Marionette's still burning. Under most circumstances, I would have asked Charlie to say a few final words for the Puppet since it was something special for her and a gift for her dad, but with how badly it got damaged I didn't want to waste any time setting her free from it. But now that Charlie's safely out…do you have anything you want to say?"

" _I do,"_ Charlie affirmed as the ghosts slowly broke their hug. They separated and returned to a respectful distance as Charlie approached the pyre. By now, most of the Puppet's body had been fully destroyed by the flames, and its mask had fallen to the ground, blackened with ash. Charlie reached down and picked it up, her enhanced magical capabilities compensating for her lack of experience with interacting with physical objects as a ghost. _"Marionette…you were always my favorite animatronic."_ she murmured. _"Other people thought you were creepy and weird, but even back before all this mess started I knew there was more to you than most people could see. The night I died, when those kids locked me out in the rain…"_

" _THEY DID WHAT?"_ Fritz exclaimed, outraged. The rest of the family except for Charlie gave him dirty looks and he immediately felt a wave of embarrassment. _"Sorry…"_ he apologized.

Charlie smiled at him. _"No, don't be. I'm glad you care, Fritz."_ She sighed. _"But…that night…with Dad called away to a meeting with his board, the Puppet was the only one who looked out for me. He tried to rescue me from the cold and the dark, and he held me in his arms as I lay dying from the wounds William Afton inflicted on me."_ She looked down at the blackened mask. _"You were my closest friend in the darkest hour of my life, and even if I didn't intend to, I am truly honored to wear your body as my own."_

Charlie brought the mask to her chest and held it to her. _"But all good things come to an end, as they always do. Necessity has demanded we part ways, and even though I'll always be grateful to you I know that it's for the best. Good bye, my friend."_ She closed her eyes. _"If you exist in the world beyond, I hope that you finally have peace."_

She placed the mask at the bottom of the pyre and backed away from it, joining her family in their vigil as they watched the final destruction of the Marionette begin. Nobody said a word as the fire reduced one of the oldest relics of the Freddy Fazbear franchise to a pile of ash.

" _It is done,"_ Charlie bowed her head. The other ghosts took this as the sign to end their silent vigil and they began pouring water onto the pyre from buckets that Mike had prepared in case the fire spiraled out of control. When the fires had died completely, Charlie picked up the Puppet's mask and held it to her chest as the family retired to the inside of the cabin.

"I'll find a place to put the Puppet's mask when we get home," Mike assured her as he sat at the wooden table. "I'm sure we'll find a place."

" _Thanks, dad,"_ Charlie replied as she put the mask on the table in front of her.

"Not sure what we're going to do with the music box now that the Marionette is gone, but I guess that's a bridge we'll cross when…"

"… _Charlie?"_ Susie's timid voice interrupted. _"Can I ask you a question?"_

" _Whatever you need, Cass."_

" _I've…noticed something a bit weird. You didn't seem all that surprised about having to burn the Puppet. Actually, I'd almost say you were expecting this to happen. And I don't understand why. Was this something you had planned before we came here?"_ Susie asked.

" _Very perceptive of you, Sus,"_ Charlie smiled faintly as memories of past discussions flew through her mind. _"I wouldn't say that we PLANNED to burn the Puppet, exactly. But yeah, we HAVE talked about this before."_

"We knew that Charlie was bound to the Puppet, and that burning him would free her since that was how it worked for all the other animatronics," Mike continued. "We just didn't know why, though that wasn't really a detail that mattered. It's easy to forget, but the Marionette was technically a prison just as much as it was a physical body for Charlie. To be honest, I never really liked the idea of Charlie still being forced to live as the Puppet for as long as she did."

" _Dad offered to take me out here and set me free whenever I wanted to. And many times, I was tempted to,"_ Charlie admitted. _"So many times I wanted to just burn the Marionette on a pyre like we did just now and burn my last direct connection to the physical world. And when you guys came, I only felt that temptation even more."_

" _Why, though?"_ Jeremy asked, confused.

" _Because I felt like I was holding you guys back,"_ Charlie explained. The ghosts immediately began to protest the idea, but she raised her hand to quiet them. _"You guys can hide yourselves from the outside world. I can't. The reason why dad has been waiting so long to start our family vacations is because I couldn't enjoy them without exposing myself to the rest of the world. I even asked dad a few times to just take you guys out on vacation and leave me behind to take care of the house…"_

"…which I shot down every single time," Mike interrupted, "…because barring a few specific exceptions, we either do everything together as a complete family or not at all."

" _It would have been so easy to end that problem by burning the Marionette earlier than we did tonight. But every time I felt the urge to give in, something stopped me."_

" _What was it?"_ Liz asked. She would never really know what Charlie's life with Mike was life before the rest of them had come, but with all the terrible things she had been through as baby it sounded like an offer that she would have jumped at the first chance she had.

" _A couple of things, actually,"_ Charlie explained. _"Sentimentality was one of the biggest reasons. Yeah, the Puppet might have technically been a prison, but it was who I had become, and once upon a time, it was my friend. It just didn't feel right for me to throw that all away, it'd feel like I'd be spitting on everything my first dad did for me."_

" _I'm sure he would have understood,"_ Cassidy assured her.

Charlie sighed. _"I know he did, but there was always this feeling I had that if I destroyed the Puppet for no good reason, one day I would greatly regret it. And that possibility scared me enough to resist that temptation. And that's where my second reason comes in."_ She took a deep breath. _"I always had this instinct that one day I would need the Puppet for something incredibly important."_

The ghosts' eyes widened. _"You knew you'd have to sacrifice it for dad this whole time?"_ Jeremy exclaimed.

" _What?"_ Charlie spluttered. _"Oh God, no, I can't foresee or predict the future! If I could, then I would have sought out Liz and found her first before William did. Not to mention the fact that taking care of him afterwards would have been laughably easy."_ She shook her head. _"No, nothing specific like that. It was simply a gut feeling, but it was one that always lurked in the back of my mind."_

"Gut feelings are worth a lot more than people give them credit for," Mike added. "If I didn't pay attention to them back when I was a kid I don't think I would've lived past my teens."

" _And it was a gut feeling that saved you tonight,"_ Charlie kissed her dad lightly on the cheek. _"I finally understand why it was so important for me to keep the Marionette alive as long as possible. I…I don't want to think about what would've happened down there if I hadn't…"_

"…then don't," Mike gently but firmly interrupted. "Like I told you before, Charlie. Keep yourself grounded in truth and reality."

"… _I know,"_ Charlie wiped her eye once before continuing. _"And I'm so, so happy that I made the decision that I did. With how much my first dad respects you, I don't think he could have asked for a better way for the Marionette to meet his end: as the ultimate sacrifice to save my new dad's life."_

" _Amen to that,"_ Gabe declared, and the rest of the ghosts followed suit.

" _Still…"_ Charlie looked down at the Marionette's mask. _"I can't help but feel sad knowing that my oldest friend is…gone. With no way to bring him back."_

Liz went up to her sister and hugged her. _"It'll be all right, Charlie,"_ she promised, to which Charlie affectionately stroked her hair.

"Absolutely," Mike agreed. "One of the best ways to get through bleak moments like this is to look for a bright side. Every cloud has a silver lining, as the saying goes. And in this case, I can think of a very, VERY big upside to freeing Charlie from the Puppet. She's no longer bound to a physical form anymore, and after a bit of practice I think she'll be able to catch up with the rest of you in terms of keeping herself hidden, especially with her magic capabilities. Which means…"

Gabe's eyes widened with realization. _"We'll be able to go on vacations soon!"_

Mike grinned. "Got it in one, Gabe."

The ghosts began to chatter excitedly, but their father raised his hand to calm them down. "Hold up. I know you guys are excited, but this is still a somber moment. Let's give the Marionette the respect he deserves." He yawned. "Besides, it's past midnight. Way too late to be talking about this. I'll check the pyre to make sure we doused it properly and then we'll go to bed."

" _That sounds good to me,"_ Liz yawned. _"I'm tired too. It's been a long day."_

" _I have to say,"_ Fritz looked over at Charlie as the ghosts began to separate and Mike got up from the table to make sure the pyre was properly put out. _"I always saw you as the older sister for all of us. And I didn't expect you to look like this! You're tiny!"_

Charlie's eyes narrowed as everyone immediately stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, Mike could see Liz, Gabe, and Jeremy smack their faces with their hands. _"You're tiny,"_ she repeated with a dangerous tone in her voice. _"You're tiny? My soul is finally free after decades of living as a physical animatronic, the only thing I remember about what I originally looked like is from a picture that's just as old, and the FIRST thing you say to me is YOU'RE TINY?"_

Fritz knew immediately that he'd fucked up massively. _"Oh, shi…"_ he didn't even have time to finish his thought as Charlie whacked him on the head with her tiny fists. _"Ack, I'm sorry!"_ Fritz feebly apologized as she proceeded to chase him around the room, the rest of the ghosts collapsing into laughter at the sight of an older boy fleeing scared shitless from a little girl. _"I'm sorry! I'm an idiot! And I have the social grace of a low IQ baboon!"_

" _Damn right you do!"_ Charlie declared as she leaped onto Fritz's back, forcing him to give her an impromptu piggyback ride. Mike didn't know how piggyback rides would even work for ghosts, but he was laughing too hard to care.

"She'll be fine," he thought as Charlie finally let go of Fritz and both joined their siblings in laughing at the absurdity of it all. Even though he had kept silent about it, part of him had been worried that the destruction of the Marionette would end up crippling her mental state – having dealt with both Liz's depression and his own, Mike knew how unpredictable and dangerous it could be. But he had forgotten just how strong Charlie was despite her youthful appearance and seeing the antics in front of him was a reminder he would happily accept. "I'm so proud of her. No…I'm so proud of them all."

/

A/N: Geez, Fritz, you just keep finding ways to piss off your sisters XD. Ironically enough, I always thought that Foxy would fit the "lady's man" archetype the most out of the original four. Not really much of a lady's man if you annoy every girl you meet though :P

I've always imagined that Charlie's appearance looked like a younger version of her book counterpart, so that's why they're so similar. There's plenty of drawings and pictures of teen Charlie on Google (including those by Scott himself), so just find one and imagine her as a little girl to get a good bearing of what she looks like here.

On a more serious note, I wanted to give the Marionette a proper and respectful send-off. And I think the way the I handled it here was much more appropriate and heartwarming than simply leaving the Marionette to burn in the CBEAR explosion, which was my original plan until inspiration convinced me to change my plans a day or two before I started writing this arc.

Having spent a lot of time on FNAF Reddit and learned a lot about things I didn't know beforehand (Cassidy's name was one of these, for example), I've looked back at some of my earlier chapters and realized that I might have gotten some of the timeline details wrong. There have also been times when I have looked back and found out that things might work out better for a future arc if I "rearrange" some of the history I had previously established. Because of this, I may decide to go back to earlier chapters and rewrite some parts of them. None of these retcons will change anything in the present day or alter anything fundamental – for example, Cassidy will always be the Golden Freddy ghost. If I do go back and change things, be assured that it will be because I genuinely believe it is for the betterment of the story.

Anyways, I hope you're content with the Marionette's funeral. I think the next significant development will either be the introduction of the Rockstars or the family's first ACTUAL vacation. Which one do you want first, and if it's the latter, which place should they go to? Please let me know in the reviews section 😊


	52. Chapter 52 - Setting the Stage

A/N: It seems that vacation is overwhelmingly the most popular choice, and I am not one to go against the crowd. I will be introducing the Rockstars afterwards, as they will be important for the sake of humor and for…more serious matters.

I don't really consider the trip out to the cabin a vacation. A vacation is supposed to be a liberation from duties and responsibilities, the exact opposite of the family's purpose in going there that night. Not to mention the fact that Mike didn't really bring anything for a camping trip. He might do a proper one later on, but I'm not really going to go into what they did over there since they were focused entirely on burning the Puppet with little preparation for anything else.

A lot of you guys wanted the kids to go to places all over the world, but with what I have established from Mike's character, I think that he would want to go to a place relatively close to where he lives first, as he is very cautious by nature and would want to make sure a vacation to someplace nearby would work smoothly before he attempts something more ambitious (requiring a plane and whatnot).

I need a bit of time to prepare the arc (and I'm exhausted from both the last arc and all the med school exams I got slammed with), so I'm going to do something that's kinda like a Random Family Moments in the meantime. This one actually has more plot relevance than chapters of this nature normally do, though.

Blade: Mike's last name is whatever you want it to be. As far as he's concerned, Schmidt is his last name.

Chapter 52 – Setting the Stage

Police Business

"Good to see you, Mike," the police chief greeted him as he sat down at the table. "Thanks for coming down."

Mike shrugged. "No problem, John," he replied. "What can I help you with?"

Ever since the explosion at CBEAR, the police had been going around asking anybody who had been relatively near the now-destroyed facility for any information. To Mike's annoyance, an off-duty police officer had recognized him and put his name up for casual interrogation.

"Still," he thought, "I'd rather have this compared to how utterly fucking useless the police were back in the 80s and 90s." The sheer, abysmal incompetence of the police when it came to Freddy's – for both the murdered children and the night guards – was something that flabbergasted him to this day. A police force that went above and beyond to investigate or carry out justice was a godsend in comparison…

…even if that meant slogging through the waste of time that would be the next few minutes.

"I'm pretty sure you didn't have anything to do with CBEAR's explosion, so let's just get straight to the point," John continued. "You were at a diner nearby when the building exploded, right?"

"Yep," Mike confirmed smoothly. He had practiced his alibi in preparation for this, and even if he hadn't, there were numerous witnesses who could confirm his presence there. "Can even tell you what I had. Pancakes, home fries, sausage, everything you need for a breakfast at dinnertime."

John's lips twitched. "You're making me hungry, Mike," he complained. "I don't suppose you saw anything suspicious? Any lone vans or trucks going to the facility before it was destroyed that looked like they could be carrying explosives or something?"

Mike shook his head. "Didn't see a thing, John."

The chief sighed. "Figured as much. It's not like we found anything there anyway. The explosion was so big it blew up any evidence that we could find. I'm still thinking that multiple people were involved, considering that there were multiple places where fires were started from what we could tell. There's no way in Hell a single person could have set all those fires at once and made it out alive, and we didn't find evidence of anybody still in the building when it blew up."

"Sounds like whoever it was covered their tracks well," Mike commented.

John snorted. "No kidding. I'm tempted to just close the investigation anyway. Afton Robotics – that's the owner of the building, by the way – they closed down and never sold the facility, so I honestly don't think anybody actually gives a shit about what happened to CBEAR." He sighed. "I just hope that no other buildings get blown up like that."

"Did they leave a calling card or anything? A threat of some kind?" Mike asked, slipping on the mask of a concerned citizen.

John shook his head. "Nah, nothing like that. Everything points to this just being an isolated event, which I'm hoping it is." He wrote something in the file in front of him and snapped it shut. "Well, that's all I have for you, Mike. You're clear."

Mike smiled. "Thanks, John." He got up from his chair, then suddenly stopped. "Hey, do you remember what I showed you a couple of months back?"

The good humor slipped from John's face. "Yeah," he grimaced. "That was one of the most disgusting and horrifying things I've ever seen. Whoever killed those kids was a seriously sick fuck…and if you ask me, the company's not much better for trying to sweep it all under the rug. I still have no idea how you even found them to begin with!"

Mike shook his head. "It'd be way too complicated for me to tell you, John."

John sighed. "Well, I'm glad you found them, at least. We took the bodies out and brought them to the morgue. Considering when the MCI happened, it's way too late to give them a proper funeral. All we can do is bury them in a graveyard like they should have been from the start."

Mike leaned forward and looked John in the eye. "I'd like to handle the burials, John."

The police chief's eyes widened. "YOU want to take care of this?" he exclaimed incredulously.

Mike shrugged. "I have more money than I know what to do with. I might as well use it for something that actually matters."

"But…why?" John asked, still utterly baffled by Mike's offer. "I don't understand!"

"I was the one who found them," Mike answered, his face and eyes giving nothing away, "and I wouldn't feel right unless I followed through with taking care of those poor kids. And they matter a lot more to me than you could possibly know," he added in his head.

John looked uncertainly at Mike. It was normally the authorities' job to take care of things like burials and he had the sneaking suspicion that Mike was hiding something from him. But he had been friends with Mike for quite a long time by now and knew that he was a trustworthy and good person at heart.

Besides, he knew that his friend donated money to charities and special causes periodically. Maybe he just felt like contributing to society in a different way this time?

"All right, I'll see what I can do, Mike."

Mike grinned. "You don't have to worry about a thing, John. I'll take care of it for you." He got up from his chair again and held out his hand. "Good luck with the whole Circus Baby investigation thing."

John reached out and shook it. "Have a nice day, my friend."

Growth Spurt

" _Has anyone seen Charlie?"_ Cassidy poked her head in the living room. _"I wanted to ask her something."_

Gabe looked up from the _Percy Jackson_ book he was reading and shrugged. _"I couldn't tell you, Cass,"_ he replied. _"I've just been reading all morning."_

" _I haven't seen her either,"_ Jeremy added as he typed something on his laptop. _"Sorry."_

" _That's o…"_

BOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed throughout the house, causing Gabe to drop the book. _"What the crap?"_ he exclaimed.

" _Look over there!"_ Cassidy suddenly pointed. A blinding light was glowing from the entrance to the basement. Even as they watched, the glow was slowly starting to fade away.

" _I just heard an explosion!"_ Susie exclaimed as she and the other ghosts started floating into the room. _"What's going on?"_

" _It came from the basement,"_ Jeremy pointed downstairs. _"Whatever just happened, it's really big!"_

" _We have to go down and find out what's happened, but let's be careful,"_ Gabe shuddered. _"I hope it's not Nightmare again…"_

Fritz shook his head. _"Doubt it. Feel like it'd be a bit more shadowy and flame-y if it was Nightmare."_ He looked uncertainly at the door again. _"Still, guess it couldn't hurt to be careful…"_

As a group, the ghosts slowly floated down the stairs into the basement. Normally, they would have just simply gone through the floor, but without knowing what was going on down there they couldn't take the risk. Once they were at the last few steps, Liz followed to peek her head around, and…

" _WHAT THE HELL?"_ she exclaimed.

The basement was, to put it simply, a mess. Several pieces of furniture had been overturned, the TV had been outright destroyed with a giant hole in the screen, the picture hiding Mike's safe had fallen to the ground (though the picture itself was miraculously unblemished), and several of the alcohol bottles Mike had reserved for his friends in the past had toppled to the ground and shattered.

And in the middle of all the chaos was the ghost of a teenage girl, who looked exactly like an older version of the child that had been liberated from the Puppet.

" _Uh…sorry about that, guys…"_ Charlie had the grace to look sheepish.

/

"So let me see if I've gotten this down correctly," Mike said once he had finally taken in what had happened a few minutes later. "Ever since you were freed from the Puppet, you were having issues with doing your magic."

" _That's right,"_ Charlie agreed, _"and it was just so frustrating. It was like part of me was missing even though I knew it was still there. I wanted to practice without getting in the way of everyone else."_

" _So THAT'S why you kept going down into the basement,"_ Susie exclaimed.

Charlie nodded. _"Every time I practiced, I felt myself getting closer and closer to reaching my potential again. So I just decided to give it one final push right now."_

"…and shit hit the fan," Mike finished.

Charlie gave her dad a sheepish look. _"Yeah."_

Mike took a look around the destroyed basement. "Well, this is gonna be a massive pain in the ass to clean up," he commented dryly.

" _We'll take care of it,"_ Gabe assured him.

" _What I REALLY don't get is why Charlie suddenly looks older!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"I mean, I know she's supposed to be like the older sister, but still!"_

" _I want to turn into a teen too!"_ Fritz declared. He closed his eyes and tensed his body up…and the only thing he accomplished was puffing his cheeks. _"Aww come on, this isn't fair!"_ he complained.

" _You don't have the maturity for that,"_ Jeremy snarked, smirking at Fritz's dirty looks.

Charlie shrugged. _"To be honest, I don't even know why I've transformed into a teen,"_ she admitted, her confusion clear in her voice. _"I know I have magic powers, but I don't see how that fits into anything."_

Mike thought for a moment. "Maybe it's because you had to mature a lot more than the others," he suggested. "You had a ton of responsibility forced on you ever since you died and had to grow up far faster than you ever should've had to because of it. Maybe this new form is meant to show just how much you've grown compared to everyone else."

Fritz made a face. _"So if we want to look older we have to…GROW UP?"_ he shuddered. _"No thanks, I'm fine with looking like a kid."_

Mike shrugged. "Whatever works for you, kiddo." He shook his head and stared at Charlie in amazement. "Wow. I've heard of puberty hitting people hard, but letting out a magic blast that explodes the fuck out of my basement? That is some next-level shit right here…"

A Brother's Gift

"How am I gonna reprogram you?" Mike wondered as he looked at the lifeless Bonnet that was currently propped up on his work table. Ever since they had recovered her from Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, he had left her inactive until he could find a way to safely remove the hostile programming that William Afton had installed into her. He was confident enough in his programming skills that he could do so, but the problem was that he hadn't paid careful attention to the blueprints regarding the hand puppets, so he had no clue where to start.

"If I screw this up, I'll destroy your entire personality," Mike mumbled. From what Liz had said about the Funtime animatronics, they had personalities that were separate from the vicious programming forced onto them by their creator, and it didn't feel right to just destroy someone's mind unless he was out of options.

"Maybe if I look at the blueprints on the other project I'm working on, that can help?" he wondered.

" **That will not be necessary, Mr. Schmidt…"** a deep, unearthly voice interrupted him.

Mike's head jolted up from the table. He _knew_ that voice. "I know you! You were at the pizzeria that me and Liz visited!" he exclaimed.

Shadow Freddy nodded. **"Yes,"** he confirmed, **"that was indeed me. I must thank you for clearing out the bodies of the children. That duty is now complete, and I am free to venture elsewhere to address…other tasks. And I must also thank you for…"** suddenly, his voice seemed a lot more human and younger than it had been seconds earlier. **"…for taking care of Elizabeth. Her suffering has ended, thanks to you."**

"I'm glad I did what I could to help," Mike replied quietly. "I know who you are. You're Eric, aren't you? The youngest Afton."

If Eric was surprised that Mike knew who he really was, he didn't show it. **"That's right. Much about me has changed since I was child so many years ago."**

"Do you want me to get Liz?" Mike asked. "Is that why you're here?"

Eric shook his head. **"Not now. Not like this. It wouldn't be right to appear before her right out of the blue. No…I came here to give you this."** He held out his hand and Mike's eyes widened as he saw the roll of blue paper inside it.

"Are those… _blueprints_?" he gaped.

His visitor nodded. **"While you were making your preparations to destroy the hellhole that my father created, I salvaged one specific blueprint from the fire that would consume it."**

Mike reached out and took the blueprints from Eric. He unrolled it on the table and his eyes widened in shock. The blueprints were for Circus Baby, providing great detail on her structure and how she functioned. "Why are you giving me this?" he asked.

Eric sighed. **"Circus Baby was my sister's favorite animatronic, once. Even after everything she's been through, part of her still loves her. Do you not remember what she said to you in the pizzeria?"**

Mike thought back to what Liz had said to him in the pizzeria. "I do," he answered. "And you want me to…"

"… **recreate her,"** Shadow Freddy finished. **"Recreate her as she was meant to be. I know that you will be securing the Rockstars at a future point in time so that the other children will have bodies to wear, even if they can't use them regularly. Only my sister will be left behind, forced to use a form that she has only recently learned not to hate, just so she can fit in with the rest of her siblings. My older brother gave her a great gift on Christmas, and I want to give her one too. I want to give Liz her favorite animatronic back, untainted and restored."**

Mike studied the blueprints that Eric had given him again. Circus Baby had been state of the art for her time period, and he suspected that a lot of its more advanced characteristics had been incorporated as part of her child-abducting/killing nature. Even with those taken out, he didn't have the time or resources to build an entire animatronic of that size from scratch. At least, not right now.

" **In some ways, you remind me of my old father,"** Shadow Freddy commented. **"There are more similarities between the two of you than you would likely care to admit. But it is the differences that defined the paths you would tread, and I can't help but believe that you are who William Afton would have been if he had made the right choices in his life instead of the wrong ones."**

Mike's brow furrowed. "I…assume that's a compliment," he said warily.

Eric chuckled. **"It absolutely is, Mr. Schmidt. But with that being said, it is time for me to depart. Please keep looking after my sister and the others."**

Mike's lip twitched. "Didn't even need to ask."

Shadow Freddy started to fade away, but suddenly rematerialized. **"Oh, before I go…"** he pointed at the disabled Bonnet. **"The solution is a lot simpler than you think. When my father created the Funtimes, he actually had two separate programming mechanisms. The first was for basic animatronic functions, which incidentally also gave them minds, thoughts, and feelings, while the second was for his despicable child-murdering plans. All of them operated in the same way so that William could avoid having the malevolent programming interfere with the normal animatronics at the wrong time and also remove the corrupting modules if anybody ever investigated."** He shook his head. **"Unfortunately, the creation of Ennard ended up tangling the two types of programming together, driving all of them insane."**

"That would explain what happened to Liz," Mike thought unhappily.

Shadow Freddy shook his head. **"Nobody could have foreseen the consequences of their plan,"** he sighed. **"But anyway, I hope what I told you has clarified the matter."**

The man smiled. "It definitely has. Thanks for the help."

Eric nodded. **"Then I wish you luck."** He started to fade again, and this time he did not return. Mike looked down at the disabled Bonnet puppet and smiled. Taking a screwdriver, he began to pop open the screws holding down a panel on the back of Bonnet's head.

"Let's see how many secrets you have left for me to destroy, William Afton," Mike thought as a cold smile stretched across his face.

/

A/N: Child Charlie didn't last very long, did it? :P

Up until last week, my first quarter of second year Med school was going smoothly. And then I promptly got DESTROYED by a serious of med school exams that have seriously upped the difficulty to the next level. Weekly updates will no longer be a thing, unfortunately, especially since I have to focus all my attention on not flunking out of med school. The old ways of first year no longer work, I'm afraid.

This chapter was really meant to nudge the plot along in a few ways rather than be a major plot development in and of itself. You'll see how things play out in the future 😊

I'm going to wait out a couple of reviews for who wants Vacation vs. Rockstars before I get to work on the next big plot arc. Right now, vacation is winning.

Until then, hope you guys enjoy!


	53. Chapter 53 - The First Vacation Part 1

A/N: Well, I'm glad that I waited a bit longer before I decided to write the chapter. Before this latest update, vacation absolutely stomped in terms of preference, but after this chapter the votes were a lot closer. Vacation still won, though only by like 1 or 2 votes (unless I miscounted, which if I did I apologize). I've decided to go with vacation first since I feel like the kids would value the opportunity to get out of the house and explore the world more than having animatronic bodies, especially since they've been begging Mike for a vacation more than once in the past.

The chances of me uploading a chapter next week are incredibly low due to med school exams, so instead I'll be going back and doing a few retcons that will fit the main timeline of FNAF better. As I mentioned before, all of these retcons and rearrangements will concern past events, so nothing in the present will change.

Midnight: Yeah, looking back I do realize that, at the very least, I rushed Charlie's sudden maturation into a teenager. I always imagined Charlie becoming a teen eventually as a reflection of her higher maturity level compared to the other ghosts, but I do acknowledge that I shouldn't have done it so soon after the Puppet was freed. Guess I make mistakes just as much as the next writer. Thanks for your honest opinion on the matter.

Chapter 53 – The First Vacation Part 1

"Well, guys," Mike addressed his kids with a grin, "we're finally in the clear. So many interruptions and issues that we needed to take care of, but now they're all finally out of the way. It's time we go on our first vacation!"

The ghosts broke out into excited cheers, prompting Mike to frantically try and calm them down. Even then, they were whispering excitedly to one another, wondering what their dad had planned for them after such a long wait.

" _Where are we going?"_ Liz asked eagerly. _"Someplace on the other side of the country?"_

" _I want to travel around the world!"_ Fritz declared.

" _Can we go to Disneyworld?"_ Cassidy begged. _"It sounds like so much fun!"_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mike finally managed to interrupt them. "You're getting ahead of yourselves, guys. This is still our first time doing something like this. We have to make sure we can handle a trip to this side of the country first BEFORE we try traveling further away from home."

" _Awwww…"_ the kids groaned, but they brushed off their disappointment quickly. _"So where are we going, dad?"_ Susie asked.

Mike smiled. "Well, if I remember correctly, Alex and Meghan showed you pictures of places they went to on their vacation. How would you like to see them for yourselves?"

Everyone's eyes lit up. _"You mean we're going to…"_

"Yep!" their father confirmed. "Grand Canyon, Natural Parks, Las Vegas. The highlights of Southwest America, ready and waiting for you guys to enjoy them. What do you guys think?"

" _Awesome!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"I've wanted to go there ever since the Marshalls showed us the pictures!"_

"Then it's settled," Mike got up from his chair. "I'll need about a week or two to prepare before we're ready to go. After living in this house and this town for God knows how long, I need to get the fuck out of here. And if everything goes smoothly," he chuckled and winked at them, "we can talk about broadening our horizons in the future."

 _Ten Days Later…_

Mike watched as a familiar car drove up to his house. The door opened and Melody climbed out, waving at him and his kids as she did so. "I still can't believe you're actually letting me borrow the keys to your house," Melody shook her head in amazement.

The man smirked. "Well, it's not _strictly_ the house," he dryly corrected. "Just the gate and the workshop."

Melody playfully punched his shoulder and gave him a light hug. "Thanks for letting me work over here," she thanked him as Mike handed over the keys. Then, she turned her head over to the front door where she could see the ghosts watching her. "Have fun on your vacation, you guys!" she declared.

" _We will, thank you!"_ Charlie called back. Melody did a double-take when she saw her.

"Wait, time out, time out…" her mind processes came to a halt. "Who are you? And wasn't one of you…"

"That's Charlie, all right," Mike explained before Melody could get any more confused. "We destroyed the Marionette and freed her. That's what she actually looks like."

"Oh, wow…" Melody shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm guessing that was one of the things that stopped you from doing this any sooner?"

"Basically," Mike agreed. "Now then, before the kids and I head out, there's a little something that I wanted to show you." He guided Melody into the house and over to the living room. Melody's eyes widened as she saw an adorable little pink bunny puppet propped up on the table, which giggled cheerfully and waved at her upon seeing her. "This is Bonnet!" he introduced her. She's a little hand puppet I found a few days ago. I did a bit of reprogramming and she's good as new!"

Bonnet crawled over to the edge of the table and waved at Melody, who gushed at the little pink animatronic. "You are so adorable!" she cooed.

"We can't take her with us, so I was wondering if you could take care of her until we come back," Mike offered. "She operates on batteries so it's pretty simple to keep her active."

"I absolutely will take care of her! Thank you so much!" Melody exclaimed before grinning at Bonnet, who was making motions with her arms as though she wanted a hug. The woman immediately obliged her and picked her up. "I think we're going to be great friends!"

Mike smiled. After Eric had revealed the secrets behind the Funtime animatronics, Mike had immediately gotten to work removing the malevolent part of Bonnet's programming. William might have hidden his corruption deep inside a regular Funtime animatronic, but for something as small as Bonnet he hadn't bothered to be all that subtle or secretive. After a near miss from accidentally taking out the wrong module (which caused Bonnet to mindlessly try and attack him, though thankfully Liz and Charlie had both been on standby to subdue her), he had finally removed William's mechanical corruption and deemed Bonnet safe after multiple test runs during which he had stayed "alone" with Bonnet (with the ghosts invisibly watching just in case) and the hand puppet made no move to attack him. If anything, Bonnet seemed much happier now that she was free from William's influence, even if she couldn't convey it through anything more than cheerful giggles, and often took to following Mike or the kids around whenever they made their presence known to her.

"I think the two of you will get along just fine," Mike smirked as he and Melody left the house with Bonnet crawling onto the latter's shoulder. "All right, that should be it. Packing didn't take as long as I thought it would, though I guess that's not much of a surprise considering that I'm technically only really packing for one person."

He locked the front door and walked over to his van, where the ghosts were waiting. "Have fun, you guys!" she declared.

" _We will!"_ the ghosts answered back as they floated into the van. Mike gave her one final wave and then got in the van as well. The engine roared to life, and Melody watched as it drove past the gate and out of sight.

Once it was gone, Melody turned towards the pink bunny puppet on her shoulder. "Do you want to see some of the things I've been working on?" she asked. An excited giggle met her question, and Melody smiled. "I've got so many cool things I want to show you!"

 _On the Road…_

" _So how long until we get to our first destination?"_ Charlie asked as the van drove onward.

"Well, the way I see it, you guys will get more out of a trip to the natural parks, while I'll get more out of Las Vegas," Mike replied. "We're going to the natural parks first because I know for a fact that I'm going to burn myself out if we go to Vegas first."

Liz tilted her head. _"What do you mean you're going to burn yourself out at Vegas?"_ she asked, confused.

Mike smirked. "You'll see," he promised.

Gabe looked out of the window. _"Oh my God…"_ he muttered. _"There's just desert out here as far as the eye can see."_

"Yep," Mike agreed. "That's the desert area of Southwestern United States in a nutshell. A bunch of really cool things with a whole bunch of nothing in between." His brow furrowed. "Actually, that could describe the entire highway system of the U.S., now that I think of it."

Fritz groaned. _"That's so boooooooooring!"_ he complained. _"Is EVERY road trip like that?"_

Mike shrugged. "Well, depends on the surrounding area," he answered. "Depending on where you are, you might find some really interesting and beautiful sights that can really grab your attention. There are some parts of the world that have their own unique beauty that's worth seeing even if it's far away from a car." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, we're in the middle of a fucking desert right now and there's no mountains nearby, so yeah. Kinda sucks."

Susie facepalmed. _"I think I'll just, I don't know, play games on my phone or nap or something…"_ she muttered.

" _Can you imagine how screwed you'd be if your car broke down in a highway in the middle of the desert?"_ Jeremy asked.

Mike's eyes widened in semi-joking horror. "Oh God no, PLEASE don't bring that possibility up," he exclaimed. "If that happened we'd either be stuck here for hours waiting for someone to rescue us!"

" _I COULD just teleport you back to the house…maybe…"_ Cassidy suggested.

"And lose my van? No thanks," Mike retorted.

Liz's eyes looked out through the window and they widened. _"Hey guys, look!"_ she exclaimed. _"I can see mountains over to the side!"_

The ghosts all turned to where Liz was pointing. In the far distance, three majestic brown peaks reached high into the sky. _"Oh, that looks so cool!"_ Gabe exclaimed.

Mike smirked. "That ain't nothing compared to the places we're going to," he remarked. The kids started fidgeting excitedly. "Trust me, what we're gonna see if definitely going to be worth the long drive," he promised.

" _If it's anything like what we saw in our friends' pictures, then I bet it's gonna be amazing!"_ Jeremy declared.

His father smiled mysteriously. If his hunch was correct, then his son had no idea.

 _One Hour and Thirty Minutes Later…_

"Thank God, we're finally here!" Mike exclaimed as he drove into an empty parking lot space. "I don't remember the last time I drove for two hours!"

" _I'm guessing you didn't go out of town much, dad?"_ Susie asked.

"Nope, not at all," he blithely replied. "Well, we're finally here. And before we go out, I think now would be a good time for Charlie to go over the ground rules again. Charlie?"

The former Marionette inhabitant nodded. _"We don't all have to go as one group, but you must go in AT LEAST pairs. And when Dad decides that it's time for us to leave, he's going to invoke a spell that I've prepared that will recall of us back to his location. Does everyone get that?"_

" _Yep!"_ all the ghosts confirmed.

" _Those are some pretty relaxed rules,"_ Gabe commented as Mike got out of the car. The ghosts followed, all of them turning invisible. The family followed other tourists down a path. As the last of the tourists cleared, the ghosts' eyes widened in pure awe.

"Welcome to the Grand Canyon, kids!" Mike declared. Before them was the majestic Wonder of the World, a majestic canyon that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The many formations and cliffs were covered in various hues of brown and green that mixed beautifully with the color of the bright blue sky. The kids strained to see down into its depths, but the Grand Canyon was just too high up, leaving them wondering what lay within. They might have seen a small part of the canyon in the Marshalls' photograph, but a mere picture was pitiful compared to seeing the natural beauty with ones' own eyes. It was, without question, the most beautiful sight that the kids had ever seen throughout the entirety of their existences.

" _It's so…beautiful…"_ Liz breathed.

" _I could stare at this forever…"_ Cassidy murmured.

" _This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen,"_ Jeremy mumbled.

Even Charlie was stunned into silence as Mike grinned. Now was the time to bring out the big revelation. "And here's the thing," his voice in their minds brought them out of their reverie. "You guys have an opportunity that nobody else here has. Not even me."

All of them turned to their father. _"What do you mean?"_ Fritz asked.

"I'm just a human being. This is the most I can see. If I wanted to go flying over the canyon, I would need to take a helicopter tour. But you guys? You're ghosts. You're not bound by height, by physical limitations, by gravity. You can explore the Grand Canyon in a way that _nobody else_ can."

The ghosts' jaws dropped as the full implications of Mike's words hit them. _"Y-you mean…"_ Fritz stuttered, _"we can..."_

Mike grinned and pointed towards the Grand Canyon. "What are you waiting for, kids?"

With excited screams and whoops, the kids flew out past the edge of the cliff and over the vast drop below. They were about to split up to fully explore the canyon when a thought suddenly occurred to Charlie and her smile faded slightly. She turned back to Mike, who by now was waving at them over the Canyon. _"But…what about you?"_ she asked. The question seemed to break the ghosts out of their euphoria as they realized that the one person who was making this possible couldn't join in.

Mike shrugged. "Don't worry," he assured them. "I have my own ways of passing the time. This is really for you. Go enjoy yourselves."

The kids smiled at him, their doubts assuaged. Then, they began to split into pairs and explore the Grand Canyon in their own ways. Susie and Cassidy laughed as they soared together over the canyon, taking in its vast dimensions and delighting in the grandeur of the rocky formations.

" _Hey, Cass!"_ Susie exclaimed. _"Look over there! Doesn't that rock look like a temple of some kind?"_

" _You're right, Sus!"_ Cassidy agreed. _"Let's go check it out!"_ The two of them flew over to the Vishnu Schist. She gave a disappointed sigh when she realized that there wasn't any crevices or openings into the formation. _"Aww…"_ she moaned, _"I was kind of hoping that there actually was some kind of secret temple inside this rock!"_

Susie shrugged. _"I mean, I don't think that was actually going to be a thing. I do have to say that it would be pretty cool though."_

" _Pretty sure they'd find some way to get tourists inside if that actually turned out to be a thing,"_ Cassidy commented. The sound of whirring began to sound behind them and they turned around. _"Hey, I think that's a helicopter!"_

The two ghost girls approached the front of the helicopter, making sure that they were invisible. They looked inside the window and waved at the figures inside, knowing that they couldn't see them. Susie giggled as the helicopter passed them by, its inhabitants completely oblivious to the supernatural entities that had just greeted them.

" _There's so many cool things to see up here!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"I want to know how much of the Canyon I can see before Dad calls us back!"_

" _Hold on,"_ Susie interrupted. _"Let me just check to make sure that our connection to dad is still there,"_ she closed her eyes and concentrated. To her relief, she could feel the magical link to him nice and strong. _"Okay, we're good to go,"_ she declared, before a mischievous grin started to spread across her face. _"Wanna race?"_

Cassidy pointed to a distant rock formation. _"First one to that formation over there wins."_

" _Ready, set, go!"_ the two girls flew off, laughing and giggling as they went. Susie managed to get a slight edge and began pulling ahead of Cassidy, not noticing the mischievous grin on the younger girl's face. Susie was about to reach the formation that Cassidy had pointed to when the former Golden Freddy inhabitant magically appeared in front of her, right above the cliff.

" _I win!"_ she declared with a laugh.

Susie playfully shoved her. _"You cheated!"_ she complained. _"You can't use teleportation!"_

Cassidy raised her eyebrow and smirked. _"Why not?"_ she asked. _"You never said I couldn't."_

The former Chica inhabitant rolled her eyes. _"I can tell Dad's rubbing off on you,"_ she muttered as the two of them lowered themselves onto the cliff face. The two of them laid down on the rock and looked up into the brilliant blue white sky. They would continue exploring in a few minutes, but right now they just wanted to relax and enjoy a view that only they would ever be able to experience.

" _This must be what true freedom feels like,"_ Susie thought as she watched the birds fly away in the distance. _"I wonder if the others are enjoying this as much as we are."_

/

" _Check out these cool rock formations, Jeremy!"_ Gabe pointed to a particularly large formation in the canyon. _"There's so many layers of different rocks, it's amazing!"_

" _I know!"_ Jeremy agreed as the two boys floated up to get a closer look. _"I mean, just looking at each layer by itself, it's just a large pile of rock. But put them all together and you get something that looks like God did an art project!"_

" _I mean, the Grand Canyon probably WAS one of God's art projects,"_ Gabe pointed out.

" _That's true,"_ Jeremy conceded, before smirking. _"I will laugh so hard if the reason why God made the Grand Canyon was because He was bored and decided to make it just for shits and giggles."_

" _That would be hilarious,"_ Gabe snickered.

Jeremy's expression turned thoughtful. _"In all seriousness, though, I wonder if we can find any landmarks in the Canyon."_

" _This is the Grand Canyon,"_ Gabe deadpanned. _"The entire thing counts as a giant landmark."_

" _No, I mean like really special places in the Canyon,"_ Jeremy clarified. _"If the whole thing is already majestic to begin with, wouldn't it be a real accomplishment to find the few places that are a cut above and beyond the rest?"_

Gabe thought for a moment, then nodded. _"Yeah, you do have a point."_ He suddenly smirked. _"Why the heck are we even analyzing this? We can fly, we can do whatever we want!"_

Jeremy laughed. _"Yeah, you do have a point."_ The two of them started to fly around the Canyon, enjoying the beautiful sights just like their sisters were. But unlike their sisters, they were still keeping their eyes peeled for any specific hallmarks of the Canyon. It wasn't until several minutes later that Jeremy noticed something. _"Hey Gabe, look over there,"_ he pointed at the walls of the cliff face. _"There's something about that wall that looks different from the other parts of the Canyon."_

Gabe's eyes followed Jeremy's finger. _"Hey, you're right!"_ The two of them approached the cliff face to get a better look. As they did so, their eyes widened in shock. _"Is that a TRAIL?"_ he exclaimed.

" _Oh my God…"_ Jeremy said in disbelief. _"There's actually a trail along the wall of the Grand Canyon."_ He stared at the edge of the trail, which fell away to a steep drop leading down into the depths of the Canyon. _"People actually WALK on this thing!"_

" _Thank God I'm already dead so I don't have to worry about falling off or being afraid of heights,"_ Gabe muttered. Before he could say anything more, a pair of hikers passed by them, taking only a few seconds to admire the view of the Canyon before continuing. Once they were gone, Gabe looked over at Jeremy. _"Why don't we follow them?"_ he suggested. _"I kind of want to see just how far down this trail goes. Heck, it might even go all the way down to the bottom!"_

" _Sure,"_ Jeremy agreed. _"If this trail really goes all the way down to the bottom, I really want to see what's down there. It can't just be all nature, can it?"_

Gabe gestured towards the downward side of the trail and started following it with Jeremy close behind. Even though they could speed through it with their flight, they would deliberately take their time so that they could enjoy the views from different height levels. _"Only one way to find out."_

/

" _Holy crap, I had no idea there were so many things down here!"_ Liz exclaimed.

Unlike their sisters, Fritz and Liz had decided to dive deep into the canyon first instead of enjoying the view at the top. Both were curious to know what exactly was at the bottom, especially Fritz. And neither of them had expected to see the vibrant ecosystem that the Grand Canyon housed in its depths, complete with grasslands, rivers, and even animals. _"It's like a whole 'nother world down here!"_ Fritz agreed enthusiastically. _"This place really is amazing!"_

Liz tilted her head as her ears caught a sound. _"Is that…running water?"_ she asked.

Fritz could hear it too. _"Let's go check it out!"_ The two children followed the sound, both noticing that the flow of the water was becoming more turbulent and rapid. They turned around one corner and…

" _Holy crap!"_ Fritz yelped. Though neither of them knew what it was called, the two adoptive siblings had unwittingly stumbled upon the Colorado River, whose waters were now churning violently as they rushed towards an unknown location. _"That water looks scary as hell! I bet it would crush us against the side of the canyon if we were still alive!"_

Liz giggled. _"Well, it's a good thing that neither of us are alive then,"_ she commented. _"Besides, I thought you were supposed to be the pirate in family!"_

" _Errr…yeah!"_ Fritz backpedaled. _"It'd take more than some fast-flowing water to scare me! Especially since it can't hurt me!"_

Liz raised her eyebrow, but before she could call Fritz out on his bravado she was interrupted by delighted and adrenaline-fueled screams. _"What the hell?"_ she exclaimed as a large raft filled with people suddenly zoomed past them, all of them carrying paddles and wearing helmets, goggles, and life vests.

"This is the best thing ever!" one of them shouted with glee as the rapids carried the raft down the river and out of sight. The two ghost kids stared at the spot where the raft had gone, then at each other. Neither of them said anything for several seconds, and then a mischievous grin began to spread across Fritz's face.

" _I have an idea!"_ he declared. _"What if we found another raft and anchored ourselves to it. That way we can enjoy whatever these guys are doing, because from what I can tell it looks like a lot of fun!"_

" _That's…actually a really great idea!"_ Liz's eyes lit up. _"Heck, if this works out, then maybe anchoring ourselves to something like roller coasters in the future might work too!"_

" _That's the spirit!"_ Fritz laughed. _"But the only way we're gonna find out is if we try!"_ The two of them waited for another raft to come by, lowering themselves so that they were floating only slightly above the level of the water. Soon enough, another group of rafters came by. As it passed under them, the two ghosts anchored themselves to the raft and found themselves instantly pulled by the roaring current. _"Whooooooooooooo!"_ they screamed, enjoying the impromptu thrill ride that they had claimed for themselves. _"This is so much fun!"_ Fritz yelled. _"I'm the real captain of the seven seas! No river is gonna stop me!"_

" _What a rush!"_ Liz laughed as the raft surged onwards, _"Sledding is boring compared to this!"_

"Oh, crap!" one of the rafters suddenly exclaimed. "We're gonna hit that rock! Steer away, now!" The ghosts watched tensely and with not a little fear as the rowers started hitting the water with their paddles and sighed with relief as they were able to successfully evade the rock before the raft crashed on it. They might have been completely safe, but neither of them wanted to think about what would happen to the rowers if their raft overturned or they got smashed against the rocks.

" _I don't blame Dad for not wanting to do this,"_ Liz commented as the raft continued, now on a much safer stretch of river. _"This doesn't seem like the kind of thing he'd be able to do."_

" _Yeah,"_ Fritz agreed. _"I mean, he's not old, but he's not young either, and even I have to admit that this looks really dangerous especially if you don't know what you're doing."_

" _Thank God Charlie put the silencing spell on us before we got out of the car,"_ Liz remarked as the current started to weaken and the ride finally slowed several minutes later. _"Otherwise we'd be starting up ghost stories about laughing kids in the rapids."_

" _With how loud we were yelling, definitely."_ The kids detached themselves from the raft as it stopped at the shore. Then, they turned their heads back towards the Colorado River's rapids. The same thought entered their minds.

" _So Liz,"_ Fritz grinned, _"wanna go for round 2?"_

 _One Hour Later…_

" _Hey guys?"_ Charlie's voice broke into their thoughts. _"How are you doing?"_

" _Good!"_ Susie replied. Normally she wouldn't be able to hear any of her siblings' thoughts because of the distance separating them, but Charlie's stronger magical affinity allowed her to overcome that hurdle without too much difficulty.

" _I found something really interesting deep in the Canyon, and I want to show you guys,"_ Charlie explained. _"Can you sense where I am?"_

The kids focused for a moment. _"Yeah, I can,"_ Gabe confirmed. _"We'll be there as soon as possible."_

" _Great! See you then!"_ Charlie replied. She broke off the connection, but the kids could still sense where she was. They flew towards her presence like a beacon, and it wasn't long before they all met up with her.

" _So what were you doing?"_ Liz asked as the last of them arrived.

Charlie shrugged. _"Oh, just looking around,"_ she answered before her lips stretched into a smile. _"And while I was looking, I found this."_ She guided them through a part of the Canyon and into a particularly large clearing. The kids' eyes bulged as they took in the sight before them.

Unlike most of the Grand Canyon area, the area they were now in was a miniature forest, the trees blending beautifully with the rock surrounding it. There was a large natural pool in the center, and filling that body of water was…

" _A waterfall!"_ Fritz exclaimed.

" _It's so pretty!"_ Cassidy gushed.

" _This is the most out-of-place thing I've seen here so far,"_ Jeremy commented with a grin, _"and I love it!"_

Susie frowned slightly. _"I only wish we could take pictures of this,"_ she mumbled. _"But we can't because we're ghosts and flying cell phones would freak everyone out."_

Gabe shook his head. _"There's advantages to being ghosts and there's disadvantages, Sus. You can't have one without the other. That's just how it is."_

Susie sighed. _"I know."_

" _Well, let's just enjoy this view as much as we can,"_ Liz suggested, trying to cheer her sister up. _"I mean, how many people can say they've been to the top of this waterfall before?"_

The former Chica inhabitant smiled. _"You're right, Liz."_ The ghosts floated up to the top of the waterfall, where they could peer downward and watch the water fall into the pool below. All of them marveled at the sight in front of them, and a few of them even waved at a few hikers who had stumbled into the area of Havasu Falls like they had, even if the exhausted explorers would never see them.

" _You know, I thought that when Alex and Meghan showed us their pictures of the Grand Canyon, they were seeing one of the most amazing things ever."_ Charlie said after several seconds of silence. _"But now I realize that they hadn't even scratched the surface."_

" _I wish Dad was here,"_ Jeremy admitted. _"If there's anyone who deserves to see what we've seen, it's him."_

" _I hope he found some other way to have some kind of fun while we enjoyed ourselves,"_ Gabe added morosely. _"If he was just waiting for us for the past hour doing nothing I'm going to feel really bad about all this."_

" _I'm sure he figured something out,"_ Charlie assured him. _"Do you guys have anything else you want to do or have you seen enough of the Grand Canyon?"_

Cassidy smiled at her. _"I'm definitely good,"_ she answered. _"I had so much fun today."_

" _Me too!"_ Liz laughed. _"Fritz and I had so much fun anchoring ourselves to a raft and rushing down the rapids!"_

" _There's actually entire campsites down here at the bottom of the Canyon!"_ Jeremy grinned. _"We even found a freaking ranch that people apparently sleep over in!"_

" _It's amazing just what the world has in store, isn't it?"_ Charlie asked serenely, to which all the kids happily agreed. For thirty minutes, they stayed at Havasu Falls, alternating between exploring the surrounding area or simply relaxing at either the top or bottom of the waterfalls. Then, Charlie felt a tug at her essence. She looked over at the kids and their expressions made it clear that they had all felt it too and immediately recognized what it was.

Their father was calling them back.

The kids immediately relaxed and let the magical link that Charlie had set up between them and Mike do its work. They closed their eyes and immediately felt a rush around them for several seconds. When they opened their eyes, they were back at the top of the Canyon and Mike was standing in front of them. "So…" his voice entered their minds. "Did you guys have fun?"

" _YEAH!"_ the resulting answer would have deafened Mike if it had been spoken through his ears instead of in his mind. Even now he had to shake his head a bit to throw off his disorientation.

"That's good to hear," he replied with a grin of his own. "If being able to literally fly through the Grand Canyon however you wanted didn't make you guys happy, I had no idea what would."

" _What did you do, dad?"_ Charlie asked.

Mike shrugged. "There was this really nice Skywalk made entirely out of glass. If you looked through the floor you could see straight down to the bottom!" He chuckled. "Thank God I'm not afraid of heights."

" _Damn, that's pretty cool!"_ Fritz whistled.

"And I also took a helicopter tour around the Canyon so I could really explore it as much as I could," Mike added as he began walking away from the Canyon, the ghosts following close behind. "Unfortunately, there wasn't any way for me to go down to the bottom, which is a bit of a shame. But I'm not really bothered by that, there was more than enough for me to see just at the top."

" _Wish we could take pictures of what we'd seen,"_ Susie lamented.

"Hey, this part of the vacation was more for you than it was for me," Mike assured her. "Believe me, when we get to Las Vegas, there'll be PLENTY for me to do and then some."

" _I hope so, dad,"_ Liz replied with a smile. _"You deserve this vacation just as much as we do if not more."_

The family got into the van and Mike drove out of the parking lot. "This isn't the only natural landmark here, you know. Heck, some might argue that it's not even the greatest one. There's a few other cool places around here that you guys can explore just like you did with the Grand Canyon, if you can endure the boredom of doing a whole bunch of nothing in between."

" _Ooh, what are they?"_ Susie asked, already excited at the prospect of another exploration session.

Mike grinned. "You'll see when we get there," he promised. And with that, the family fell into silence as each of them reflected on the adventures they had had so far. For the kids, it didn't matter where they went to or what they did from this point forward.

What they had done already was more than enough to make this vacation worth it.

/

A/N: Let's be real, if you were a ghost who could fly around the Grand Canyon without having to worry about things like walking or falling or all those mundane human things, you'd be exploring it as much as possible too.

The ghost kids might be finally free from their past, but even in a new family they had some restrictions imposed on them due to practicality and, one could argue, duty. This is the first time that they could truly feel freedom without having a care in the world. Even though the circumstances that made them into ghosts might have been horrific, you can't deny the perks when they finally come into play.

Anyways, this chapter focused mostly on the ghost kids since Mike couldn't join them in their adventures for…obvious reasons. But don't you worry, Mike will have his moment in the spotlight during this vacation too.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	54. Chapter 54 - The First Vacation Part 2

A/N: Med school difficulty went from manageable to OMGWTF really really fast. I still haven't had the chance to implement the retcons I mentioned earlier, I'll probably get to that the week after this.

Well, the kids had a lot of fun in the Grand Canyon. Now it's time for Mike's turn! As Charlie said, it wouldn't be fair for the kids to have fun without giving Mike a chance to kick back and relax too.

Please remember to drop a fav, follow, or review if you enjoy the story. Every little bit helps keep the story alive, especially since it's harder for me to update the story every week like I used to.

Greenden: I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Android!Charlie thing. Not to mention that the topic seems to be rather…controversial…from what I've seen.

JustAesthetic: I actually have no clue what I'm gonna be doing for the future. Right now the goal is just to not fail all my classes.

Chapter 54 – The First Vacation Part 2

The kids watched their dad intently as he drove down the highway, humming to himself. Though none of them had commented on it, they had noticed that Mike was gradually getting more tired as the long hours of driving had passed. None of them could blame him – after their visit to the Grand Canyon, he had driven them all the way to Bryce Canyon, and then to Zion National Park after that. It was a miracle to the ghosts that Mike hadn't outright passed out, and they were all starting to get worried for his health. Charlie even was on the verge of suggesting that they put a break on the vacation early so that Mike could get some rest back at home before continuing.

But that was before today. Though Mike didn't overtly show it, the kids could tell that he was particularly excited about the next (and final) stage of their vacation. _"Dad?"_ Gabe couldn't hold back anymore. _"You seem pretty happy. Where are we going again?"_

"Gabe, kiddo, we're going to Las Vegas," Mike answered cheerfully. "And I'm not gonna lie, I've been looking forward to this part of the vacation for a while."

" _Las Vegas?"_ Susie repeated. _"You mean that place with the fancy hotel that Alex and Meghan showed us?"_

"Yep," Mike confirmed, "but there's way, WAY more than just one fancy hotel, Susie. Las Vegas is a place that is chock FULL of them. All of them with different themes and styles, creating one of the liveliest and craziest places on Earth. And each one of those hotels is a casino filled with different games where you can test your luck to try and win some money."

" _How does that work?"_ Cassidy wondered.

"The term is called gambling, Cass," Mike explained. "How it works is that you have to pay a certain amount of money for a chance to play, and then you go through a round. If you win the game, then you get your money back and win some more on top of it. But if you lose, you give up the amount of money that you bet on. The higher prizes are harder to win, but you can get a LOT of money off them if you're really lucky."

" _That sounds fun!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"How easy it is to win?"_

"Depends on your definition of winning," Mike replied. "The thing with casinos is that the games are designed to favor the casino itself, so the chances of losing are higher than your chances of winning even though winning is definitely possible. It's how casinos keep their business going. There's also some games where you play against other people rather than the casino, or the house as it's called."

" _How much are you going to bet, dad?"_ Liz asked curiously.

Mike shrugged. "I don't want to get caught up in gambling fever and lose all my hard-earned money. I'm thinking along the lines of 10K dollars per night is a safe amount of money." He looked over at Charlie. "Charlie, I'm trusting you to keep me grounded in reality. Once I hit 10K, make sure you cut me off."

" _You want me to remind you to stop at 10K?"_ Charlie asked, making sure she had heard her father correctly.

"Charlie, I don't care if you have to literally possess me to move my ass out of that casino," Mike blithely replied, "whatever you need to do to keep me from going overboard."

The kids couldn't help but laugh at the image of Charlie (or any of them) possessing Mike and forcing him to walk awkwardly away from a slot machine. _"So I guess the only thing we're gonna do is watch?"_ Gabe asked a bit sadly.

Mike shook his head. "Believe it or not, guys, you being ghosts is actually going to help you out again here. Casinos are strict with age limits, and normally kids aren't even allowed anywhere near the games. But because you're ghosts, nobody will be able to see you and you'll be able to watch me play as much as you want. Heck, for some games we might even find ways for you to play some of the games."

The kids looked at each other excitedly. _"Take out all the horrific death and suffering we've been through for the past 40 years, and I'm really starting to like being a ghost,"_ Fritz commented.

Mike shrugged. "I can see how it has its perks," he commented. His gaze caught something in the distance and he narrowed his eyes. "Oh, perfect!" he declared. "I think we're almost there!"

Sure enough, everyone could see a city faintly in the distance. As the car got closer, the kids marveled at just how decorative and exotic the city truly was. Maybe it was only because the kids had never seen a city before in life or in death, but each resort in Las Vegas seemed to have its own unique personality. Whether it be the flamboyant and decorative Excalibur, the stern Egyptian dignity of the Luxor, or the modern and exciting nature of New York, NY, there wasn't a single hotel in Vegas that didn't attract the wonder and reverence of the kids as Mike drove into the city.

" _There's so many of them,"_ Cassidy breathed. _"This is so cool!"_

" _These must be the best hotels ever!"_ Susie gushed. _"Alex and Meghan's photo was nothing to compared to this!"_

" _How are we going to visit all of them?"_ Jeremy gaped. _"It would take forever!"_

Mike shrugged. "Well, I'm planning on sticking around for about 2 nights," he replied. "The thing with Vegas is that you don't want to stay around for too long. Believe it or not, when I asked my friends about Vegas, they told me that things get old and boring if you take too long. Not to mention you'd be tempted to blow all your money."

His eyes caught the Bellagio and he pointed it out to the kids. "Ah, the Bellagio. A real classic when it comes to Las Vegas hotels, made all the better with an absolutely gorgeous fountain. And it looks like we're right on time for the show."

The kids' eyes widened and they gaped in awe as jets of water erupted into the air in mesmerizing patterns, soaring higher than half the size of the Bellagio itself. As they watched the water show, Mike scanned the hotels looking for one in particular. He grinned as he spot it and drove up to the lobby entrance of the Aria. He got out and the kids followed him into the Aria lobby and to the front desk.

"Good afternoon, sir," the receptionist greeted him cordially. "How may I help you?"

"My name is Mike Schmidt, and I have a reservation," Mike replied smoothly, "the Sky Villa, if I remember correctly."

The receptionist gave his mundane clothes and bag a skeptical look and proceeded to look up Mike's reservation. The man barely managed to repress a snicker at how wide her eyes grew when she saw that Mike did indeed have the suite that he had claimed. To her credit, she recovered quickly from the surprise. "My apologies, sir, we'll get your luggage up to your room right away. Here is your key."

"Wonderful," Mike took the key from her hand. "Thank you very much."

" _Did you see the look on her face when she saw that Dad had the penthouse suite?"_ Liz giggled as Mike made his way over to the elevator. _"I bet she wasn't expecting that!"_

"I bet most people who take suites at the top are fancy business people wearing suits that are a pain in the ass to wear," her father smirked. "I wonder how many times some random Joe Schmoe like me books one of the best rooms in the entire hotel."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened with a ping. Mike walked over to the door to his villa and swiped his key. The door swung open and the kids' jaws dropped once again at what they saw.

The villa that Mike had rented for his weekend seemed like nothing less than a modern miniature palace. The place was filled with ornate furniture and the highest level of technology, complemented with an absolutely breathtaking view of the city through the windows that surrounded the main rooms. The most incredible thing to many of them was the winding golden staircase that led up to the second floor, the pinnacle of the villa's elegance.

" _This can't be real,"_ Jeremy gaped. _"I looked up hotel rooms in Vegas a bit but they looked like nicer versions of regular hotel rooms. This is almost like a small house!"_

Mike whistled. "Damn, this is even bigger than I thought. I'm starting to wish that I brought some friends with me for this vacation. He looked over at his kids. "Well, at least I have an entire family to share this gigantic villa with it."

The kids grinned back at him. _"What should we do now?"_ Charlie asked.

Mike started to say something but ended up yawning. "Taking a nap is what I'm doing," he blustered out. "You guys should explore the hotel, maybe take a peek at some of the casino games so you guys get an idea of how the games work. Once I wake up, we'll go explore some other casinos, have a nice dinner where you guys can also possess me one at a time to enjoy the food, and then we have some fun with the games at night. Sound good?"

The ghosts all cheered and hugged their dad before rushing out of the room. Mike yawned again as he finally allowed the exhaustion from the long hours of driving catch up to him. He wearily climbed up the stairs and shambled over to the bed that tantalizingly invited him into its warmth and comfort.

He was unconscious before he hit the covers.

 _A Few Hours Later…_

" _Dad…"_

"Hnnnrrrrgghhhh…"

" _Dad…"_

"Shhnnrrgggghhh…"

" _Dad!"_

"…wha...go away…"

" _Wake up dad, it's been hours!"_

Mike's eyes slowly opened…only to stare right into the face of Scrap Baby.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Mike exclaimed, bolting from the bed as the kids burst into laughter. Unpleasant memories from the last time they'd pulled this prank on him resurfaced. "God dammit, not again!" he complained.

" _Sorry dad,"_ Liz apologized as she changed back to her human form, _"but we actually had a good reason for it this time."_

" _You've been asleep for hours, dad,"_ Susie added as she pointed at the clock. _"It's nearly dinner time."_

"Wha…" Mike looked over at the clock and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit!" he exclaimed. "I forgot to turn on my phone's alarm clock!"

" _We were thinking about going out into the city like we did for the Grand Canyon,"_ Gabe admitted, _"but we didn't want to worry you since you didn't tell us we could do that."_

Mike smiled. "Thanks for your patience, guys. Sorry if things got a little boring, but after all that driving I did I needed the rest."

" _Don't worry about it, dad!"_ Cassidy assured him. _"We saw some of the casino games you mentioned and I think we have an idea of how some of the games work now."_

Jeremy made a face. _"Most of them, anyway. Poker still doesn't make any sense."_

"The basics are all about how good your hand is, but that's a talk for later," Mike replied. "Let me get changed into something a little more appropriate for the climate and we'll be ready to go." The ghosts flew out of the bedroom as Mike opened his luggage and started changing. After about a minute, the door flew open and Mike stepped out of the room. He was now wearing a black T-shirt with a black leather jacket and navy blue leather jeans, complete with a pair of sunglasses. _"You look cool, dad!"_ Fritz declared.

"Damn right," Mike smirked. "Now let's go out and enjoy Las Vegas!"

The kids cheered as they followed Mike out of the villa and out of the hotel. For the next two hours, Mike guided his children over to hotels in Vegas that had attractions that he was sure they would enjoy. The ghosts got to enjoy a much closer viewing of the legendary Bellagio fountain they had seen earlier from Mike's car, which Mike followed up with the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden as well as the chocolate fountain deep within the hotel.

" _How do they do it?"_ Cassidy asked in amazement as they left the Bellagio behind them. _"Growing all those flowers and plants and making them look so beautiful?"_

Mike shrugged. "You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with some imagination. And time. And money."

Charlie smirked. _"In other words, three things that you have way too much of."_ Mike only shrugged in response.

" _I wish I could drink out of the chocolate fountain,"_ Fritz's eyes glazed over and he started licking his lips. _"…Chocolate…"_

" _Oh, shit…is Fritz about to go all Spongebob Chocolate Maniac on us?"_ Gabe groaned.

" _Fritz, you're drooling,"_ Liz said dryly as she lightly whacked the back of his head with her hand.

" _Ow,"_ Fritz rubbed the spot where his sister had hit him. _"Did you really need to…"_

" _Yes."_

The former Foxy inhabitant grumbled something under his breath as Mike went over to a ticket booth and purchased something. When he came back, Charlie looked at the ticket that he had bought. _"Cirque du Soleil?"_ she read the name off the ticket, puzzled.

"One of the most famous circuses in the entire world," Mike explained. The kids looked at each other excitedly, but Mike quickly curbed their enthusiasm. "It's for tomorrow, not for today. Didn't think I had enough time for it today. Anyways, I'm thinking of showing you Caesar's Palace and the Venetian before dinner and the games."

" _What's at the Venetian and Caesar's Palace?"_ Liz asked.

"You'll see," Mike winked as they made their way to the latter of the two hotels. By now, seeing the ghosts' awe at the many gorgeous sights of Las Vegas had become something of a source of amusement to Mike, who mentally made a note to start counting how many times he saw their eyes go to starry or jaws drop. The special attraction that Mike had hinted at was none other than the Fall of Atlantis light show, a brilliant spectacle of a show that combined the statues in the forum shops with light, fire, and water. _"Is that really what happened to Atlantis?"_ Gabe asked as the show ended. _"I don't remember reading about that anywhere?"_

Mike shrugged. "Who knows? It's probably just a show loosely based on Greek myths to tell a good story."

" _If Atlantis even existed to begin with, I wonder what actually caused it to sink in the first place,"_ Jeremy mused as Mike lead them over to a hotel next to Caesar's Palace. _"I mean, I know it's supposed to just be a myth, but still…"_

"Well, people don't believe ghosts exist, and yet here you guys are," Mike pointed out. "Who can really say what's real and what's not? Granted, it's unlikely that the Greek gods existed since you confirmed the validity of Christianity," he quickly amended, "but the existence of an underwater city in and of itself? I wouldn't necessarily count that out 100%, at least not after coming across you guys."

" _Is everything in Las Vegas all about shows and games?"_ Cassidy asked.

Mike shook his head. "The shows and games are just part of the city's charm. It's the uniqueness that really matters. When's the last time anybody saw a hotel that looked like an Egyptian Pyramid or a castle? When was the last time anybody saw a roller coaster built on a hotel that looks like a bunch of New York skyscrapers?"

He reached out his hand and gestured towards the inside of the Venetian. "When was the last time you saw an entire canal system with gondolas inside a single building?"

The kids fell silent as they took in the inside of the Venetian. Unlike Caesar's Palace, which had an imposing majesty that seemed to tower over them, the Venetian's elegance seemed a lot more down-to-Earth. The inside of the hotel had been designed to mimic the streets of Venice as closely as possible, and Mike wasted no time in securing a gondola ride for himself. The rower proceeded to push the gondola slowly through the "canals" that had been crafted.

" _Ahhhh…"_ Susie sighed contentedly as she felt herself being pulled along by the "anchoring" she had set up between herself and the gondola. _"It feels nice to relax for a change."_

" _You said it,"_ Gabe agreed as the boat they were on drifted under a bridge. _"We've been bouncing around like maniacs throughout this entire vacation anytime we weren't in a car. Heck, I didn't think it was even possible for ghosts to get tired."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "You flew around three huge national landmarks in a row," he commented dryly, "many of which would probably takes days if not weeks for a regular human to fully explore. I don't see how anybody could NOT get tired after that."

" _Which is why I'm glad I can just relax and let this gondola take us where it wants,"_ Liz replied as she closed her eyes. _"Is this really what Venice is like?"_

Mike shrugged. "Hell if I know. But I can tell you that Venice is indeed a city in Italy built on a canal system with gondolas on it. I might show you a picture later," he replied as the gondola lazily rode onward. The family took this time to appreciate not just the artistry that had gone into the Venetian, but also the many good times that they had shared over the course of the vacation. As the gondola slowed to a stop, Mike got out of the boat and the ghosts followed. "I think now would be the time to get some dinner," he declared as he looked at the clock. "Then we can really get down to having some fun." Having looked up this information beforehand, it was a simple matter for Mike to locate the Cosmopolitan and invoke the reservation that he had ordered for himself at the Wicked Spoon.

" _Why are we eating at a buffet restaurant, dad?"_ Cassidy wondered.

Mike smiled. "Because, Cass, in a buffet restaurant we can eat as much as we want," he explained. "And since there's so many different food options, this is the perfect time for you guys to do the same partial possession-thing that you did on me and get to taste food of a quality you won't be able to see again for a while."

" _You'd do that for us?"_ Liz asked, eyes shining.

"As opposed to making you guys watch me eat all this by myself? Absolutely." He got up from the table and began to scan around the restaurant. "Now, what kind of food do you guys want to eat?"

Too late, he realized his mistake.

" _I want Chinese food!"_ Jeremy immediately declared.

" _What about Mexican?"_ Gabe questioned.

" _I want Italian!"_ Susie protested.

" _Screw your pizza obsession, I saw so many different types of meats! I want it all!"_ Fritz challenged, earning another slap.

Even Charlie wasn't immune to the sudden bout of immaturity. _"I want Japanese!"_ she insisted. _"You guys have no idea what it's like watching Dad cook food for more than a year and not being able to even smell it!"_

All the while, Mike was fighting the urge to walk back to his table and begin banging his head repeatedly against it. The only reason why he didn't do so was because he would have caused a scene and likely gotten evicted from the restaurant. "Screw it," he decided, "I'll eat some of everything. Thank God I'm not overweight like most of America because otherwise I'd be fat as fuck after all this."

The next thirty minutes were spent in pure bliss as Mike sampled the many different varieties of cuisine that the Wicked Spoon offered. Each ghost entered partially into Mike's body as he ate from a meal that they were particularly interested in, and both father and children delighted in some of the best food Las Vegas had to offer. Their joy was only compounded further when it came time for dessert – even after 40 years, children were still children, and dessert would always be the favorite part of a meal. Mike ended up having to eat multiple pieces of chocolate lava cake and gelato so that all the kids could taste them at least one, not that he had any complaints about doing so. By the time they were finished, Mike's belly was fatter than it had ever been in years, and both he and his kids felt almost intoxicated with all the sensations they had experienced in the last hour.

"So this is what a food coma feels like," Mike mumbled as he nearly stumbled out of the restaurant. "Oof…I ate way too much."

" _I guess that's our f…"_ Charlie started apologetically.

"No it's not," Mike cut her off. "At a buffet restaurant like this I probably would've eaten this much even if I wasn't getting food for you guys to taste."

" _Man, after all that, tasting regular home food is almost going to be kind of bland,"_ Jeremy commented as Mike called a taxi to take him back to the Caesar's Palace. He knew that the casinos themselves really didn't differ significantly when it came to the actual games, and he figured that he would give the kids the opportunity to appreciate the hotel that their friends had stayed in and the one that had inspired their interest in traveling outside of the confines of Hurricane to begin with. But this time, they were here for a completely different purpose.

The site of the casino seemed to revitalize Mike and he walked forward into the hotel with a purpose and excitement that the kids hadn't seen in him yet. And they understood why. Mike might have been able to enjoy their vacation just as much as any other tourist would have, but everything he had done up to this point had been primarily for the children's benefit. But now, it was his turn to have some real fun. Now it was _his_ time to shine.

The brilliant lights of the Caesar's Palace casino flashed around them, dazzling the ghosts with their luminescence. The glow reflected off of Mike's sunglasses as he looked around, and his eyes fell upon a roulette table not too far away. His lips curled into a grin and he spoke the words that would truly mark the beginning of the Las Vegas experience.

"Let the games begin."

/

A/N: I was originally gonna make this into a much longer chapter (around 13+ pages), but unfortunately I just didn't have the time to write the whole thing out in one go. This first chapter of the "Las Vegas" part of the vacation was again mainly for the kids' benefit (even if not much really did happen), but the next chapter is absolutely Mike's time to shine. And I can already tell that I'm going to have a lot of fun with this next chapter, especially since I plan on throwing in a curveball *wink wink*.

I must warn you guys in advance that the next chapter likely won't be until two weeks from now, since I have two incredibly difficult exams coming up next week and I need to devote all my attention to it. Thank you very much for your understanding.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	55. Chapter 55 - The First Vacation Part 3

A/N: And here we go! It's time for the actual casino games to begin! No reason not to put in some big bets when you're a secret millionaire, after all. I apologize for the delay in uploading this chapter, but it's a long one to make up for it 😊

Things will take quite the…interesting turn…later on down the road, as you'll soon see. I think you'll enjoy my little surprise.

This'll probably be the last chapter in the vacation arc, as I can't really think of much more that's around the area and I don't want to drag this arc out for too long.

Also, keep in mind that most if not all communication between Mike and the ghosts is through telepathy and not actual speech. Otherwise people would be staring at Mike and thinking he's crazy for talking to seven imaginary friends or something :P

Chapter 55 – The First Vacation Part 3

"I'm feeling the Roulette first," Mike decided. He had exchanged around 1000 dollars for casino tokens and was now confidently strutting over to the aforementioned table. "Think a few balls on the wheel would be a good way to start the night."

" _Is that the one where you put money on a number or category and if it matches you win?"_ Cassidy asked, bobbing up and down in the air in excitement.

"That's pretty much the gist of it!" Mike replied as he approached the table. There was already quite a few people there, all of whom were eager to make their next bet.

"Good evening, sir," the croupier politely greeted him. "You're just in time for the next bet."

" _Ooh! Ooh!"_ Fritz exclaimed, ignoring the dirty looks he was getting from the other ghosts for getting the first bet in. _"Put it on red, dad!"_

"50 dollars on red to start the evening," Mike agreed as he plopped down chips on the table. The croupier nodded and spun the wheel. The ghosts watched with bated breath as the ball spun ever closer to the wheel. With a barely audible thunk, the ball landed onto one of the slots as the wheel began to slow down, revealing…

" _Awwww!"_ all the ghosts groaned as the wheel stopped, clearly showing the ball on Black 23. _"Dammit…"_ Fritz muttered as the croupier snatched away the chips Mike had placed on the table.

"No biggie," Mike shrugged. "Since we don't have a lot of time between bets I'm going to take the first one I hear, but try and give everyone a chance. Nobody likes a hogger."

" _Try 19-36, dad?"_ Susie suggested. Mike put another 50 dollars on the wheel and the croupier spun it again. This time, the ball landed in Red 23, much to the delight of the ghosts. _"I won!"_ Susie cheered as Mike collected his winnings. _"Whoo!"_

"Nice work, but we're only just getting started," Mike cautioned. "Let's see what happens when I put in a little more." He took out another 50 dollars' worth of chips, making the total value of the bet 100 dollars. "Things get so much more exciting when there's more at stake, after all."

For the next few minutes, the ghostly children each offered up a bet suggestion for the roulette wheel. There were cheers whenever the bet yielded victory and groans of disappointment whenever it missed the mark, but to the growing consternation of the kids, however, the majority of their bets ended up failing, with only Susie's early bet and Jeremy's suggestion of Even numbers garnering any fruit.

The hardest loss by far was when Mike bet 300 dollars on 13-24 at Liz's suggestion. The skeptical look on Mike's face made it clear that he didn't expect this particular bet to go anywhere, a suspicion that was confirmed when the ball landed in Black 2.

" _Wait, you actually bet 300 dollars on that?"_ Liz spluttered as the croupier snatched away the chips. _"I was just joking!"_

Mike shrugged before putting another 100 on Black. "Meh, I mostly did it just for shits and giggles," he explained, before frowning slightly. "I mean, I'm not bothered by the money we're losing, but I'm a bit surprised at how bad our luck's been. We've been betting mostly on half odds, so I would've expected us to win more than this."

As if proving his point, the roulette ball landed on Red 16.

"You know what," Mike threw his hands up in the air, "I'm getting tired of roulette after losing so many times so I'm going to just put this bet here for shits and giggles."

He took out another 300 dollars' worth of chips, the last of the money he had brought to the table. "Fuck it!" he declared. "Put this shit on zero and double zero!"

Everyone (living and dead) gasped and the crowd around him broke into excited whispers. "You're crazy, man!" someone exclaimed from the background.

"Well, I've lost every roulette round here except for 2 so I might as well try this because why the fuck not?" Mike retorted.

" _Are you sure this is a good idea, dad?"_ Charlie asked nervously.

"Probably not, Charlie, but it's Vegas, so I don't give a shit," her father blithely replied as the croupier spun the wheel. Everyone gave the wheel their full attention as it spun, and spun…

…and the ball landed neatly into the green 00 slot.

The crowd burst into an uproar as the family's jaws all dropped towards the table. "Wait…" Mike finally recovered after several seconds. "…are…are you for real? I…I was just fucking around! I…I actually won a bet off putting money on 00?"

"That you have indeed, sir," the croupier smoothly replied, though everyone could tell that he was just as shocked by Mike's win as everyone else what. "Your winnings come out to a total of 5100 dollars."

Mike shook his head in disbelief as he collected the chips. "What the fuck," he muttered. "What in the actual fuck…"

" _Don't argue, dad!"_ Cassidy interrupted as she hugged him from behind. _"You won, and you won big!"_

"Welp, at least I have a ton of money now that I'll probably lose all over again in some other game further down the road," Mike snarked as he departed from the table. He knew better than to continue testing his luck like that. "Where to now?"

" _The slot machines!"_ Jeremy suggested. _"Those things look really cool!"_

"Slot machines it is," Mike agreed as he made his way over to one of the extravagant money traps. "This is probably the simplest thing in the entire Casino," he explained. "Just put in some money, spin the wheel, and whatever the hell happens happens."

As a demonstration, he put in 50 dollars into the machine and pulled the lever. The slots spun for several seconds before landing on a fruit, a 7, and a bell. "You have to match things to win."

Gabe peered down at the pay table, tilting his head in curiosity. _"So Bar and 7 get you the biggest win, right?"_ he asked.

"Yeah, but don't be fooled though," he warned, "the machines are designed so that it's VERY rare to get a Bar or 7 win. And again, everything in a casino is designed so that you will lose more than you will win."

" _House advantage,"_ A sour look crossed Charlie's face. _"It's kind of unfair."_

"Maybe," Mike shrugged, "but it's not exactly a known secret. And in the end, it's the people's design to gamble their money away. Now then," he looked over at the casino machine, "who wants to run a few slots?"

Susie raised her hand. _"Can I go first this time?"_ she asked.

Mike smiled at her, which the girl took as an invitation to approach the machine. "Grab the lever and we'll put together," he instructed. "One…two…three…"

Father and ghost child pulled the lever down together and everyone watched as three cherries lined up. "Better than nothing," Mike commented as a few chips rolled down. One at a time, each ghost child took Susie's place as their father's partner, giving everyone an equal chance to participate in the fun. However, unlike the roulette table, there were no major events this time around, so Mike never won or lost more than a few coins. This was made up for by the fact that there was a lot more diversity in the types of slot machines than for the other games, and the kids enjoyed playing on the different types of machines even if Mike lost a couple hundred dollars in the process.

" _I could have sworn I saw a Pokémon themed slot machine a few rows back,"_ Cassidy speculated as Liz and Mike won three hundred dollars off a lucky spin. _"I don't know if I'm just seeing things, though."_

" _I think my favorite one is that Greek or Roman style that we played a few seconds ago,"_ Jeremy commented as Cassidy decided to go see if she was right or not.

" _Nah man, my favorite slot machine was the pirate-themed one!"_ Fritz declared as the others rolled their eyes.

" _To the surprise of absolutely nobody ever,"_ Liz dryly replied as Cassidy returned, the latter looking somewhat disappointed that she had been wrong.

" _I'm just amazed at how lucky we are to be able to actually play these, or at least help Dad play these,"_ he said as Mike decided to call it quits on the slots. _"If you think about it, we're the first kids to ever be able to play in a casino in Vegas."_

"To be fair," Mike replied wryly as he began walking away from the machines, "you guys are ghosts, and I don't think the price of dying at an early age is worth it. Especially when it comes with the added bonus of getting brutally murdered by a sociopathic asshat and getting stuffed in fursuits for 30 plus years. Unless you're a masochist or something like that."

" _You don't say?"_ Charlie answered, her tone just as dry. By now, the family had been together long enough that they could comfortably talk about their past and even derive some black humor out of it.

" _What's a masochist?"_ Jeremy asked, having never heard the word before.

Mike cringed a bit as he realized his mistake. "You don't want to know," he muttered as they left the Caesar's Palace. As fun as the casino had been, everyone agreed that a change in atmosphere was in order. Since Mike was saving his Bellagio casino night for tomorrow, the New York, NY was chosen next by popular vote.

" _Damn!"_ Fritz whistled as he looked around the inside of the casino. _"This place really looks like we're inside a modern city!"_

" _I wonder what the actual city looks like,"_ Liz remarked.

"You can look it up later, cities like New York are way too big for me to just give a blanket description," Mike replied as he made his way over to the casino section. This time, however, he ignored the Roulette table and the slot machine.

" _What are you going to play, dad?"_ Cassidy asked.

Mike grinned. "I think it's time for some good old Blackjack!" he declared as he approached one of the tables. "Something that's a little more…interactive…compared to the things we've been doing so far."

" _I think I saw a few of those tables over at the Aria,"_ Charlie commented, _"but I didn't really understand what was going on. Something about 21?"_

"Ah, 21, the magic number!" Mike proceeded to explain the rules of Blackjack and how the goal of the game was to get as close to the number 21 as possible through the cards without going over. It was definitely more complicated than either Roulette or slots, and more than one ghost ended up asking questions. Still, Mike was able to give them a basic understanding of how the game worked. The man tossed 100 dollars' worth of chips to the dealer, who proceeded to deal Mike two cards. Mike looked at the two cards, a 6 and a 2.

" _You would hit that hand, right?"_ Susie asked. _"Since there's no way you can lose with another card."_

"Yeah," Mike confirmed as he rapped the table with his knuckles. "And there's no way you're gonna win with just an 8." His eyes lit up as he got a Jack. "18, not bad. I'll stay." The dealer gave himself a card and flipped his last one over, revealing a total of 20.

"Aww, damn…" the man muttered as his money was taken away. "And I actually had a good number too."

Liz winced. _"Unlucky…"_ she mumbled.

"Tell me about it," Mike muttered as the dealer snatched away the chips. He tossed in 200 dollars this time, and to his delight the dealer gave him an ace and a king. "Yes!" he whooped as he saw that the dealer had an 8. "Blackjack!"

" _Blackjack?"_ Susie repeated.

"If you get an ace and a 10 card at the beginning, you automatically win unless the dealer also has a blackjack," Mike explained as the dealer gave him 300 dollars. "It's the super version of getting a 21."

" _And I'm guessing if the dealer has a Blackjack then everyone instantly loses?"_

"Yep," Mike confirmed as he was dealt another hand. It was a 4 and a 10, and this one drew a lot more argument between the ghosts.

" _He should hit!"_ Fritz argued. _"You saw how easy the other guy got a 20, he needs a higher number or he's gonna lose!"_

" _And what if he gets an 8 or higher?"_ Gabe challenged. _"If that happens, he's screwed!"_

" _He's gonna lose anyway if the dealer gets a higher number than him,"_ Cassidy retorted. _"I'm with Fritz on this one, dad needs a good solid number to win!"_

" _What's the dealer's face-up card again?"_ Liz asked.

Charlie looked over at the dealer's side of the table, where a 9 of spades was laid face-up. _"A 9,"_ she reported.

Liz sighed. _"Then I say hit. The dealer already has a 9, his number's probably already higher than dad's."_

The kids couldn't argue with that logic and reluctantly agreed. Mike hit the table…and received a King. "Well, shit…" Mike muttered.

" _You were kinda screwed from the start there, dad…"_ Susie consoled him.

"Yeah," Mike admitted. "Nobody wants to get a number between 13 and 16 in Blackjack. At least with really high numbers or really low numbers it's obvious what you want to do. With middle numbers you have a good chance of fucking yourself over."

The ghosts nodded in understanding as the dealer gave out the next hands. Mike played a few more games of Blackjack, each time allowing a different child to play the game through his actions. The kids enjoyed puzzling and arguing over the more ambiguous hands, but many of them soon found the game repetitive and Mike took that as his cue to end his run at the Blackjack table.

"Hit me," Mike commanded as he looked down at his final hand, a 4 and a 7. To his delight, the final card was a 10. "Hah!" he declared. "A great way to end the evening."

The dealer smirked. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, sir," he smugly replied. The man flipped up his hidden card…revealing an ace along with his queen.

Mike nearly spat out the drink he had ordered. "Aww, come on!" he complained as the dealer snatched away his chips.

" _That's bullshit!"_ Fritz protested.

" _Booooooo!"_ Cassidy made a thumbs-down gesture.

"That's the casino for you," Mike muttered as he got out of his chair. "The house always wins."

"Indeed, good sir," the dealer chuckled. "Have a good night."

Despite the disappointing finish, Mike smiled at him. "Same to you."

" _I can't believe that there's entire tournaments dedicated to this game,"_ Gabe exclaimed as they left the table. _"I mean, don't people get tired of playing the same thing over and over again?"_

"Maybe it's an acquired taste," Mike answered. "I know a few friends who were really into it in college. I like the game well enough, but it isn't my favorite. Now, poker on the other hand…I could play that game all day."

" _Poker?"_ Liz tilted her head.

"I'm saving that for tomorrow," her father replied as he suddenly yawned. He looked at his watch and his eyes suddenly widened. "Eleven o'clock already?" he exclaimed. "Jesus, time flies." He let out another yawn. "Do you guys mind if we pack it in for the night?" he asked. "I'm still recovering from my massive buffet food coma and I want to save some energy for gaming tomorrow night too."

" _It's up to you, dad,"_ Charlie assured him. _"We're happy to go along with whatever you want to do."_

"Tell you what," Mike decided. "While I go to bed early, why don't you guys go out and explore the rest of the city like you explored the Grand Canyon?" he suggested. "You didn't really get the chance earlier and something tells me you guys aren't as tired as I am."

The ghosts' eyes lit up and they started chittering excitedly. _"That's a great idea!"_ Fritz exclaimed.

"Well then, get to it. You've got a whole night to explore one of the craziest cities in the world." The ghosts all hugged their father and flew out in the same pairs they had arranged in the Grand Canyon, each of them giving Mike a thank you of some kind as they left. Mike smiled as he watched them go before hailing a cab for the Aria.

"Enjoy your night, you guys," he murmured quietly to himself as he slipped into the cab and it drove into the night.

 _The Next Morning…_

Mike groggily hit the alarm clock in the suite as he blearily opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that the other ghosts were in the bed along with him. Many of them had positioned themselves next to him and Cassidy had even crawled on top of him. All of them were fast asleep, and even as tired as he was Mike could tell that they were recovering from thorough exhaustion.

"They must have really gone nuts with the whole exploring thing last night," Mike thought as he absentmindedly stroked Charlie's spectral hair. Then, he let his head fall back onto the pillow. "Fuck it…" was his last thought before he closed his eyes, "…I need a late sleep just as much as they do."

It wasn't until several hours later that all of them finally woke up. Susie jolted a bit when she saw the time. _"10:30 already?"_ she gasped. _"God, we stayed up LATE!"_

"How long DID you guys stay up?" Mike asked as the others rubbed away the last traces of sleep from their eyes.

" _I don't remember,"_ Jeremy mumbled, _"but it was definitely a lot later than most kids have their bedtimes."_

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," his father replied dryly. "Right, now that you guys are up, I have a little assignment for you while I check in with Melody and some of my friends real quick. I want you guys to look up the rules for Poker, especially the order of Poker hands. I'm going to be spending our second night mostly playing Poker, and it's important for you guys to know the rules of how hands work and so forth.

The kids proceeded to look up the rules for Poker as he had instructed while the man quickly texted Melody and a few of his friends to see how things were going. Judging by the happy texts that Melody sent back in reply, she was doing quite well for herself. In particular, she and Bonnet seemed to have hit it off immediately, and Melody found it almost impossible to feel any negative feelings for long – there was something about the pink bunny puppet's presence that immediately cheered Melody up the moment she saw her.

"She's so adorable!" Melody cooed as Mike heard Bonnet's giggle over the phone. "I almost want to make more of her!"

"But then she wouldn't be one-of-a-kind anymore," Mike counterargued good-humoredly.

"I suppose you're right," Melody admitted. "By the way, thanks again for letting me use your workshop. There's a lot of things I can do because of it."

"No problem, Melody. I'm glad it's helping you out."

"I can't really thank you properly from here, so all I'll say right now is good luck and go kick some ass at the poker tables!" Melody declared.

Mike chuckled. "I'll try my best, Mel. Have fun with Bonnet."

He hung up and dialed the Marshalls' number. Mike spent another couple of minutes talking with Ryan. His kids had heard about their vacation from one of the ghosts, and both were enthusiastic about the idea that their friends were taking the very same vacation that they had showed them the first time. "Hope you guys have a lot of fun!" Ryan had told Mike. "I'd say take a lot of pictures, but…"

"That'd be kind of hard for obvious reasons," Mike snarked.

"Eh, you guys will remember the good times easily, I'm sure," Ryan replied. "Did you guys hit the casino yet?"

"Yep, but I'm saving the poker rounds for tonight," Mike answered back.

Ryan sighed wistfully. "Ah, those were the days…remember when he had that tournament back in college? That was one of the most intense things I've ever seen, and we weren't even allowed to gamble anything back them!"

"Well, we'll see if I've still got the edge when night rolls around."

"I'm sure you do, Mike. Kick their ass!"

Mike chuckled and gave Ryan a quick fare-well before shutting off the phone. By the time he had finished making their calls, the kids were done looking up the rules for Poker. _"This is some seriously complicated stuff,"_ Fritz muttered. _"So, a full house is three of a kind plus two of a kind, right?"_

"Yeah," Mike confirmed. "It's pretty high up there in terms of poker hands."

" _I think I'll have to actually see a game to understand what's going on,"_ Jeremy muttered.

"You will," his father promised. "There's a reason why Poker is one of my favorite casino games out there. But that's for tonight. We have other things we need to do for now."

It turned out that in the excitement of guiding his kids around, Mike had completely forgotten to do some shopping, both for his friends and for the family's sake. The man was honestly a bit embarrassed that he had forgotten something so basic, so the next few hours were dedicated to scouting around the many shops in the Las Vegas casinos and buying things that piqued either the ghosts' interest or his own. The ghosts had also discovered many interesting locations during their exploration last night that they had wanted to show their father. Following the guidance of his kids for a change, Mike enjoyed the observation decks of the Stratosphere (which provided one of the best panoramic views of Las Vegas in the entire city), the dolphin habitat and artificial volcano of the Mirage (which had the most gold on a building that Mike had ever seen), and the Shark Reef Aquarium of the Mandalay Bay, amongst other sights and locales. Mike had fortunately brought along a bathing suit, so he was able to enjoy some of the water attractions at the Mandalay Bay. It was a bit of a disappointment for the ghosts that they couldn't enjoy the water park like they could a sled or a raft (since they couldn't get wet and there wasn't really anything that they could anchor themselves to), but at least they could anchor themselves to the other tubes floating on the lazy river for the sake of a relaxing ride if nothing else.

" _Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!"_ Liz blurted out once Mike was done. _"We tried anchoring ourselves to the roller coaster at the New York, NY hotel. And it WORKED!"_ she giggled happily. _"We can use anchoring to go on roller coaster!"_

Mike's eyes widened. "Really? Wow!" he declared. "Suddenly that makes plans like going to Disney World and amusement parks a LOT more viable!"

" _I wasn't even sure if it was gonna work,"_ Gabe added, _"but after testing it last night I can say for sure that we can use anchoring on roller coasters and stuff like that. I'm honestly wondering why I doubted it for so long, since I know we can anchor to other fast-moving things like cars."_

" _It was so much fun!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. _"We got to see the inside and the outside of the casino in a whole new way and seeing the city from the roller coaster was so amazing! Can we go to Disneyworld soon? Please?"_

"I'll have to work out the details of that kind of trip later on," Mike replied with a smile, "but I don't see why we can't arrange something like that further down the road." Cassidy's response was to kiss her father on the cheek and float away with a giggle.

" _Why Disneyworld, though?"_ Fritz asked. _"Isn't Disneyland supposed to be closer?"_

"Yeah, but Disneyland is smaller," Mike explained. "Disneyworld has like four parks in it and a lot more stuff outside of them. Not to mention Universal Studios is pretty close by. But that's a topic for another day."

" _You've bought a LOT of stuff, dad!"_ Charlie noticed. _"Three bags?"_

"But of course!" Mike grinned. "This is the first time I've been out of Hurricane in God knows how long, just for myself and you guys. I'd have to be an idiot not to buy some souvenirs to celebrate the occasion. I'll wait til we get back home to show you them, I want it to be a surprise."

After a quick drop-by at the Aria to leave the presents at the suite, Mike escorted his kids over to the Bellagio for the Cirque du Soleil show that he had promised his kids. The O show was heralded throughout the world as "infinity and elegance of water's pure form," and the family would very soon learn why. Everyone was blown away by the performance, enthralled by how the actors combined synchronized swimming with ground aerial acts to create a dazzling spectacle that all of them would be sure to remember for a long time to come.

" _That was so cool!"_ Susie gushed once the performance ended. _"I've never seen anything like that before!"_

" _Man, if I weren't dead right now, this would almost make me want to be a circus performer as an adult,"_ Fritz commented approvingly.

" _We've seen natural wonders, we've seen man-made wonders, now we've seen artistic wonders,"_ Charlie noticed with reverence in her tone. _"It's certainly fitting."_

" _Did you guys notice if there was a story of some kind in that show?"_ Cassidy wondered as Mike left the solemn grace of the Bellagio theater to the loud bustle of the casino. _"I got too caught up in the show to notice."_

Mike shrugged. "There probably was, but for things like this it's more about the actors and performances than the story. And it's no surprise at all that you guys were blown away by this; I've heard that some of the actors in this show are former Olympic athletes."

The kids' eyes bulged. _"No way!"_ Gabe exclaimed.

"I don't know if it's true or not, but if it is then that goes a long way to explaining why this show is top tier," Mike replied as he headed over to yet another buffet restaurant, this one inside the Bellagio itself. Normally the man wouldn't have ever considered eating at buffet places two days in a row, but Mike had gotten a lot of exercise that day by walking to every single location that they had visited that morning. He had also eaten only a small meal that morning for lunch, so he was practically starving at this point.

Fortunately, since they had already eaten at a buffet location once, Mike and the kids had a general idea of how to enjoy the massive meal this time around. The man arbitrarily came up with an order for the kids to partially possess him while he ate, and this time there were no arguments over who wanted to eat what and when. Mike also challenged the kids to try something different than what they had last time, which the ghosts had no problem agreeing with. Thirty minutes later, everyone had enjoyed a delightful and massive meal for the second time in a row.

" _Eating like this again so soon can't be healthy,"_ Gabe commented as they left the restaurant. _"Not that I'm complaining."_

" _I can't tell whether this restaurant was better or the other one was,"_ Jeremy remarked with a contented sigh.

"Well, I sure as hell am not going back to experiment," Mike snorted, earning a couple of snickers from everyone else.

" _Is there anything else we need to do?"_ Charlie asked.

Mike grinned. "Nope, it's time for the one thing I've been waiting for all day. Poker night! And from what I've heard, there's no better place to play Poker than the Bellagio."

" _I'm not sure we'll be able to help you play,"_ Jeremy muttered. _"I can barely understand the game as it is."_

A sly look crossed Liz's face. _"You know,"_ she began with a look of innocence that everyone could clearly tell was fake. _"Maybe we could peek at the other poker hands to help dad out."_

Mike shook his head. "Any poker player with half a brain will keep his cards face-down on the table as much as possible," he shot down the idea. "Besides, I don't like the idea of cheating for something like this. Kills all the satisfaction out of the game."

" _That's fair,"_ Liz conceded as she and the others followed Mike back out into the casino area. It took a while for Mike to find the Poker room in the Bellagio, but once he found it he wasted no time and slipped into one of the seats.

"You are currently the big blind, sir," the dealer informed him. "20 dollars."

"All righty," Mike tossed in a chip towards the middle. "No problem with that." The dealer dealt out the cards and Mike peeked at his. When he saw what they were, he had to fight the urge to break his poker face in disgust. "Oh, for fuck's sake…" he snarled.

" _What is it, dad?"_ Susie asked.

"I just got the worst poker hand possible," Mike explained with a growl. "A 2 and a 7, different suit. Can't make a straight, can't make a flush, can't do jack shit with this garbage."

" _Uhm…maybe you can make a two pair?"_ Charlie weakly suggested. _"Maybe even a three of a kind?"_

Nobody made any move to propose an early bet, so the dealer flipped three cards over – a Q, an ace, and a 9. "Fuck this," Mike tossed the cards onto the table. "Fold. Not wasting my time and money over a lost cause."

The rest of the players either folded or raised bets depending on their confidence, and the game ended when one of the other five players raked in a small pot of money. It seemed that nobody was overly confident in their ability to win that round, considering that the total pool was only around 300 dollars and the winning hand was only a pair of Queens.

" _That didn't seem all that exciting,"_ Fritz commented in disappointment.

"That's cause everyone's hand was shit," Mike replied. "When somebody gets good hands, THAT'S when things get interesting."

He tossed in 10 dollars for the small blind and the dealer dealt everyone two cards. When he saw what his cards were _this_ time around, he barely managed to repress a grin. "Ah, here we go!" he declared. "MUCH better than before."

" _An queen of clubs and a 9 of diamonds? What can you do with…OH."_ Gabe realized. _"You can make a straight."_

"I can indeed," Mike replied. "But CAN make a straight doesn't mean WILL make a straight. Let's see what the dealer has to say about this."

The dealer flipped over three cards: a king of spades, a jack of clubs, and a 4 of hearts. This time, it seemed the players were a lot more invested in their hands than they were with the last round. "Raise 200," someone pushed in a few chips.

The next player tossed his cards down onto the table. "Fold," he muttered.

Mike smirked. "I'll match," he pushed in 200 dollars of his own. The other players began muttering to themselves, and in the end only one other person matched while the others folded.

The dealer flipped the next card. A 10 of hearts. Mike was able to keep his cool enough to hide his victory, but the ghosts began to chitter excitedly around him. Mike now had a straight, which meant his chances of winning this round were very high indeed. But could anyone else beat him?

The man who had raised the stakes to begin with didn't bother hiding his grin. "Raise another 500," he declared. Mike calmly matched the bet while the third player did the same, and the dealer flipped over the last card. A five of spades.

The opponent's face didn't change, but Mike could have sworn that he had seen the man's eye twitch for the briefest of seconds. Mike was tempted to raise 200 to see if he could force him to fold or raise on a bluffed hand, but he decided to be merciful and checked instead. Once he had done so, the dealer asked everyone to show their hands.

"Dammit," the man muttered as he tossed down a six of hearts and a seven of hearts. "I was hoping to get a flush with the last hand but then everything went to shit."

Mike shrugged. "Sorry, man," he said sympathetically as the third player revealed his hand. It was a pair of fours, meaning a triple in total. Mike couldn't help but be impressed at the realization that the silent third player had proved to be the better threat.

A triple wasn't a bad hand at all. But it wasn't good enough. Mike finally allowed himself a satisfied smirk as he revealed his 9 and Q. "I believe that makes me the winner."

"Well that's disappointing," the man said as he got up from the table. "I think I'm going to retire for today. I've lost enough money as it is."

"Good game," Mike offered his hand. The man smiled wryly, shook it, and left.

" _At least he was a good sport about it,"_ Jeremy commented as the rounds continued.

The next few rounds were relatively dull, at least from the ghosts' perspective. There weren't any major pots or particularly strong hands, or if there were, Mike apparently didn't think he had a good enough hand and elected to fold out of them instead. Money exchanged hands and people occasionally ordered a few drinks as the game played out in front of them.

All of that changed with the arrival of a new player into the room.

From the outside, he didn't seem like much. A man with dirty-blond hair and brown, almost maroon eyes, wearing a suit to match the color of his hair. While the man was admittedly handsome, his looks were marred by his facial expression, an innate expression of contempt as though everyone in the room were beneath him. There was something about the man that struck Mike as very wrong. The man sat down at the table, placing what was easily over ten thousand dollars' worth of chips. He looked up, looking Mike straight in the eye.

And suddenly, Mike understood everything with a cold feeling of clarity.

For a split second, the room vanished around him, leaving only a cold void. All that was left was the man…or rather, the true identity of the monster underneath the façade of human flesh.

The demonic bear creature in front of him reminded Mike all too much of Nightmare with his vicious fangs and claws and his burning red eyes, but there were noticeable differences too. The nightmare's hat and bow were purple instead of yellow, and his entire body was colored a dirty gold instead of Nightmare's all-consuming black.

" **I SEE THAT YOU RECOGNIZE ME FOR WHAT I TRULY AM, MORTAL,"** Nightmare Fredbear hissed, and Mike was surprised by how different his voice sounded compared to that of his brother. In contrast to the guttural, deep, unholy growl of Nightmare, Nightmare Fredbear's voice was soft and almost tranquil. In another context, Mike could have even considered it as comforting. But here, the disconcerting effect only added to the menace that Nightmare Fredbear emanated. **"BUT THAT ISN'T REALLY MUCH OF A SURPRISE, CONSIDERING THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN ACQUAINTED WITH MY BROTHER."**

"What are you doing here?" Mike managed to grind out through his teeth.

" **WHY, THE SAME THING THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS HERE, OF COURSE!"** Nightmare Fredbear laughed. **"LAS VEGAS IS THE CITY OF SIN, AFTER ALL. WHAT BETTER PLACE FOR A DEMON IN DISGUISE TO ENJOY A RARE NIGHT OF FREEDOM?"** He bared his teeth at Mike. **"I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU KEEP YOUR LITTLE GHOST BRATS AWAY FROM MY SIDE OF TABLE,"** his voice suddenly dropped to a snarl. **"I DON'T REACT WELL TO CHEATERS."**

The darkness suddenly lifted, and Mike found himself back in the Bellagio's table. He couldn't believe that more than one Nightmare was allowed free reign on Earth, though there was some comfort in the fact that Heaven probably wouldn't allow Nightmare Fredbear to do anything to his family now that they had already passed Nightmare's test. One look at the horrified, angry, and fearful expressions of the ghost kids and Mike could tell that they all knew _exactly_ who had joined them in that moment. Liz's eyes were glowing bright green, and she looked as though she were debating whether or not she should change into Scrap Baby form.

Nightmare Fredbear's human form grinned. "I do so enjoy a good game," he commented as the next round began. "Be sure not to disappoint me."

"One moment," Mike got up from the table and left. He returned few seconds later with just as much chips as Nightmare Fredbear. He gave the disguised demon a look of challenge. "Bring it," he snarled in his head.

And just like that, it was as though an unseen switch had flickered on. By some sheer coincidence, everyone at the table suddenly seemed to have working hands and were more willing to raise bets when they would have previously folded. To add to the intensity, every time Nightmare Fredbear raised he would toss in 500 to over a thousand dollars on his hands. It didn't matter how good or bad those hands were – money was power, and he had the power to dictate the course of the game. Only Mike was able to keep up thanks to his own large pot of wealth.

The next round began, and the dealer dealt out cards to everyone still in the game. Mike picked up his cards to see a 9 of spades and a 4 of spades. He could definitely work with that.

"I raise 2000," Nightmare Fredbear growled as he pushed the chips into the table. Almost immediately, the player next to him tossed his cards to the center of the table.

"I can't bet something that huge this early into the game," he exclaimed as the other players besides Mike folded as well.

"I can," Mike coldly replied. "Match 2000."

Nightmare Fredbear grinned sinisterly as the dealer revealed the first three cards. A seven of spades, an ace of clubs, and a 2 of spades. "I raise another 1000," Nightmare Fredbear declared as he tossed in more chips. Mike matched the bet, and the dealer flipped over the next card. A three of clubs. The ghosts didn't dare make a sound for fear of drawing Nightmare Fredbear's attention over to them, and even the other players watching couldn't help but feel a sense of overwhelming unease at the intensity between the two players.

"Raise 1000 again," Nightmare Fredbear challenged.

"Match," was Mike's answer. The final card was revealed. An ace of spades.

"Another 1000!" Nightmare Fredbear pushed in the chips.

"I'll match that," Mike agreed as he tossed in the chips. The dealer ordered them to flip over their cards. Mike smirked as he revealed his two spade cards, revealing his flush. The onlookers ooh'd a the impressive hand, but his satisfaction faded when he saw the vicious grin on Nightmare Fredbear's face.

"Not a bad showing, there," Nightmare Fredbear admitted. "A pity that it means nothing in the end!" He threw his cards down, revealing an ace and a 3. A full house. "What a shame…to come so close only to fall so far."

To everyone's surprise, Mike's own face showed nothing but contempt and a burning determination. "That was a lovely attempt to cripple my morale," he mocked. "Too bad it was also equally pathetic. Here's some news for you, jackass. We're only just getting started."

"Good!" Nightmare Fredbear hissed. "I'd be very disappointed indeed if you broke down after a single defeat."

The game continued on, but by now it was a dead certainty that this was a game between Mike and the disguised Nightmare Fredbear. The two of them played a twisted and vicious game with cunning buffs and brutal hands, and between the two of them they soon knocked out every other player except for them. Mike was able to get some of his money back thanks to beating Nightmare Fredbear's two pair with a three of a kind, but neither Mike nor Nightmare Fredbear was able to gain a significant advantage over the other.

As the clock struck 11, Nightmare Fredbear's face contorted into a sneer. "I grow weary of this game," he snarled. "Why don't we make a…gentleman's agreement, Schmidt? All in, both of us. Right here and now." The ghosts all gasped in shock, and some of them even shook their heads at Mike as if trying to dissuade him from taking that bet.

"But what if you don't have enough money to match each other's all-ins?" the dealer began, but the demon cut him off.

"Do you not see our piles, you myopic imbecile? Does it really matter what the exact numbers are? Do you really want to waste everyone's time trying to sort through all this drivel?"

While Mike was irritated at the demon's tone, he had to admit that Nightmare Fredbear did have a point. He didn't exactly look forward to counting out every single chip any more than his opponent. "I'll agree only if I get to see the three cards first. Only an idiot would charge in without even bothering to see the entire hand first."

He half-expected Nightmare Fredbear to mock him, but to his surprise the demon simply nodded. "Understandable," he agreed. "Deal the cards."

The dealer did so, and then flipped over three cards: a king of hearts, a six of diamonds, and a seven of diamonds. Nightmare Fredbear immediately his entire pot into the table. "All-in, as we agreed."

"As we agreed," Mike repeated, and with a sigh he pushed his own pot into the table as well, ignoring the shocked gasps of his ghost kids. Between the two of them, there was easily over a hundred thousand dollars' worth of chips in the pot, a pot truly worthy of a grand finale.

With no more bets to be made, the dealer flipped over a king of spades. Mike could have sworn he had seen a flash of scarlet in the demon's eyes, but he made no comment about it. The dealer flipped over one final card: a four of diamonds.

Nightmare Fredbear began to roar with laughter, disconcerting the crowd that had gathered to watch the game. He flipped over his two cards, revealing two kings. The ghosts' faces all fell when they realized that Nightmare Fredbear had gotten a four of a kind. Defeating him at this point would be almost impossible.

"You have failed, Schmidt," the demon hissed. "All this time, all this effort, all for nothing."

But Mike's smirk didn't fade away. On the contrary, it only grew larger. "You know," he said almost conversationally, "the thing about arrogant bastards like you is that it is _so very satisfying_ to take your pride and break it into pieces. So why don't you take your kings… **and go fuck yourself."**

He slammed his cards onto the table, and everyone's eyes widened in shock. A three and a five of diamonds. Putting all his hopes on the final card, Mike had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with his sudden straight flush.

The ghosts all began to cheer as Nightmare Fredbear stared at the two cards. Mike started to collect his winnings, but then stopped slightly once he noticed the motionless demon. Was he about to erupt into a rage at his loss?

To his surprise, the demon began to laugh again. At first, it was a soft chuckle, but then it escalated into full blown laughter. More than one person began to wonder if the "man" had suffered a mental breakdown at a loss this huge.

"I always wondered what my brother saw in you that night," Nightmare Fredbear finally said after several moments of trying to collect himself. "He told me you were something special indeed. And now that I have seen what makes you so interesting for myself, I freely admit that he was correct."

He got up from the table and offered his hand to Mike. After several seconds of staring at it suspiciously, the man reluctantly shook it. "Thank you, Schmidt, for a most entertaining evening. I will have quite the tale to tell my brother when I return home," And with that he departed from the table and out of sight. Something told Mike that even if (for some ungodly insane reason) he tried to follow Nightmare Fredbear, he would not find the demon again for the rest of the night.

He barely had time to think anything more as the ghosts immediately swarmed him, all cheering with delight and satisfaction. _"You did it, dad!"_ Cassidy cheered. _"You won! You won!"_

" _You're amazing, dad!"_ Susie hugged her father tightly.

" _Did you see the look on that bastard's face when you kicked his ass?"_ Fritz snickered. _"That was hilarious!"_

" _That's our dad!"_ Liz praised. _"So good at what he does that he can even kick a demon's ass!"_

"All right, all right, settle down kiddos, I'm tired enough as it is," Mike calmed them as he departed the table with his winnings. "Jesus, I'm exhausted. That was one of the most intense things I've ever done in my entire life, and there weren't even any high stakes like what you hear about in those deal-with-the-devil stories."

" _Are we gonna do anything else tonight, dad?"_ Jeremy wondered.

"I'll save a small number of chips for a few rounds at one of the craps tables and then we'll call it a night afterwards. What do you say?"

" _Sounds good to me, dad!"_ Charlie agreed, along with the other ghosts. But none of them truly cared anymore about whether or not Mike won a few dice rolls.

The only thing that mattered to them now was that their father had challenged another demon in the middle of his vacation and won. And the kids would forever remember this day as the day that Mike cemented his status as the biggest badass ever. A perfect way to end their glorious first vacation.

/

A/N: What an exhausting chapter to write. Seventeen pages on Word, if you can believe it.

I bet none of you guys expected me to throw in a Nightmare animatronic into the mix, especially one that WASN'T Nightmare himself. Apart from enjoying a night out in Vegas (and enjoying the sin, debauchery, gambling, all that good shit that makes Vegas known as the City of Sin for a reason), Nightmare Fredbear was curious to see if Mike deserved the praise that Nightmare had given him. Even if it the actual game itself was heavily luck-based, I think it's safe to say that our favorite yellow bear monstrosity got his answer.

And that's the end of the vacation arc! I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you guys did too! And for all you fans of the Rockstar animatronics, don't you worry, because that is the next major plot arc for sure.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	56. Chapter 56 - Friends Back Home

A/N: The next two weeks are going to be very busy for me (I think I have like 7-8 med school exams in between the two of them), so the chances of me uploading a chapter during them are very low. Hence why I'm uploading another chapter so soon after the first one to make up for the soon-to-be extended absence.

I was going to leave the last chapter as the end to the vacation arc, but that felt a bit unfinished to me. So I'm going to use this chapter to wrap up the arc instead. It's in a similar format to the Random Family Moments chapters, but it features characters outside of the family. Apart from, you know…the Nightmares.

I realize I haven't done an "Epic Fantasy Adventures" chapter in quite a long time. I haven't forgotten, I just need time to do some D&D research that I don't have time to do right now because med school.

Chapter 56 – Friends Back Home

 _Pink Rabbits and Payment_

The days following the family's first vacation were spent in quiet recuperation. Mike had staved off the exhaustion of long driving sessions and crazy Vegas nights as long as possible, but everything had finally caught up to him once they had finally come back home. Not wanting to see him accidentally hurt himself, the ghosts had all but carried Mike to his bed and dropped him on there so that he could properly recover.

" _Will he be all right?"_ Liz asked as she watched Mike lay sprawled on his bed. The way he had complained about not feeling well and an upset stomach, some of the ghosts were wondering if he had ended up getting sick somehow.

Charlie nodded. _"He's just tired,"_ she explained. _"Mike hasn't really driven out of town for a long while now, and certainly not for vacation trips like the one we went on. The last time he did something like this was when he was still working for Eisensteel. That and the fact that he ate two buffet dinners in a row. Give it some time, I'm sure he'll be fine."_

"I'm not an invalid, you know," Mike's voice grumbled from his room. "I'm just tired as hell. And that buffet was worth it."

Charlie smirked. _"See?"_

For the next few days, the ghost kids mostly stayed to themselves as Mike recovered from his fatigue. The Marshalls were excited to know that their friends were back home and wanted to hear all about their vacation from them personally, but they decided to wait until Mike was ready first.

It wasn't until a week later that Mike decided he was ready to get back to his daily life. "So has anything happened while I did my best impression of a Snorlax for the past few days?" was his first question.

" _Melody dropped by a few times,"_ Jeremy answered. _"She wanted to see if you were all right."_

" _We told her that you were recovering and couldn't see her,"_ Susie added.

"For an entire week?" Mike winced. "Geez, I feel kind of bad now for just leaving her hanging like that. Next time she comes by I'll make sure to talk to her."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. _"That's probably her,"_ Liz pointed out.

Mike immediately raced for the door and swung it open. Sure enough Melody was standing outside with Bonnet clinging to her right shoulder. "Hey there!" she greeted him, looking relieved. "I tried to contact you a few times, but…"

"Yeah…sorry about that," a sheepish look crossed Mike's face. "Haven't been feeling well for the past week ever since we got back from the vacation."

Melody smiled. "Glad you're all right now," she said as Mike opened the door wider to let her in. The woman quickly crossed the threshold, Bonnet holding on to her shoulder as she did so to avoid falling off.

A wry look crossed Mike's face. "It probably had something to do with the long driving hours I put in. Or the fact that eating two buffet dinners in a row screwed with my stomach."

"You know that's not healthy right?"

"In my defense, I was letting the ghost kids partially possess me so they could taste the food," Mike countered.

Melody smirked. "I wonder how many times THAT sentence has been said before," she commented as she followed Mike to the living room. The ghost kids dropped their phones and laptops and waved at her as she sat down at the couch. Bonnet looked at the phones and laptops with utter fascination, prompting Charlie to begin showing her how the bits of technology and the Internet worked. The former Marionette inhabitant opened a Youtube video featuring a walkthrough of one of the "Trollface Quest" games, causing Bonnet to erupt into hysterical giggles at the hilarious stupidity and stupid hilarity going on.

"She's almost like a little kid," Melody gave pink bunny rabbit a fond look. "I really enjoyed taking care of her." Bonnet looked up and waved at the woman, who happily returned the gesture. "I know she's supposed to be yours, but…can I borrow her some more? For a little longer?"

Mike grinned. He hadn't missed the close relationship between Melody and Bonnet, and something told him that she could take care of Afton's now pacified creation better than he ever could. "You know what?" he declared. "You can keep her. She's clearly happy being with you and I've already got plenty of company."

Melody's eyes shone and Bonnet raised her arms up in delight. "Thanks so much, Mike!" She exclaimed. "It's really nice having a companion when I have to do some engineering by myself. Her eyes suddenly caught the bags of Las Vegas souvenirs. "So how was your vacation?"

" _It was AMAZING!"_ Susie declared, almost glowing with happiness. _"I can't remember having so much fun!"_

" _We got to fly around the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and play around in Las Vegas!"_ Gabe elaborated. _"We all had a great time!"_

Melody laughed. "That's good to hear. I always insisted that Mike needed to get the hell out of this tiny little town for something that wasn't Eisensteel related. Thank God he finally took my advice. I'm honestly surprised he didn't do it earlier with you guys."

" _That's mostly because I was still in the Marionette,"_ Charlie explained. _"I can turn myself invisible as a normal ghost, but a floating Puppet flying around…"_

"…yeah, I can see how that could cause a few problems," Melody conceded. "I can just see the headlines now: **SLENDER MAN PUPPET WITH FACE TERRORIZES LAS VEGAS**. **"**

Mike burst out laughing but the kids just gave the two adults confused looks. _"What's slender man?"_ Cassidy asked.

"Don't worry about it," Mike waved it off. "Anyways, I bought a couple of souvenirs at Vegas and some of them are for you." He reached into one of the bags and Melody's eyes widened when he took it out.

It was a miniature slot machine, carefully crafted to imitate an actual Las Vegas slot machine as accurately as possible. Melody experimentally pulled the lever down and the slots rolled for a few seconds before landing on three lemons. Before she could say anything, Mike handed her the machine and took out a few more souvenirs, including a mug, a glass hexagonal prism with a miniature Las Vegas inside it, and a snow globe. "All yours," he declared as he put them back into the bag and handed it to her.

"Thank you so much, Mike," Melody said softly as she accepted the bag. "I'm going to put these up in my bedroom when I get home. They all look so beautiful." She gave him a grateful smile. "I know I said this before, but you really are the best."

" _Heck yeah he is!"_ Fritz cheered, with various expressions of approval and agreement from the other ghosts.

Mike shrugged and grinned. "No trouble at all, Mel," he replied. "And now there's one other thing we need to talk about."

Melody gave him a confused glance. "What about?"

"How much I'm going to pay you for taking care of my house and workshop for the past few days."

"WHAT?" Melody squawked. "I can't accept that! You're already giving me gifts! Hell, if anything, I should be paying YOU for using your garage!"

" _Good luck trying to convince Dad to change his mind,"_ Jeremy smirked.

"I know…" she groaned as she palmed her face. "Don't forget, I've known him a lot longer than you guys have." She sighed. "All right then, let's get this over with. How much are you going to give me?"

"It's up to you," Mike offered, causing Melody to perk up.

"How about nothing?" she innocently suggested, causing the kids to start laughing.

"Not gonna happen," Mike smirked, causing Melody's head to slump again. "Now then, I'll give you a choice. You can either take 1000 dollars for the past four days you've been taking care of my house…or 10% of the money I've won from my game nights at Vegas."

Melody looked at Mike and the ghost kids carefully, but their faces were betraying nothing. She shrugged. "I'll take the second option, I guess," she answered, confident that she would be getting only a small amount of cash. People always lost in casinos, and there was no way Mike could have hit a jackpot of some kind…right?

Mike's grin widened and he reached a hand out to Liz. The orange-haired ghost girl giggled and placed a small check in his hand, which he handed over to Melody. For the second time in a row, Melody's eyes bulged as she read the amount listed on the check.

"Congratulations, Mel," Mike grinned. "You just made the easiest six thousand dollars you've ever made in your entire life!"

Melody looked at the check and the 6000 dollars emblazoned on it for several seconds. Then, her eyes rolled to the back of her hand and she fell backward onto the couch, head rolled back, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Mike and the ghosts all sweatdropped while Bonnet crawled over to her new fainted owner, tapping various parts of her face lightly with her tiny pink arms in concern. _"Uhhhh…dad?"_ Fritz finally spoke up after several seconds. _"I think you broke her."_

His father brushed the back of his hand against her forehead and shrugged. "She'll be fine."

 _Reunion Among Friends_

Barely a few days after Melody's visit to Mike's house, the kids all got a message from Alex and Meghan on their computers. "We want to hear all about it!" both siblings had demanded as one.

When it quickly became apparent that a simple Internet or phone conversation wouldn't satisfy either set of kids, Mike and Ryan had promptly and hastily arranged a smaller-scale playdate for the friends to reunite as quickly as possible.

"Charlie's down in the basement taking care of something," Mike told the kids before he and Ryan went to the dining room to exchange some small talk and for Mike to give his Las Vegas souvenir gifts to his old friend. "She'll be up soon enough."

"We saw the picture of the suite you sent us," was the first thing Meghan said when they situated themselves in the living room. "I'm so jealous! It's like you're living in a miniature palace on top of a skyscraper!"

" _With extra gold too!"_ Cassidy added.

"Man, I wish I could fly around the Grand Canyon like you guys did," Alex replied wistfully. "I'm guessing you did something like that too at Vegas?" He groaned when the kids only grinned in response. "I know you guys said you didn't want to be ghosts, and I'm sorry, but the way you talk about your vacation makes being a ghost sound awesome!"

" _It has its ups and downs,"_ Jeremy conceded. _"Let's just say that there was a whole lotta down before we finally got to enjoy some of the ups."_ The Marshalls knew better than to ask for details.

" _What was your experience like?"_ Gabe asked, changing the subject. He had always wondered how their experiences would compare to their friends, though given the many advantages they had as ghosts he doubted that the Marshalls would have had as much free reign as they did.

"Dad only got us a regular hotel room," Alex replied. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the room itself is amazing, especially at that cheap of a price. But we just don't have the money to get an entire sky suite like you guys did."

" _You know, if you go back there, we could ask dad to pay for a suite,"_ Cassidy offered.

Alex shook his head. "No way, man. From what I've heard from mom, our dads argued for entire days over whether or not Dad should accept the money to pay for his college loans before he finally accepted. And that was for something very important. There's no way in Hell Dad's gonna accept money from Mr. Schmidt over something as small as a hotel room."

The former Bonnie inhabitant shrugged. _"Whatever floats your boat."_

" _Do you think that we could go someplace together sometime?"_ Susie wondered. _"It would be amazing if we could all go on one giant summer vacation!"_

Meghan frowned. "If we do, it would have to be during the summer," she replied. "We still have school and there's no way our parents are gonna take us anywhere major during then." She smiled at Cassidy. "Let me guess, all of us going to Disneyworld?"

Cassidy pouted. _"Am I that predictable?"_

" _It's all you've been talking about every time we bring up vacations, Cass,"_ Liz joked, eliciting laughter from everyone, even Cassidy herself.

Alex peered at the orange-haired ghost girl. "Huh, I just noticed something, Liz," he remarked. "Your voice sounds different from what it used to."

" _Huh?"_ Liz asked, startled. A small part of her was worried that she might have unconsciously sounded like Scrap Baby to her two friends. That was one aspect of her that she did NOT want them to know. Ever.

"It's the accent," Alex explained, and Meghan nodded as she recognized the same thing her brother was. "Back when we first met, you had a distinctive British accent. But now you're honestly starting to sound more like a regular American girl instead."

" _Really?"_ Liz said in wonder. She hadn't even noticed any changes to her voice. She turned to her brothers and sisters. _"Did you guys notice anything different?"_

Fritz thought for a moment. _"You know, now that you mention it, Alex does have a point. Your voice DOES sound different than what it used to."_

" _Hey, you're right!"_ Gabe added. _"I can't believe I haven't noticed it before,"_ he added sheepishly.

"It's probably because you spend every day together, so it's hard to notice gradual changes." Alex theorized. "As for us, we only see each other a few times, so we can notice differences more easily."

" _Makes sense, I guess,"_ Liz conceded thoughtfully.

"Aww, I kind of missed your British accent. British accents are funny," Meghan said with a giggle.

" _Well, I don't,"_ Liz retorted a little more sharply than she intended. At the strange looks the Marshalls gave her, she quickly backpedaled. _"Sorry, that came out a little harsher than I wanted. I'm happy with sounding like everyone else in my family."_ And it was true. Anything that distanced herself from William Afton was a plus in her book, even if it came with the unfortunate cost of distancing herself a little from Michael as well. But knowing her brother, she doubted that he would mind.

Alex shrugged. "Well, this playdate won't be as long as our normal ones, but we still have more than an hour left. Do you guys mind if we go downstairs to your basement? It's the one part of your house we haven't seen yet and since we've known each other for a while I don't think your dad will mind us going down there."

" _Sure thing!"_ Fritz answered, and the children climbed (or floated) down into the depths of the basement. Alex and Meghan whistled as they took in the décor and the furnishings.

"Dang, this place looks just as cool as the rest of the house!" Alex declared. "Feels nice and cool here too!"

Meghan looked over at the TV. "Why does your dad have a second set of video game consoles besides the ones already in the living room?" she wondered.

" _Oh, that was for when Dad still had a job. He sometimes hosted parties in the house for some of his workers and video games were apparently a huge thing with them. That and the fact that you could have one group of people watch TV and another group of people play games depending on what people felt like doing."_

Alex and Meghan's heads turned to see an unfamiliar (but still ghostly) figure kneeling and inspecting something rather odd. A black and red bear animatronic with a missing eye, holding a microphone and with a golden star emblazoned on its chest. The two siblings looked at each other, silently asking the same question: what the heck was that thing?

The figure got up and turned around. A ghostly teenaged girl with brown hair and matching brown eyes. The two Marshalls stared at the girl blankly, and then it clicked. "Wait a minute!" Alex spluttered. "CHARLIE?"

Charlie grinned. "Surprised, Alex?" she asked. "This is what I look like now that I've been freed from the Puppet. What were you expecting?"

"Uh…someone in elementary or lower middle school, just like everyone else in your family?" Alex answered weakly.

" _To be fair, she DID look like that for a couple of days,"_ Gabe decided to try and rescue Alex. _"Then one day she tried to do an experiment with magic and it caused her to turn into a teen."_

Meghan shook her head. "I'm not going to even BEGIN to try to understand how that happened. Anyway, what's that thing you were working on?"

" _Oh, this?"_ Charlie gestured towards the black bear. _"Just a little maintenance on an alternate body that I can possess whenever I need to. He's called Lefty."_

"You should probably get that missing eye replaced," Alex remarked.

" _I could, but then it just wouldn't be the same,"_ Charlie explained. _"My original dad left this for me before he died. It wouldn't feel right changing Lefty beyond fixing him up a bit."_

"We can relate," Meghan murmured sympathetically. "We had a granddad who had an old music box he left us before he died. It's so worn down but we'd never get it repaired, since it would mean basically tearing the thing apart."

" _Sorry to hear that,"_ Fritz apologized, uncharacteristically serious.

She shrugged and smiled. "It happened a long time ago, so we're over it by now. On a happier note," she turned towards Charlie. "CAN you possess Lefty right now?"

Charlie shook her head. _"The Endoskeleton is currently in the garage so I can't possess it. Mike usually takes it out once a month to clean and fix it up."_

Alex shrugged. "Oh well. Would've been cool if kind of creepy to see you move around in Lefty, but nothing we can do about that. Why don't we go back upstairs to see how our dads are doing?"

There was general agreement to his words and the children climbed back up the stairs. As they made their way back to the living room, Meghan decided to confront her brother. "Bro, you've been giving Charlie some odd looks ever since you first saw her. What's going on?"

Alex put his hands up in defense. "Look, I'm still not used to Charlie being a teen. I honestly thought she'd be the same age as the other ghosts. Seeing her like this took me surprise, is all?"

"Oh, really?" Meghan smirked. "I think something else is going on."

"What are you…" Alex's widened as he realized what his sister was insinuating. Some of the ghost kids had connected the dots in the same way, and were trying their hardest to suppress smirks and giggles. "What the hell? NO!" he exclaimed vehemently. "I don't think of Charlie like that!"

"So you don't think she's attractive?" Meghan asked innocently. Charlie, in the meantime, was spluttering in shock just as much as Alex was.

Alex glared at her. "I didn't say that!"

" _So you do think she's hot?"_ Liz smirked as she took over Meghan's attack, causing the surrounding ghosts to start collapsing into full-blown laughter.

"What the hell am I supposed to say? No? Obviously I'm going to say yes, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go around asking her for a date!" Alex retorted. "Besides, look at her! She looks three to four years older than me! And she's a ghost! What you're saying is wrong on so many levels!"

"What's going on?" a new voice asked as Mike poked his head into the living room. "Something funny?"

" _I think Alex wants to go on a date with Charlie!"_ Fritz answered quickly before either Charlie or Alex could stop him. This caused another bout of hilarity in everyone besides two named individuals, who were too thunderstruck to even say a word.

"Oh, really?" Mike's smirk took on a predatory edge as he looked over at Alex. He didn't _really_ think the Marshall brother had a crush on his daughter, but he figured he might as well milk the humor out of this interesting situation for shits and giggles. "Then I'm contractually obligated to warn you as her father that any funny business you do with Charlie will result in me breaking out the shotgun that may or may not exist."

"Wait, what? SHOTGUN?" Alex exclaimed in horror as the kids around him only laughed harder.

"Toodles!" Mike cheerfully waved as he vanished out of the doorway. Alex only groaned and buried his face in his hands as the kids, while Charlie desperately tried to calm down her siblings.

"I hate you," he glared at his sister. "I hate you so much."

The only response he received from her was a smug smirk. "Then I'm doing my job."

/

A/N: I think that's a good way to wrap up the vacation arc. At least with regards to the part with Melody, the part with the Marshalls is kind of more its own thing with the vacation only getting a passing mention in the beginning.

I'm NOT actually shipping Charlie and Alex by the way, this was just Meghan and the ghost kids poking some fun at the "older siblings" of their respective families. Plus Mike's little mini-speech was fun to write.

As I have promised everyone who voted for the Rockstar animatronics, that will be the next major arc. I have a couple of fun ideas that I can use to play around with them, though not all of them will be implemented immediately. But that will almost certainly not come til after my exams.

Until then, hope you guys enjoy!


	57. Chapter 57 - Epic Fantasy Adventures 3

A/N: Finals week is over, thank God. I'm going to enjoy being a lazy ass next week for all it's worth.

It's been a while since we had an "Epic Fantasy Adventures" chapter, hasn't it? I'm still exhausted from doing all my med school shit, so I think now as good a time as any to write an "isolated" chapter.

A very important announcement before we begin, however. The past events of FNAF mentioned in this chapter have been RETCONNED so that the Bite Victim / Eric now dies AFTER Elizabeth. This detail may not seem very important right now, but it will have MAJOR ramifications for a future arc that I have planned. I've also retconned SL to happen before FNAF2, but this change isn't as important.

And with that being said, hope you enjoy the chapter!

BlauOrange: Mike gave Lefty an Endo at some point between FNAF6 and the start of MNGF, since he and Charlie were going to have to destroy the Puppet _eventually_ (though they obviously didn't know the details about how that would pan out) and Mike wanted to give Charlie an extra animatronic body to possess after Charlie's soul was released. Since there's no Remnant involved, she won't be enslaved to the animatronic.

Chapter 57 – Epic Fantasy Adventures, High-Level Version

The dining room was buzzing with excitement as Mike strode in, carrying his Dungeons and Dragons equipment as he did so. The kids' characters had all become much more powerful as time had passed and they leveled up, but so had the intensity and difficulty of Mike's campaign to match their growing strength. What had once been weak bandits and the most basic forms of undead had been replaced with miniature armies of deadly warriors and powerful creatures of evil. Mike had also upped the brutality and cunning of his tactics to match the kids' own teamwork and strategy – it wasn't unheard of for two or even three party members to be killed in battles where he pulled out all the stops.

" _I am SO glad that Liz got her fighter killed and swapped her for a second Cleric all those weeks ago,"_ Gabe muttered as Mike started handing out the character sheets. _"We would have gotten TPK'd a long time ago if he hadn't."_

"Yeah, magic users really shine in the late game, though you still need other party members to balance it out," Mike agreed. "Anyway, you guys ready to go?"

" _Yeah!"_ the ghosts all shouted eagerly.

"Great. Now where were we…" Mike pretended to think, "…ah, yes. You guys had joined forces with an army of giants and had just killed a Nysrock that had been terrorizing the area. Unfortunately for you, that was only just the beginning…"

/

"A Nysrock?" Charlie exclaimed as she watched the cobra demon's body dissolve into ashes. "What the hell is that thing doing here?"

Jeremy shrugged helplessly. "I don't know!" he replied. "A demon as powerful as a cobra demon shouldn't have been able to just wander around the mortal plane doing whatever the hell it wants. Something that strong would've needed to be summoned first."

"But the giants didn't report any cultists or evil rituals happening around here," Susie piped up. "They told us that yesterday in their report."

"That's what worries me," Cassidy muttered. "Either they missed something really big, or…"

The ground suddenly started to rumble and the team looked up in horror as the sky began to darken. An unearthly shriek of triumph echoed in the far distance, and they could hear the giants shouting orders at each other.

"The barrier between planes is weakening," Liz whispered in a fearful tone. There's a portal to the Abyss opening up somewhere. Demons can crawl over from the Chaotic Evil plane to our world!"

Before the team could fully sink in this revelation, one of the giant chieftains rushed over to them with surprising speed. "A huge fissure leading straight into the Abyss is opening up!" he rumbled. "We need to form ranks now!"

The team scrambled to join the rest of the army. Despite being only human-sized in the midst of giants, they had long proven their skill and worth to be stationed in the front lines. As they held their weapons in battle formation, a gigantic fissure that glowed with unholy red light began to crack from one side to the other. The rumbling of the Earth grew even more violent as the two sides of the fissure separated, revealing a massive chasm leading into the depths of a nightmarish dimension far below. The shrieks of laughing demons grew louder as all manner of unholy creatures began to crawl or fly out, signaling the beginning of what would easily be the team's greatest challenge.

A claw suddenly reached out and grabbed the edge of the fissure, which Charlie immediately deduced to be the claw of an Aeshma. The Rage Demon climbed onto the surface, letting out a bestial scream of hatred as it focused straight onto the group of adventurers. Even as more demons clamored from the depths, it charged straight towards them, the first of many monsters in a battle to defend creation itself from unspeakable chaos and corruption.

/

"Roll for initiative," Mike declared. "And make it count, because you're stuck with that initiative for a while."

Fritz smirked. _"Well, it's a good thing I took Mythic Improved Initiative, then, isn't it?"_ he boasted.

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Waaaaaaaaaaait a minute…" he mumbled, "did you ALL take Mythic Improved Initiative?"

The ghosts nodded.

"So you ALL start with what's functionally natural 20s," he continued.

The ghosts nodded again, maniacal grins stretching across their faces.

Mike groaned. "Fuck me, I forgot about that. Okay, well, this demon doesn't have any Mythic levels, so unless I also roll a natural 20," he rolled the dice on the table, "…aaaaaaaaaaaand a 3. Yeaaaaaaaaahhh…until I start breaking out the big guns then rolling for initiative for every demon is practically worthless unless by some miracle I also roll a 20." He rolled his eyes. "Hooray for metagaming…"

His children laughed at his grumpiness, but then Cassidy suddenly realized something. _"Wait a minute…"_ she pondered, _"…big guns?"_

/

As soon as the Aeshma was close enough to fight safely without fear of falling into the Abyss, Fritz roared and charged at the demon. The creature snarled and swung its spear down upon the Barbarian, but the warrior was so consumed by his own rage that he barely noticed the damage the Rage Demon inflicted on him. Fritz slammed his axe down upon the Aeshma, attacking the monster with such brutality that the creature felt the vicious wounds even with its unnatural durability.

The rest of the party had not been idle. Jeremy marched forward and intercepted a group of demons, enduring their hits with his superior fortitude and striking them back with his holy fury and consecrated blade. Gabe zipped in and out of sight, striking at the demons from the shadows whenever he was able while staying behind cover of the giants, whose hulking frames easily concealed him from view.

The spellcasters, in the meantime, began firing off a barrage of offensive spells from behind the safety of the giant frontline. Liz and Charlie both blasted any demons that came close to them or their allies with Holy Smites, while Susie had transformed the flora in the area in front of them into a mass of writhing black tentacles that grabbed at any demons that stumbled onto them. Cassidy summoned up a lightning bolt and tossed it at a nearby demon, but the bolt simply diffused harmlessly off the creature and it trained its eyes straight onto her, snarling menacingly.

/

" _Wait, what?"_ Cassidy spluttered. _"That didn't work?"_

Jeremy facepalmed. _"Cass, demons are immune to electricity attacks."_

Her eyes widened. _"Oh, crap!"_ she exclaimed. _"I forgot about that."_

" _You didn't pick all electricity spells, did you?"_ Liz asked worriedly.

The former Golden Freddy inhabitant shook her head. _"No, but I didn't think about demon immunities and resistances when I picked my spells,"_ she confessed. _"Is there anything else that demons are immune to?"_

" _Poison,"_ Charlie helpfully supplied.

Cassidy sighed in relief. _"Oh, thank God, I forgot to take poison spells. Guess that's a good thing in this context, though,"_ She shook her head, clearly exasperated with herself. _"Aww, there goes my dream of zapping demons with lightning bolts like a maniac then."_

Gabe shook his head. _"Can't be making mistakes like this, Cass,"_ he warned. _"You're lucky you only wasted a lower level spell on a weaker demon, but that could've been really bad if you blew a high level spell on a boss or something."_

Mike smirked. "I should also point out that you've just attracted the demon's attention by shooting an energy bolt at it."

Cassidy rolled her eyes. _"Greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat…"_

/

Cassidy started panicking as the demon let out a bestial roar and rushed towards her, claws outstretched to tear her to shreds. In its haste, it failed to notice Jeremy right next to him, who quickly took advantage of the distraction to slice at its side with his sword. The creature howled in pain, but still advanced until it was in front of Cassidy. The demon raised its claw and slashed at the wizard, who gasped in pain as gaping wounds were torn into her stomach.

Charlie's eyes widened as she noticed her friend in pain. "I've got you, Cass!" she exclaimed as she quickly cast a healing spell on her. Cassidy sighed in relief as she felt the comforting energies wash over her, closing her wounds. Gabe, in the meanwhile, had taken advantage of the demon's distraction to sneak around and strike it from behind with his sword. The demon screamed as he cleaved its head clean off its shoulders, making certain that it would never harm his friend again.

"You need to be more careful," Gabe chastised, the rogue's eyes narrowed at the corpse that was rapidly dissolving into ashes.

"I know," Cassidy murmured. "Thanks for saving me, all of you."

Charlie smiled. "Just as long as you're fine," she assured her.

Their moment was interrupted with another horrific shriek, and they turned to see another group of demons rushing towards them. The giants next to them had done their best to stem the tide, but one of them had fallen and created an opening for the demons to charge at them while the others struggled to hold them at bay. "Looks like we've got company!" Jeremy shouted.

Cassidy's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to let them get at me like that again," she growled. "Let's see how they handle this!" Her eyes started to glow with power, and suddenly the sound of a mighty trumpet echoed in a cone in front of her. The advancing demons all shrieked as the heavenly sound tore at their ears. Some of them managed to overcome the power of the spell and shake off their disorientation, but others stumbled backward and began clutching their heads in pain, completely helpless.

/

" _Wait, are you serious?"_ Fritz asked, his eyes positively glowing with excitement. _"All paralyzed?"_

" _Yep!"_ Cassidy smirked. _"All paralyzed. For…"_ she rolled her dice, _"three turns."_

" _Is that an invitation to go full-blown coup de grace apeshit on their asses?"_

" _Assuming that Charlie or Jeremy don't get to them first,"_ she answered.

The look on Fritz's face disturbingly reminded Mike of Foxy's sinister grin back in the pizzeria. _"Don't mind if I do."_

/

The moment he saw the group of paralyzed demons standing helpless in front of him, Fritz charged towards them, laughing all the while as he swung his battle-axe on them over and over again. The rest of his team cringed slightly as they watched Fritz brutally slaughter all of the demons in his battle frenzy, while the others that still had their wits intact desperately tried to attack the frenzied Barbarian that had entered their midst. Their distraction gave the rest of the party the opportunity to retaliate with their own vicious assault.

"You are enjoying this WAY too much," Liz muttered as she watched Fritz tear off the head of the last of the demons."

"Eh," Gabe shrugged. "They're demons. Who gives a shit?"

"Fair enough," Liz admitted as she fired another Holy Smite at a group of monsters that had successfully endured Cassidy's Archon's Trumpet. The few that weren't outright destroyed were blinded by the brilliance of her blast, giving Jeremy and Gabe ample opportunity to finish mopping them up.

"Wow," Jeremy commented as he sliced the bat-like wings of a Nabasu. "This has been surprisingly easy so far. I think we can handle this just fine!"

/

Every single one of his siblings turned to glare at him. _"You are an_ _ **idiot**_ _, Jeremy,"_ Susie grumbled.

" _Why the hell did you have to say that out loud?"_ Fritz asked with a growl.

" _I would've expected this kind of idiocy from Fritz, but not from you!"_ Charlie muttered. The former Foxy inhabitant glared at her slightly, but the majority of his ire was still focused on his brother.

It was now Mike's turn to grin sinisterly. "Not hard enough, eh?" he asked in a tone that made the figurative hearts of every ghost there sink. "Don't you worry, Jeremy, I can fix that little problem for you juuuuuuuuuuuust fine."

" _Thanks a lot, Jeremy,"_ Liz groaned as she buried her head in her hands.

/

The earth rumbled again as a hate-filled, savage bellow echoed throughout the battlefield, this one even louder than the others. Charlie immediately noticed that the demons fighting them seemed almost…revitalized by this latest development, and they began fighting with renewed fury and savagery.

"Something's changed…" Liz murmured, "something that's good for the demons."

"And bad for us," Gabe added grimly.

"What's happening?" Susie asked, a bit frantically. As a Druid, she lacked the expertise and knowledge of demons that some of her more holy-oriented friends did.

The answer came a split second later. A hideous reptilian demon, larger and emanating more power than any of the demons that the defenders had fought against up to that point, had climbed out of the fissure and onto the battlefield. The creature was absolutely hideous to gaze upon even by the standards of demons, with a quadruped dinosaur's lower body, a humanoid upper body, and a head that seemed to be some unholy combination of dinosaur and dragon. The Vavakia let out another roar and charged straight towards the party, having identified the humans among the giants as easy prey for it to slaughter.

/

"Boss time!" Mike declared in a singsong voice.

The ghosts immediately began chattering and strategizing amongst themselves, thankful that the chaos of battle didn't translate to reality and that they could take all the time they needed to plan out how to beat the powerful demon Mike had summoned for them to fight. _"At least we have Mythic Improved Initiative, right?"_ Fritz asked hopefully. _"We can all go first before this thing does and frontload everything we need to before it even makes a move!"_

Mike was about to retort that they could do nothing of the kind, but then he actually looked at his character sheet. "Oh, wow," he noticed, "I picked the one high power demon that actually has a shitty initiative modifier. It doesn't even have Improved Initiative as a feat. Okay then, looks like you actually CAN pull that on me…this tie."

" _I don't like the sound of this time,"_ Gabe muttered as he put the last two words in air-quotes.

"You'll see what I mean," Mike promised. "But for now, make this first turn count. You won't like what happens if you fuck this one up."

" _Is there anything this demon is immune to besides electricity and poison?"_ Susie asked.

"What an _excellent_ question," her father grinned. "It's also immune to fire."

Cassidy and Susie looked at each other and both groaned. _"Well, shit."_

/

"We've got to take that thing down quickly before it kills all of us!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Fritz held his battleaxe in his hands. "It's a good thing I had this axe consecrated before this whole mess started."

Charlie and Liz looked at each other. "You do damage, I do support?" Charlie asked.

"Sounds good to me," Liz agreed.

After Charlie quickly blessed all of her friends with a spell that would empower their Endurance and Cassidy did the same for their Dexterity, Jeremy and Fritz charged at the Vavakia. The two of them struck at the demon repeatedly with all their fury, Jeremy calling upon the holy energies of his heavenly patron and Fritz slamming his axe down upon the demon with all his hatred. The Vavakia roared in agony as Jeremy's sword and Fritz's mighty battleaxe tore into its corrupted flesh. Gabe faded into the shadows thanks to his Mythic-empowered Stealth, while Liz decided to conserve her more powerful spells and cast a weaker but still powerful Holy Smite on the creature. Not wanting to unleash her most powerful spells yet, Susie instead decided to cast a spell that granted her allies additional Wisdom, hoping that it would be enough to help them overcome whatever foul curses the demon inflicted.

And it was a good thing that she had done so, for it was now the Vavakia's turn to attack. The creature took in a deep breath and let loose a torrent of sickening green fire that seemed to writhe and coil with the agonized faces of a thousand screaming ghosts. Cassidy, Susie, and Charlie had been lucky enough not to be within range of the attack, but the rest of the party was caught in the unholy breath of the demon, and many of them screamed as they could feel the corrosive breath tear not just at their bodies, but also at their minds and souls.

/

"Roll to deal with all sorts of nasty shit!" Mike cheerfully declared.

" _What kind of nasty shit?"_ Gabe asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing to worry about," his father assured him. "A reflex save against 20d6 damage and a fortitude save against losing 1d8 Wisdom. Both of them are 30, by the way."

Everyone groaned. _"Well, thank God that Charlie put Bear's Endurance on us first,"_ Jeremy muttered.

"Oh, and I almost forgot…the Vavakia gets 1d8 health for everybody hit!"

The ghosts didn't bother dignifying that with anything but a glare.

/

"Filthy creature!" Jeremy snarled as he watched the demon re-consume the hordes of tormented souls that it had unleashed. "I'll end your evil once and for all!"

He was about to raise his sword to continue his attack, but someone had beaten him to it. Gabe had taken his earlier turn to sneak up close to the demon with a cold iron blade he had prepared for dealing with demons. Even with its heightened perception, the Vavakia had failed to notice the Rogue thanks to being distracted with Jeremy and Fritz. Lunging out of the shadows, Gabe struck at the Vavakia from behind. The demon screamed as the blade plunged into its core, the deadly precision of the Rogue overcoming even its own supernatural endurance. Jeremy and Fritz took the opportunity to strike at the Vavakia once more, and the combined attacks were too much for the demon to bear. With a final agonized scream, the demon erupted into ashes, leaving no trace behind.

/

" _Oh, thank God,"_ Gabe breathed a sigh of relief as Mike plucked the demon figure off the table. _"That wasn't too bad. I'd hate to think about what would have happened if that battle had gone for too long."_

Mike nodded approvingly. "Yep. You guys handled that warm-up boss pretty well."

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ Liz exclaimed. _"A Challenge Rating 18 demon with fire breath made of corrupted souls was the WARM-UP boss?"_

"Yup, and part of me was hoping that you would screw up your strategy and waste your highest level spells on it," her father grinned. "Congrats, you didn't. I was honestly thinking about using a Balor as a warm-up boss, but I decided to be nice since we haven't done this in a while. Judging from how you handled that Vavakia, it looks like you didn't need me to go easy on you."

" _I don't like the sound of that,"_ Charlie muttered.

Mike's grin only widened in response. "And speaking of Balors…"

/

The party barely had time to heal up and empower themselves before another deafening roar suddenly echoed across the battlefield, this one louder than anything that had come before it. A giant shouted something unintelligible in the distance, and the party could only watch as a massive red demon soared into the air before smashing his feet onto the ground in front of his minions. The demon towered over even the giants, covered in black scale-like armor. In his right hand he carried a sword with a cruel, vicious blade, and in his left hand he wielded a vicious whip covered in flames.

Charlie's eyes widened in horror as she slowly backed away. "B…B…B…Balor!" she all but shouted.

The rest of the party looked at the demon with fearful expressions, the new arrival giving even Fritz pause. "What's a Balor?" he asked.

"One of the most powerful demons of the Abyss," Liz murmured. "Powerful enough to take down entire armies."

"That's not just a normal Balor, either," Jeremy added grimly. "With all that armor he's wearing, it HAS to be a Balor Lord. The only things more powerful than a Balor Lord in the entire Abyss is a full-blown Demon Lord."

"Maybe he hasn't noticed us?" Susie asked unconvincingly. Her months of adventuring with her friends had thoroughly established that whenever shit well and truly hit the fan, it usually happened to them most of all. "Maybe the giants can take care of him?"

The towering demon's burning gaze suddenly shifted towards the party of humans. The demon shouted something in an unholy language and took one massive step towards them.

"He's picked us as his targets," Charlie groaned.

Cassidy tried to look on the bright side. "At least he's by itself, right?" she asked, attempting to raise their spirits. "The seven of us between just one demon, we'll beat this thing easily!"

/

Mike smirked. "Unfortunately for you guys, the Balor Lord ALSO has Mythic Improved Initiative. So all that cheese bullshit you tried with your max 20? I can do the exact same thing. And wouldn't you know it, I have an initiative bonus higher than anything you guys can do. So yeah, no first-turn BSing THIS time around."

None of the ghosts looked even the slightest bit happy with this development. _"This is gonna suck…"_ Fritz muttered.

"Oh, but don't you worry," Mike assured them soothingly. "I'm not going to attack with my Balor Lord this turn."

Susie looked up hopefully. _"You won't?"_

"Nope!" Mike answered cheerfully. "I'm just going to use this turn to have him summon two more!" The ghosts all watched in horror as he plopped a two figurines in front of the first, dangerously close to Jeremy, Fritz, and Gabe. "Congratulations, you now get to fight the equivalent of three _Lord of the Rings_ Balrogs at once, one of which is more powerful than the others! Good luck!"

" _You can't do that!"_ Gabe protested. _"I'm looking at the rules for Balors right now! The Balor Lord can only summon one CR 19 or lower demon! He can't summon one Balor, let alone two!"_

Mike only laughed at his son's protest. "I'm the DM. So that means I can invoke House Rules."

" _Which means…"_

"Basically I can do whatever the fuck I want!" Mike declared triumphantly.

As her siblings desperately tried to come up with strategies to counter the shitshow that Mike had thrown them into, Charlie gave her father a dirty look that would have put the Freddy Fazbear animatronics' death glares to deep and everlasting shame. _"You are an ASSHOLE,"_ she growled.

Mike's only response to whip out a pair of sunglasses and place them squarely on his face. "Deal with it."

/

The summoned Balors roared upon fully manifesting on the plane. The party barely had any time to react before huge torrents of roaring flames erupted around them, causing them all to scream in fear as the flames licked hungrily at their flesh. The magic wielders had taken it upon themselves to cast protections against fire on the party at the beginning of the battle, but such protections were easily shredded by the sheer power of a fire storm cast by one of the most powerful demons that had ever been spawned by the Abyss.

Not for the first time, Susie thanked whatever God was watching over them that she and her friends had received the foresight to buy Greater Rings of Energy Resistance from Fire long before this battle. Thanks to their extensive planning, they had not suffered too badly from the dual fire storms, but all their protections had been rendered null and void.

Liz forced herself to ignore the flames licking at her body, as her ring would ensure that the fires were functionally harmless. "I don't know about you guys," she muttered, "but I do NOT want to be fighting three Balors at the same time."

"We need to focus everything on the weaker ones first, and one at a time," Charlie decided. "If we're lucky, we MIGHT be able to kill it before it can even get a chance to attack us."

"Then let's get to it!" was the last thing Gabe said before he disappeared into the chaos of the battle. He snuck towards the Balor closest to him and struck with a devastating Sneak Attack. The Balor roared in surprise as he was caught off-guard, giving both Fritz and Jeremy the opportunity they needed to charge at the Balor and attack him with rage and holy fervor just as they had done against the Vavakia. Jeremy had granted Fritz the ability to Smite Evil just as he could, and the holy blessings surrounding the two of them tore at the Balor's profane flesh. The demon snarled in pain as Cassidy cast a Mythic Consecrated Fireball with its element changed to Cold straight in the middle of the Balors, blasting all three of them at the same time. The Balor roared again, and this time he could not hide the true pain that he felt at the combined force of the attacks. With a smile, Liz raised her arms and fired off a Consecrated, Empowered Mythic Holy Smite to finish things off.

The creature let out a hideous death scream as he exploded, dousing the battlefield around him in a deluge of unholy fire. The group of heroes felt the flames sear at their flesh, the unholy nature of the flames bypassing some of the protection offered by the Greater Rings of Energy Resistance. The Balor Lord snarled hatefully at the party of heroes, promising a hideous death to its foes in the Abyssal tongue. Realizing what was about to happen, Charlie called upon her strongest available spell and sent a wave of powerful healing energies through her friends. The more vulnerable spellcasters in the back lines felt the positive energies close away the many wounds they had suffered thanks to the now destroyed Balor's fire attacks. Susie, knowing what she did now about the Death Throes of a Balor, cast a Protection from Energy on her friends in the back lines, hoping to keep them all safe from a repeat.

/

" _We did it!"_ Charlie cheered. _"We killed the Balor in one turn!"_

Jeremy laughed. _"Man, Smite Evil is so OP at high levels, especially when I can let Fritz do it too!"_

Liz grinned. _"And did you see that super-powered Holy Smite? I had no idea a spell could be that strong when you buff it up the right way. 75 damage to all three of them, can't get better than that!"_

Mike smiled. "Yes, congratulations. It's a very good thing you managed to kill one of the Balors in one turn, because otherwise you REALLY wouldn't have liked what would've happened if you didn't. Actually," the smile turned into an unnerving smirk, "scratch that, you're not gonna like what's about to happen anyway."

The ghosts gulped. _"Uh, oh…"_ Susie muttered.

Mike turned towards Charlie. "Roll a Fort Save," he instructed. Charlie nervously did so, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw the number.

" _Oh, God…"_ she gasped, _"I just rolled a 1. I'm fucked, aren't I?"_

Her father grinned. "Ooh, that was a VERY bad fortitude save to fail, and you had a decent chance of making it too. Congratulations, Charlie, you have just suffered 200 health points' worth of damage by having your body collapsing in on itself." Ignoring the horrified look on everyone's face, he continued. "And now that I've fucked over one of you, it's time to fuck over more of you!"

/

The remaining Balor growled something unintelligible at his master and his eyes flashed with hellish flames. Charlie let out an agonized scream as her body began to implode, the Balor laughing cruelly as he magically crushed her until there was nothing but a hideous pile of gore. Even as his subordinate carried out its cruel spell, the Balor Lord began to chant in an unholy tongue. Black, foul energies began to swirl around the creature. For several seconds, the evil magic of the demon gathered around him, until suddenly it erupted outward in a devastating, profane explosion. Fritz, Jeremy, and Gabe flailed about in agony as their bodies and minds were assaulted by the Balor Lord's mighty Blasphemy spell, and each hero had to fight with all their mind and strength not to be obliterated by its sheer power.

/

" _Wait, WHAT!"_ Jeremy exclaimed in horror. _"We're ALL paralyzed?"_

Mike laughed. "That's right," he smirked. "You're all more than 5 levels below the Balor Lord, so you're all dazed, weakened, AND paralyzed. If you're lucky, you'll make your save and will only be paralyzed for one turn. And if not…well…the phrase sitting duck best comes to mind."

Fritz rolled his dice and let out a curse as he rolled a 5 against the paralysis. _"Shit, I am sooooo screwed…"_ he groaned.

"Well, look on the bright side! At least you're less than 10 levels below the Balor Lord. Otherwise, you'd be rolling not to instantly die," Mike offered helpfully.

" _That makes me feel SO much better, dad,"_ Gabe rolled his eyes. _"Thanks."_

"And lest we forget, paralyze means you're helpless," his father warned. "And I think we all know what happens to characters that are helpless."

" _Shit, shit, shit…LIZ!"_ Fritz frantically turned to his sister. _"I need you to Greater Restoration on me! If you don't, I'm going to get Coup de Grace'd next turn! You can do that at a range thanks to that Mythic Feat you took, right?"_

" _Yeah, but what about Gabe?"_ Liz countered. _"He's just as screwed as you are!"_

Gabe shook his head. _"Fritz is much better at fighting Balors straight-up then I am. Use it on him."_

/

Liz rushed towards her friends until she was closest enough to restore Fritz at a distance. Not sure what else she could do, Susie instead decided to try and finish what Liz had started on the second Balor. She raised a pair of two massive rocks and sent them smashing towards each other, with the Balor caught right in the middle. The demon let out a cry of shock as he was smashed in between the boulders, but he was far from beaten. At the same time, Cassidy fired a Mythic Polar Ray at the same Balor, gravely weakening him but not quite finishing it off.

The Balor glared hatefully at the two spellcasters and reached out a hand towards Susie. The wizard let out a shriek as she felt a force pulling her towards the demon until she was right in front of it. The Balor began to viciously strike at Susie with its whip, tearing gaping wounds all over her body. At the same time, the Balor Lord turned towards the still-helpless Gabe. With a churlish grin, he raised his sword and swung it down upon the rogue's head.

"Gabe!" Everyone screamed as he fell backward, his bloodied corpse joining Charlie's on the cold, unfeeling battleground. Jeremy and Fritz both attacked the Balor Lord, but in his haste Jeremy had forgotten to bestow the powers of Smiting upon his Barbarian friend, and the damage the creature took was piddling compared to what it would have been otherwise. In the meantime, Liz cast a Heal upon Susie to remove the damage done to it by the Balor, and Susie finished it off with a Consecrated Cold of Cone specifically cast to only hurt enemies.

Just like the last one had done, the second Balor exploded and doused the battlefield in its unholy fires. The protections that Susie had recast earlier did their work, and this time they only suffered damage because of the flames' unholy nature. But both Jeremy and Fritz had been grievously wounded by the combined Death Throes of the two destroyed Balors, and while Fritz's rage allowed him to ignore the damage done by the demon to some degree, Jeremy seemed on the verge of falling unconscious. It didn't help that the Balor Lord seemed much, MUCH healthier than he should have been.

/

" _Why is this thing not dead already?"_ Fritz complained. _"We've been whaling on it with everything we have!"_

"That would be because Balor Lords have an ability that can heal 200 damage every time they kill someone," Mike explained with a smirk. "And wouldn't you know it, he's killed someone just a few seconds ago! Funny how that works, huh?"

" _Greeeeeeeaaaatttt…"_ Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Hey, at least I only went with the base capabilities of a Balor Lord," Mike countered. "Unless any of you wants to roll a Fortitude save against having your soul sucked out by a Balor Lord and be reborn as a new demon?" He grinned as the ghosts all frantically shook their heads. "Didn't think so."

/  
"Just you and us now, jackass," Fritz snarled. Jeremy remembered to share his holy blessing this time around, and together they attacked the Balor Lord with everything they had. Jeremy was able to hit it twice and Fritz was able to hit it three times, destroying some of the vitality it had regained with Gabe's death. Liz decided to focus on keeping her friends alive that turn, using her own Heal, Mass to restore the health of the two warriors. Cassidy summoned a hail of magical arrows on the Balor Lord, focusing the spell so that her two friends were safely out of range. And Susie finished things off with a Consecrated Mythic Ice Storm.

The Balor Lord growled furiously as he swung his whip at Fritz's head. For all his savagery, he also possessed a vicious cunning, and had aimed his attack straight towards Fritz's neck…

/

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Mike exclaimed triumphantly. "I rolled a 20! And now just to confirm the crit…" he rolled the dice, then let out another victorious laugh. "YES!" He reached over to Fritz's character and plucked it off the battlefield. "You're dead!"

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ Fritz spluttered. _"But I was near full! And I have extra HP thanks to Rage!"_

Mike waved off his complaint with a laugh. "Vorpal weapon, kiddo. Doesn't matter how much HP you have. I roll a crit and confirm it, you get your head cut off. The end."

" _All right, that's it!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"I'm kicking this demon's ass!"_ He rolled four dice for his attacks, and to his delight all of them hit. _"Guys, let's kill this Balor Lord right now!"_

" _I hit him with another Consecrated Empowered Holy Smite,"_ Liz declared, and Mike quickly crossed off another 75 hit points off the Balor Lord's health total.

"You might actually kill him this turn," Mike noted. "Better make your last two spells count."

Cassidy smiled angelically. _"Oh, I don't think I'll kill it this turn. I KNOW I'll kill it this turn. I cast Mythic Consecrated Disintegrate!"_

Mike dropped his pencil. "Oh, fuck, that might actually do it." He rolled a dice and his face fell. "Well, shit…I just rolled a one. So now you do…" he snorted when he saw the calculator. "306 damage. Even if it succeeded the Fort save the Balor Lord still would've died after whatever Susie did on her turn, but holy shit! You would've cut the thing's health by more than half if you'd pulled that off at the beginning!"

" _Great job, Cassidy!"_ Susie hugged her sister as the rest of the ghosts cheered at their victory. _"You just won the fight for us!"_

"And you wonder why I keep saying wizards are OP," Mike muttered with a defeated sigh as he plucked the Balor Lord's figure off the board.

/

The sickly green ray struck the Balor Lord, and as weakened as he was, he could not withstand their power. The demon lord's death scream was even louder than those of his kin, and it exploded in a wave of fire and unholy energy just as the other two Balors had done. Though the pain of the Balor Lord's destruction was nothing new to the victorious adventurers, it was still enough to badly incinerate all of them. Both the demons and giants stared in shock at the small party of heroes that had managed to destroy three of the Abyss's most powerful demons.

Cassidy fell to her knees, utterly exhausted. Three of her friends had been brutally killed and the rest of them weren't much better. But before the demons could try and take advantage of their weakness or the giants could step in to defend them, the sound of a heavenly horn echoed in the sky. The demons shrieked in terror and the giants cheered as angelic figures suddenly descended from the sky, striking at the Abyssal outsiders with blade and holy magic alike.

A giant chieftain rushed over to them with two guards. "It's the archons!" he declared. "They've come to help us! Quickly, let's get your fallen friends and retreat to the back lines. You'll be able to resurrect them in peace while the archons are keeping the demons busy!"

None of them needed to be told twice. As quickly as possible, the giants picked up the fallen bodies of Charlie, Gabe, and Fritz, and all of them retreated through the lines of giants as quickly as possible. Liz knew that they had accomplished a great victory by killing one of the main warlords leading the demonic invasion, but with half of her friends dead she didn't feel like celebrating. As soon as she got the opportunity, she would resurrect Charlie from whatever nightmarish spell the Balor had inflicted on her, and the two of them would get to work bringing the rest of them back to peak condition.

Only then would she feel like celebrating.

/

"You know, if I REALLY wanted to be a dick, I would have used Telekinesis on Cassidy and whaled on her with the Balors at the beginning of the fight," Mike commented dryly as they packed up the game's many components. "I wouldn't say I went easy on you, but I definitely wasn't as vicious as I could have been. You're not far from level 20 now, and I promise you that I won't be so merciful when I put you up against the demon lords. Also," a sheepish look appeared on his face, "I forgot to use rage on the Balor Lord. Whoops."

" _A Raging Balor Lord,"_ Gabe replied dryly as he helped collect the character sheets. _"Because that's just what we need."_

" _You know, it's kind of funny. We KNOW Hell exists. We KNOW demons are real,"_ Liz wondered. _"And I can't help but wonder what Nightmare would say about the way this game divides the different types of evil into different afterlives and different monsters."_

Mike snorted. "Who the hell even knows what's going on through that monster's head right now…"

Meanwhile in Hell…

" **WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT WHETHER I'M LAWFUL, NEUTRAL, OR CHAOTIC EVIL?"** Nightmare Foxy shouted as he tossed his character sheet aside. **"I JUST WANT TO KILL SHIT ALREADY!"**

" **THERE ARE SPELLS THAT AFFECT YOU BASED ON ALIGNMENT, YOU BLITHERING IDIOT,"** Nightmare Freddy snarled. **"THOUGH CONSIDERING HOW UTTERLY INCOMPETENT YOU ARE AT ANYTHING REQUIRING PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION, IT'S EASY TO IDENTIFY WHICH TYPE OF EVIL YOU ARE."**

" **AND WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE ABOUT EVIL CLERICS NOT BEING ABLE TO HEAL?"** Nightmare Chica complained. **"THAT IS DISCRIMINATION AND BIGOTRY! AND I THOUGHT** _ **WE**_ **WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE EVIL ONES!"**

" **I JUST ROLLED A 1 ON MY INITIATIVE! ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!"** Nightmare Bonnie roared as he hurled the dice into the fire pit.

Nightmare groaned as he buried his head into his game master folder. Nightmare Fredbear gave him a look of amused sympathy, while Nightmarionne had a shit-eating grin that clearly said "I told you so". **"I AM SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS…"** he growled, already regretting the suggestion to try a D&D campaign of his own.

Hopefully the new torture he had just come up with for William Afton would relieve the ever-growing migraine.

/

A/N: Because I can't resist using the Nightmares whenever I can get away with it :P

Wow, this chapter took a LOT longer than I thought it would to write. I had to do quite a bit of research for this one as well as contact one of my friends who's been DMing games like Pathfinder for quite a long time. Funny how the "filler chapter" ends up longer than some of the major plot chapters XD Consider it my way of making up for the extended absence.

Hopefully this was exciting for you to read and didn't get too repetitive. The turn-based nature of boss fights like this means that some fights tend to be "everyone attacks and then the boss," especially since the Balors all attacked at the same time. Since this was meant to be a high-level, intense battle, I wanted to make sure that some of the ghost kids' characters actually DIED this time around.

As promised, the next major plot event will be the Rockstars. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	58. Chapter 58 - Rockstars Assemble!

A/N: Well, you guys have been waiting for this for a long time, and I'm finally here to deliver! Time for the Rockstars to finally make their appearance. I've got a few fun ideas to play around with them.

On an unrelated note, I actually had a fascinating conversation with Jack0lanterns over what would happen if Mike and the ghost kids stumbled upon _Five Nights at Fuckboy's_. Now THAT would be a shitshow of epic proportions.

Ari-Dexel13: That actually makes me really happy for reasons that will not be made clear until later. Thanks!

AnOrange: I actually don't really have specific ages in mind for the kids. Charlie was the youngest when she died but she's the oldest in terms of maturity and current form. In relative terms, I would rank the kids in terms of age: Charlie (current) Gabe Fritz (shocking, I know) Jeremy = Liz (I'm pretty sure she died before BV did) Susie Cassidy Charlie (time of death).

Philip: Thanks for catching that! I had to change every Rachel to Cassidy when her name was revealed so I figured I'd missed one somewhere. They live in Utah (in the books the specific location was Hurricane, Utah, but since that town is so small IRL I'm not sure that Mike would live there specifically. They do live in that area though.).

Chapter 58 – Rockstars Assemble!

The topic of birthday parties was one that had been mostly unaddressed in the Schmidt family during the time they had spent together. The ghost kids had just been grateful and happy to enjoy the kindness that Mike had given to them, and the man himself was content with sharing his life with his new family.

So they were all completely blindsided when Alex asked Cassidy a simple question. "When do you guys celebrate your birthdays?"

" _Err…what?"_ the ghost girl's thoughts ground to a halt at that question.

"Your birthdays," Alex repeated. "I have mine in late June and Meghan had hers in February."

" _Wait, you didn't invite us?"_ Susie asked sadly.

"Grandparents came over and insisted on celebrating it as a family, so we couldn't invite anyone." Meghan quickly explained.

" _Ah,"_ Charlie nodded in understanding.

"Anyways, when are your birthdays?" Alex pressed. "We can come over and celebrate them whenever you want."

" _Uh…"_ the ghost kids looked at each other uncomfortably. _"We…don't really remember when our birthdays were,"_ Gabe finally answered. _"It's…been a long time since any of us celebrated one."_

"Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that…" Meghan murmured sympathetically, thankfully missing the way the ghosts were trying not to squirm.

After all, what were they supposed to say? "Oh, by the way, the real reason why we didn't celebrate our birthdays is because we would have spent them just like we spent any other day for the past forty years, in a tortured existence as furry robots murdering innocent people for reasons we thought were good but were actually complete and utter garbage."

Yeah, because THAT would have gone over real well.

The Marshalls had quickly dropped the topic once they recognized that their friends were uncomfortable with it, even though they didn't understand why. But the question remained in the ghosts' thoughts long after Alex and Meghan had left, and it was only a matter of time before they finally brought the question up to their father.

"Shit…" was the first thing Mike said when Liz asked him. "All these months I've completely forgotten about celebrating birthdays, haven't I?"

" _It's not your fault,"_ Charlie quickly added before he could blame himself. _"We didn't think about them any more than you did."_

"Oh, I'm not beating myself over it," he assured her. "Considering that one of our goals was trying to forget your god-awful pasts as much as possible whenever we didn't have to take care of business, it doesn't really surprise me that we've skipped over something like that."

" _Not like it matters,"_ Fritz muttered. _"I don't even remember when my birthday was."_

"Do any of you guys remember?" Mike asked. He sighed when seven ghostly heads shook no. "That's…rather depressing, but not surprising. Which in a way makes it even more depressing." He thought for several moments. "Okay…there's three ways we can do this."

" _Let's hear them!"_ Jeremy declared as they got settled.

"Option 1 is I randomly assign seven different days of the year, one for each of you," Mike explained. "Option 2 is I do some research and try to look up your original birth certificates to find out when your original birth dates were. And Option 3 is that we celebrate the day you guys first showed up at my house, all of us together, as one large birthday," he gave a quick glance at Charlie. "I'm including Charlie in that, even though she technically showed up on a different day than you guys did."

The ghosts began chattering and murmuring amongst themselves. _"Can we…get back to you on that?"_ Gabe finally asked.

Mike nodded. "Take as much time as you want," he replied, before he suddenly yawned. "I'm gonna go to bed early, I spent more time in the workshop than usual and I'm beat. Let me know what you guys want tomorrow."

The man got up and left the living room, and the ghosts discussed late into the night over the options he had presented. The next morning, all of them were waiting for Mike after he finished his breakfast.

"You guys came up with a decision?" Mike asked.

" _Yeah,"_ Gabe had been unofficially chosen as the spokesperson for the kids. _"We shot down Option 1 pretty quickly. We want these days to be something really special and choosing a bunch of random days for our birthdays would have kinda cheapened the whole thing."_

Mike nodded. "To be honest, I thought that option was the shittiest one out of the three too," he admitted. "But I figured I might as well throw it out there just in case. So we can safely toss that idea in the trash."

" _It was a bit harder for us to decide whether we wanted you to find out our individual birthdays or if we wanted to celebrate one day together,"_ Gabe continued, _"but in the end…we decided on the last option."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He had figured his kids would've wanted their own birthdays to be discovered.

" _The thing is, dad…"_ Susie picked up where her adoptive brother left off. _"We really don't want you to do more work for us than you already have. I know, I know…"_ she cut him off before he could say anything, _"…it's not a problem to you. But it does matter to us."_

" _And we even know which day we want to celebrate together,"_ Liz added.

" _The day that we first showed up at your house,"_ Jeremy finished. _"The day that everything finally started turning out for the better."_

Mike was silent for several seconds. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked once Jeremy had finished.

" _We had an entire night to decide what we really wanted,"_ Fritz replied in a half-joking manner. _"We're sure."_

"Okay then," Mike got up from his chair. "To be honest, this actually works out in a weird way. I already had an idea in mind for the first presents you guys were gonna get, and it would have been a bit awkward to give them out to you one at a time."

" _Presents?"_ Cassidy asked excitedly, and the other ghosts looked just as eager.

"Ah, ah, ah…" Mike wagged his finger. "No hints from me this early. I want it to be a surprise. Now, if you excuse me," he began to walk towards the kitchen, "I have a phone call to make. And no eavesdropping!"

" _Aww…"_ Fritz groaned, having planned on doing exactly that.

 _Several Weeks Later…_

The weeks leading up to the anniversary of the family's creation seemed to pass by in a blur. The ghosts had already been excited at the idea that Mike had planned out their first presents this early, and their excitement had only mounted as the days went by. One major thing they noticed was that Mike seemed to be leaving the house much more frequently than usual, whether it was to work on something in the garage or outright leave the grounds entirely.

Alex and Meghan had been delighted to hear that they had gotten the "birthday issue" sorted out so quickly, even if they were a little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to join in for their first one.

" _Sorry you can't come, guys,"_ Cassidy apologized to them over Facebook. _"Dad wants us to celebrate out first birthday together just as a family."_

"Nah, don't worry about it, you guys," Meghan waved it off. "It's common for families to do that sometimes. Besides, it sounds like your dad has something really big planned."

"Be sure to tell us all about it!" Alex added. "We'll try to join your next one. Who knows? Maybe you'll have met more people who know about who you are by then!"

" _Will do!"_ Charlie replied.

Before any of them new it, the day had finally come. It had been exactly one year since the murdered children had first arrived at Mike's house, and except for Charlie, one year since they had finally found true happiness and the closest thing they could possibly get to a normal life.

Mike called them all to the kitchen table, and each one of them sat down at a chair even though such a gesture was technically useless to ghosts. _"So what did you get for our present, dad?"_ Fritz asked eagerly, unable to keep a lid on his impatience any longer.

"I'll tell you in a second," Mike winked, "but there's something I want to say to you guys first." The ghosts leaned in attentively as he continued. "The funny thing about this present is that, when I first met you guys and before I knew more about you, I would have called this the worst present possible. You were trying your hardest to forget about your shitty past and then I get you something that reminds you about it and represents it? Would've been as stupid as charging dick-first into a metal maze when your bullshit alarms are already going off."

The ghosts smirked at the verbal jab at their murderer, but Charlie's eyes widened. Could Mike have gotten what she was thinking he'd gotten?

"And then we had a little conversation that changed everything," Mike's eyes glazed slightly as he thought back to the night they had shared underneath the stars. "The night after I told you about my past. We were sitting under a beautiful night sky, and you guys told me that you didn't mind being animatronics, and that it was only being enslaved and trapped that made your existences so miserable." He shook his head. "I still don't know if this is the right call, or if you're still gonna feel okay with this present when you actually see it. But there's only one way for us to find out."

Now the ghosts were starting to realize what Mike was saying. _"Wait…"_ Gabe's eyes widened, _"…you got us Freddy's animatronic bodies?"_ he exclaimed.

"Not just any animatronic bodies," Mike answered with a smile, "but the best ones I honestly think I could possibly give you." He got off his chair. "C'mon guys," he beckoned to them, "let's head over to the garage."

The kids eagerly got up from the table and followed their father out of the house and to the garage. As they flew alongside them, it suddenly occurred to all of them that none of them had actually _entered_ the garage once in recent memory. It would certainly explain why Mike was able to hide that many animatronics from them so well. Mike opened the garage door and flipped on the lights.

And there, standing at the far end of the building, were seven Freddy Fazbear animatronics. But even though most of them were fundamentally the same mascot characters as the ones that were once the cornerstone of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, these animatronics were _very_ different from the originals that they had once adored. Every single one of the new animatronics looked polished and made with the highest quality materials, with all of them except for Chica and the Security Puppet decorated with a golden star somewhere on their bodies. Even though Lefty had looked quite similar to Rockstar Freddy, they were still completely taken by surprise at the fresh and modern appearance of animatronics that had had their heyday more than 30 years ago.

" _You actually got them,"_ Charlie breathed, her mouth gaping open. _"You got the Rockstars."_

The other ghosts immediately turned to her. _"Wait, you KNEW about these?"_ Liz spluttered.

" _I knew about their existence,"_ Charlie clarified, _"but I didn't know this was what Dad had planned for the past few weeks. Although…this does explain the many phone calls and garage outings that Mike's been doing recently."_

"Nelson and I have been working to prepare them for you guys to wear, so to speak," Mike added. "But as I was saying…yes, these are the Rockstar Animatronics. The newest versions of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics. Henry built these to make his trap look as real as possible, but he never actually brought them into the trap so they were never destroyed. And because of this, they are the _only_ animatronics that I know of that are untainted by all the shit surrounding the Freddy's franchise. William Afton never came anywhere near them, which can only be a good thing as far as I'm concerned."

Jeremy squinted at the motionless form of Rockstar Bonnie. _"What kind of work did you do on them?"_ he asked.

"Well, one of the major things is that the endoskeletons for these animatronics have NO A.I. whatsoever," Mike explained. "The idea is that when you're not possessing them, they're basically just fancy-looking metal statues. We already know for a fact that fucked up programming can drive a ghost insane," he gave a sympathetic look to Liz, who barely repressed a shudder, "and I don't want glitchy programming doing the same thing. So, I got rid of the problem by making sure there's no way it can happen in the first place."

" _That is COMPLETELY fine by me,"_ Fritz declared and the other ghosts nodded their agreement. After learning what Liz had gone through, nobody wanted the same thing to happen to them.

"Another thing is that despite having no programming, they all have their own independent rechargeable generators," Mike continued. "So instead of using your own energy to move about and do things in these animatronics, you'll be able to use the energy stored in the generators instead until it runs out."

" _I really appreciate that, dad!"_ Gabe answered gratefully. Even though he knew that Mike had set the AIs to 0, running out of energy and being forced to move Freddy's body with his own strength had been incredibly tiring and frustrating, and he was glad that his dad had taken steps to try and circumvent that problem.

"The only thing remotely resembling programming is that the animatronics have a small song database on them that can connect to iTunes on a computer, which will let the animatronics play that song," Mike smiled. "Nelson had this really cool theory that by possessing the animatronics, you would be able to supposedly call on the song database and actually be able to play the songs themselves. I don't know if that's true or not, but I'm eager to find out!"

" _Me too!"_ Susie exclaimed. One of the very few highlights of being an animatronic for her had been playing what had once been her favorite songs in front of an audience of happy, innocent children. She didn't know if she would ever get the opportunity again as Rockstar Chica, but she definitely wanted to at least do it for her dad.

"The most important thing for me is that these animatronics were never touched by Remnant. Ever. So, at least in theory, you guys should be able to enter and exit them however you want," Mike concluded. "But that's only in theory. Before I give these animatronics over to you guys, I want to make sure that that's actually the case." He sighed. "I'm going to need one of you guys to test the Rockstars to make sure shit doesn't hit the fan. Because if you get stuck in these animatronics then I'm sending them to the Incinerator as soon as possible."

The ghosts looked at each other before Charlie floated forward. _"I'll be your guinea pig,"_ she volunteered. _"I'll make sure they're safe to wear."_ She started to move towards the Security Puppet, but stopped when Mike shook his head.

"Freddy Fazbear Puppets have always been kinda…weird…as far as possessions go," Mike explained. "I think it's better if you possess one of the more regular Rockstars first to test things out."

" _I see your point,"_ Charlie acknowledged, but was interrupted as Gabe floated up next to her.

" _I want to test Freddy,"_ he offered. Charlie looked like she wanted to argue, but at the last moment decided not to. Gabe floated up to Rockstar Freddy and disappeared. A few seconds later, Rockstar Freddy flickered to life. The bear animatronic's eyes opened and it immediately straightened its posture.

"Testing, testing!" Rockstar Freddy said in a loud voice. "One, two, three!" He looked over at the rest of the family and waved. "Can you guys hear me?"

" _Yeah, we can!"_ Jeremy replied excitedly. _"How's it feel?"_

Rockstar Freddy laughed. "I feel amazing!" he declared. "I can't believe how natural and comfortable this body feels! I can't wait to see if this Nelson guy's theory about the songs really works!"

"But can you get out?" Mike asked in a guarded tone. "How good or bad the animatronic feels doesn't mean shit if you get stuck and we get a repeat of the Fazbear tragedy on our hands."

Rockstar Freddy closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, Gabe floated out of his body. _"I had to concentrate a tiny bit,"_ he reported, _"but otherwise I didn't have any problems."_

Just to be certain, Mike ordered Gabe to possess Rockstar Freddy again. Only when Gabe was able to repeat his test without any problems did the man relax. "All right, guys, I think you can try them out for yourselves now."

Cassidy wrapped her father in a tight hug and all the ghosts followed suit. _"Thank you so much for putting in all this work, dad!"_ she murmured gratefully. _"It must have been really hard."_

" _I know you were worried about how we'd feel about this,"_ Jeremy added, _"but I'm really happy with this gift!"_

" _We'll try and make the best of what you've given us,"_ Susie assured her father, _"with all the love that went into these, I'd feel terrible if I didn't."_

The ghosts of the original 5 murdered children broke off and, one by one, they entered the animatronics they had possessed so many years ago. Gabe entered Freddy, Jeremy Bonnie, Susie Chica, Fritz Foxy, and Cassidy Golden Freddy. One by one, the animatronics flickered to life and began to move around various parts of their body.

"You were right, Gabe!" Rockstar Bonnie exclaimed. "This is nothing like being trapped in the old crew. This feels so amazing!"

"I know, right?" Rockstar Foxy added. "And this parrot is the coolest thing ever! Though I don't know why I'm carrying a freaking accordion of all things…"

Rockstar Golden Freddy looked over at Mike and a laugh escaped his (her?) mouth. Unlike the main four, Golden Freddy didn't have his own voice box, so it was Cassidy's voice that came out of his mouth instead. "I just realized something!" he exclaimed. "We can finally hug you for real, dad!"

Mike's eyes widened in panic. "Wait, wait, wait!" he frantically stopped him. "You do realize you'll crush me to death if you do it too quickly, right?"

Rockstar Golden Freddy stopped and sighed. "Oops…yeah, that would be pretty bad," he admitted. He approached Mike much more carefully and wrapped him in a gentle hug, making sure to use as little force as possible. One by one, the other animatronics did the same, reveling in the fact that they could actually make physical contact with their father even if it was through a filter of steel.

"This is such an amazing gift, dad!" Rockstar Chica declared. "I'm so happy you got these for us! We can actually feel like we're alive again!"

The only two ghosts who hadn't possessed an animatronic were Charlie and Liz. As the others were checking out their new animatronic bodies, Mike knelt to look Liz in the eye. The girl looked incredibly conflicted. On the one hand, she still felt some lingering fear about how badly her life as Circus Baby had gone. But on the other hand, there was some envy in her green eyes as she looked over at how happy and relaxed her siblings were in their new forms.

"Liz…" Mike's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I haven't forgotten about you. I have plans for an animatronic body for you too. It's just that Henry never had any animatronic designed that would really fit you, so I have to build yours from scratch. But I WILL get it done, no matter how long it takes."

Liz fought down her disappointment and smiled at him. She had complete faith that her father wouldn't let her down. _"I know you will, dad,"_ she answered, _"but I can't help but wonder how. The plans for all the Funtime animatronics were destroyed when we torched CBEAR."_

"A…friend of mine happened to have a spare copy of Baby's blueprints a couple of weeks back, and he was kind enough to drop that copy off at my garage," Mike answered mysteriously. "It's been taking me a while to edit out all the bad shit, especially with my other project and everything else that's been going on, but I'm almost done. I'm going to make a new set of blueprints for Baby without all the fucked-up nonsense that William Afton put in, and as a temporary substitute birthday present, how'd you like to burn the old set after I'm done?"

Liz perked up. _"With a blowtorch or the incinerator?"_ she asked with a grin.

Mike grinned. "However the hell you want to do it."

Liz giggled happily at the idea of destroying yet more of William Afton's evil handiwork, not noticing the confused expression on Charlie's face. She didn't recall Nelson ever having a detailed set of blueprints for Circus Baby when they had visited her old home…so how had Mike gotten his hands on them? Especially since he'd never had the time to pick them up while they had been hard at work destroying CBEAR…

She shook her head, dismissing it as unimportant for the time being. _"Hey, Liz…"_ she called out, attracting the orange-haired girl's attention. _"Since Dad's working on making an animatronic for you like he did for the rest of us, why don't you borrow Lefty until he gets everything sorted out?"_

Liz's eyes widened. _"You're…you're letting me borrow Lefty?"_ she asked incredulously. _"But…he's yours! He's your father's last gift to you!"_

Charlie smirked. _"Technically, ALL of the Rockstar animatronics could count as Father's last gift,"_ she put the last three words in air quotes, _"but to me…"_ her smirk faded and a wistful look entered her eyes. _"The Puppet is the greatest thing he ever gave me. And this Security Puppet is the closest thing there is to the original Marionette now that it's been destroyed. Lefty just doesn't have that same level of importance, and I'm happy to let you have him for the time being."_

Liz hugged her sister. _"Thank you, Charlie…"_ she murmured. _"I feel so much better knowing that I'm not being left behind."_

" _There's not a chance in Hell that that will ever happen,"_ Charlie answered firmly as they separated. Taking a deep breath, the most mature ghost of the family entered the animatronic's body. Golden eyelights flickered in the Security Puppet's mask and she raised her head.

"Wow…" was the first thing that came out of her mouth, "…after not being in a Puppet for so long, this feels kind of disorienting."

"Disorienting for you?" Rockstar Chica asked jokingly. "We haven't been in an actual body for literal years!"

"It'll be really cool to walk around the house and actually be able to hold and touch things for a change!" Rockstar Bonnie commented. "I know we can manipulate things with our ghostly powers, but it just isn't the same."

"Speak for yourself," Rockstar Foxy dryly retorted. "I'm still holding a freaking accordion over here! And even if I didn't, I still have a hook for a hand!"

"Which I'm getting rid of," Mike interrupted, "as soon as possible. Just like I got rid of the peg leg and replaced it with a normal leg while I was working on Rockstar Foxy with Nelson."

"Wait, what?" Rockstar Foxy protested, suddenly much more defensive of his hook than he was seconds ago. "But it's my hook! I'm Foxy the Pirate! I've always had a hook! And what's this about a peg leg?"

"Because with that thing you're a walking safety hazard!" Rockstar Freddy exclaimed. "You'd probably trip and fall over every other second if you had a peg leg on. And don't get me started on that hook! What if you poked someone's eye out? It's bad enough that we have to worry about you breaking one of our eyes, but God forbid you accidentally poke out dad's eye with that thing! We're lucky Foxy didn't cause any hook-related accidents back when he was still active at Pirate's Cove!"

Rockstar Foxy looked like he desperately wanted to counter his brother's argument, but he couldn't deny the point. "Ah, well…" he sighed, "at least I'll still have the eyepatch and the parrot."

"We should really do something with these new bodies!" Rockstar Golden Freddy suggested excitedly. "Something special to celebrate our first official family birthday!"

"Okay, but what exactly can we do?" the Security Puppet wondered. "Dad just got us these bodies, and it's not like he can make a giant birthday cake for us to eat!"

"Maybe we can perform a little concert for dad?" Rockstar Bonnie suggested. "I like Susie's idea that she brought up earlier – playing some music would be really fun, especially with all the cool songs that have come out over the past couple of years."

None of them noticed the mischievous smirk that crossed Mike's face for a brief second. Half of him had wanted to upload "Despacito" into the Rockstars as a prank…while the other half had cringed hard at the thought of invoking a meme that had already been run into the ground over and over again.

"There aren't any songs uploaded in these bodies yet," Rockstar Freddy countered, "and it might take a bit of time for us to get used to syncing everything up and getting everything sorted out."

"I have an idea…"

All the Rockstars stopped to turn towards Mike, who had a calculating glint in his eyes. "I have an idea," he repeated. "This is either the best idea or the worst idea ever. But I just can't resist."

The children did their best to project their curiosity and confusion through the eyes of the animatronics. "What do you have in mind, dad?" Rockstar Chica asked.

A grin that was just a tad unsettling began to stretch across Mike's face. "Well…"

/

A/N: A cliffhanger because I'm an asshole :D

Sorry if this chapter was very exposition-y, but as we all know by now, the kids have had RETARDEDLY bad experiences with possessing animatronics the last time around, and Mike understandably wants to make sure that any chances of shit hitting the fan are as minimal as possible.

Some of you might be wondering why I seemingly forgot to have Liz possess Lefty. I didn't forget. The answer to that question will be made clear next chapter.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	59. Chapter 59 - One Night at Mike's

A/N: Heh heh heh…I've had THIS particular idea planned out ever since I came up with the idea of giving the ghosts the Rockstars for bodies. I think you'll be able to figure out the basic gist once you read the title of the chapter. I could reveal all of my ideas for this particular theme right here and now…but there's too much in my head and too many opportunities to play around with this idea to fit with just ONE chapter.

Oh, and Happy Anniversary to _FFPS!_ I honestly didn't know that it happened this week, but that just makes me even happier that I chose around now to bring out the Rockstars.

Phillip: I TRY to post every Thursday or Friday night, but med school can fuck with my schedule depending on the circumstances.

Chapter 59 – One Night at Mike's

"Wait, WHAT?" Rockstar Foxy exclaimed. "Wh…wh…WHA?"

"Could you…run that by us again?" the Security Puppet asked, her eyelights brightening in shock. "Just to make sure we've heard correctly?"

"You heard me," Mike re-explained with a grin, "I want to play a game kinda like what we did back in 1993. You guys try to hunt me down as the animatronics, and I try to fend you off for a given amount of time. Except, you know, minus the whole vengeance and rage and trying to kill me by stuffing in a suit and all that shit."

"But…we tried to kill you!" Rockstar Golden Freddy protested. "We tried to murder you in one of the most brutal ways possible! And you want to RELIVE that?"

Mike shrugged. "It's not like I have anything to fear from you in the here and now," he replied. "And besides, you're forgetting that out of the X number of shitty things that happened to me in the first eighteen years of my life, my night shift at Freddy's was on the BOTTOM of that list," his lips curled upward in a sardonic smirk. "I'd even go so far as to say that in a fucked up, masochistic sort of way, I actually found my shift at Freddy's kind of fun."

Rockstar Chica shook her head in disbelief. "I'm honestly starting to wonder if you have issues, dad…"

Mike's smile faded a bit. "I mean, I kinda _did_ back then…"

Rockstar Chica cringed at the response. "Sorry…" she quickly apologized.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Mike brushed it off. "My capacity for giving a shit fucked off to a corner and died a long time ago."

"I can't help but wonder if we're disrespecting the other night guards we murdered by playing this game," Rockstar Freddy muttered.

Mike shrugged. "I mean, one could argue that I've already crossed that line with the whole _Five Nights at Freddy's_ game as it is," he pointed out.

"Fair enough," Rockstar Freddy conceded, "but there's another problem. How exactly are we going to replicate the night shift? Unless I've missed something big over the past year, the entryways into the hallway and the basement don't have heavy duty metal doors you can just slam downward to block us out."

To his surprise, Mike's grin returned in full force. "I've gotten all those annoying little details taken care of. Now if you excuse me, I need to get the rule sheets."

"Rule sheets?" Rockstar Golden Freddy repeated in confusion as Mike left the garage. He returned a few minutes later with several typed sheets of paper. He handed one sheet to each animatronic. "These sheets describe the way I want you to act when trying to get at me while we're playing the game."

The Security Puppet blinked. "Did you have this planned all along?" she asked incredulously.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Mike replied blithely, an answer that spoke volumes in and of itself.

Rockstar Bonnie took his sheet and started reading part of it. "Wait…what's a…Fuckstick?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Mike started. "Oh, shit. Be right back." He zipped out of the garage, and when he returned the animatronics and Liz nearly collapsed into laughter when they saw what he was carrying. In his hand was a staff…with a giant golden middle finger as its head. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you the Fuckstick. It is, without exaggeration, the crowning non-technology related accomplishment of my college years."

"Why…how…how did you even?" Rockstar Freddy managed to choke out.

"It was a fraternity party, I was drunk, don't ask," Mike blithely replied as he smiled fondly at the memories. He rarely drank alcohol considering his less than pleasant experiences, but even he wasn't entirely immune to its lure.

"I think I realize what you're going for now. Only instead of a spare Freddy Fazbear head, you're going to try and block us off using a…Fuckstick," the Security Puppet giggled. "I swear I'm never going to get over that."

By now the others were starting to realize what Mike was going for. "Well, I didn't think a Round 2 was ever going to happen," Rockstar Freddy commented dryly. "You do realize that we were harder on the Night Guards in the 1987 location than we were in the 1993 location? I mean, granted, Rockstar Foxy will still act kinda like how he did in 1993 but still."

"Good," Mike retorted. "If this was a rehash of the 1993 location then things would get really fucking boring really fucking quickly."

" _Uhm, dad?"_ a voice interrupted them. Mike and the ghosts in the animatronics turned to see Liz looking up with an almost forlorn expression on her face. Mike nearly facepalmed when he realized that she was feeling left out, even though that hadn't been his attention at all. _"Will I be playing too? And should I possess Lefty then?"_

"Of course you're playing, Liz!" her father reassured her. "But not as Lefty."

" _But…"_ her expression morphed into confusion, _"I don't have an animatronic to play as."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you do."

" _No, I…"_ her eyes widened in realization. _"OH."_

Mike grinned. "And I've got a VERY special job for you, Liz," he handed the sheet over to the orange-haired ghost girl. "Here's what I need you to do…"

 _Later at Night…_

"I should warn you guys," Mike said as he sat down on the sofa, which was now facing the two entryways into the main hallway and the basement door, "when it comes to multiplayer games I can be rather…intense. One can even say…savage…"

The ghosts thought back to the battle of wits Mike had had with Nightmare Fredbear. "We could tell," Rockstar Freddy commented dryly.

"All right, just warning you," Mike answered. "Now, places!"

Rockstar Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy climbed up the stairs to the second floor while Rockstar Golden Freddy vanished from sight and the Security Puppet descended the stairs into the darkness of the basement. One room at a time, the lights flickered off until every room apart from the living room was either completely engulfed in darkness or had its lights turned on at the minimum possible brightness. With the Fuckstick to his left and the flashlight to his right, Mike turned on the tablet.

The layout of the security cameras had changed slightly from what it normally was. The camera in the living room had been relocated to the bedroom where Rockstar Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were starting. Mike had also broken out some of his backup security cameras and activated them, so that there was now a security camera in the main second floor bathroom and on the stairs between the first and second floors as well as most of the rooms in the house.

Mike quickly flipped the tablet over to said bathroom, which was pointed at the bathtub. A purple curtain had been drawn across the bathtub, obscuring anything behind it from sight. Rockstar Foxy was waiting behind the curtain, but since the game hadn't started yet he quickly switched over to the basement. The room was large enough that to fully cover it would require two cameras rather than one, but right now there was only one, and it was pointing straight at the music box that the Security Puppet now inhabited. A button to wind up the music box and a timer had appeared on his screen, and while the timer was still full right now, he knew that once the game started it would begin counting down.

Mike pressed a different button, an intercom that would announce his words throughout the house. "Are you guys ready?" When he heard muffled sounds from the second floor and basement answering in confirmation, he continued. "Keep in mind this is a fifteen minute game, I have the timer on my phone right next to me. Starting in five…four…three…two…one… begin!"

An eerie silence immediately fell on the house as Mike switched over to the basement. As he had suspected, the music box had begun to wind down, but it was doing so remarkably slowly. Technically, Mike already had a plan on how to deal with the animatronics, but since this round was under Night 1 conditions he decided not to make things TOO easy for himself. After winding the music box to full, he switched back to the bedroom, where Rockstar Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were standing silently next to each other and facing the doorway.

He put the tablet down…and his eyes fell directly onto the spectral form of Scrap Baby, who was sitting on a couch opposite to him in front of the wall area between the two hallway entrances. She was slouched over onto the floor as if deactivated, but Mike knew that she wasn't as dormant as she appeared. He opened up the tablet to check on the bedroom, bathroom, and basement to confirm that the state of affairs hadn't changed.

For the next few minutes, nothing of note happened and Mike was beginning to get bored. Then, at around five minutes into the game (the rough equivalent of 2 AM), he heard footsteps above him.

Mike immediately flipped up the camera to the bedroom, only to find that Rockstar Bonnie and Chica were both gone. A quick scouring of the cameras revealed that Bonnie had moved to the second floor hallway and Chica had gone into the bedroom normally occupied by Liz and Fritz. Rockstar Foxy still hadn't moved from behind the bathroom curtain (Mike doubted that he would on Night 1 but he wasn't going to take any chances) and the music box had ticked down to about ¾ of its remaining time. Mike tuned it back up and put the tablet away.

Only to discover that Scrap Baby had moved. Instead of being slumped over, she was now looking up, her eyes staring directly into his own. Mike inwardly congratulated Liz on how creepy she looked even with the knowledge that she would never hurt him, but now was not the time for that. Instead, he picked up the flashlight and flashed it into her face three times. After the third time, she slumped back down into her original position, pacified for now. A quick check of the tablet revealed that Rockstar Bonnie and Chica had taken advantage of the distraction provided by Scrap Baby to advance further. Chica was now in the second floor hallway, and Bonnie was already descending down the stairs.

The first attack came around the equivalent of halfway into 3 AM. Mike had been winding up the Puppet's music box when the tablet was suddenly forced downward. The lights in the living room started to flicker on and off frantically as Rockstar Bonnie glared down at him with black eyes that had only the tiniest pinprick of light in their center. Reacting with instincts that still hadn't dulled even after decades, Mike grabbed the Fuckstick with his left hand and flipped it upward so that the golden middle finger was directly in front of Rockstar Bonnie.

"Get the hell out of here," Mike snapped as Rockstar Bonnie left the living room. "I can't believe they can still do the creepy things with their eyes," he muttered as he flipped up the camera to check on the basement's Prize Box, but as he was winding it up his mind was suddenly bombarded with hallucinations just like it had been back at the 1993 location. The flickering faces of the originals had been replaced with the Rockstars, but the message of "It's Me" was very much how he remembered it over 30 years ago.

"You're not funny!" Mike grumbled as he lowered the tablet…only to find Rockstar Chica in front of him this time. Without missing a beat, Mike flipped up the Fuckstick again, and after a few tense seconds the chicken animatronic departed from the living room just like Rockstar Bonnie had done. Unfortunately, Scrap Baby had taken advantage of the distraction provided by Rockstar Chica to lift her head up again, forcing Mike to flash the light in her eyes three times to pacify her.

When he opened the tablet again, he found that Rockstar Bonnie and Rockstar Chica had both gone back upstairs. "I swear, if we weren't trying to maintain some level of game balance then going back upstairs in a game where you're supposed to be catching me in the _first floor living room_ would be Fazbear Incorporated levels of idiocy," Mike deadpanned as he checked on Rockstar Foxy. To his surprise, the curtain had been slightly drawn aside, and Rockstar Foxy was now staring directly into the camera. "Wait, what the fuck?" Mike wondered. "Why the fuck are you moving on Night 1?" He checked the timer on his phone. 1 minute left. He smirked. "I've got this, I've got this." And indeed, he was able to easily breeze through the last few moments of the round. Rockstar Bonnie had attempted to approach the living room again, but he had only made it to the main hallway before the timer on Mike's phone sounded with the Westminster chimes.

"And time's up!" Mike announced through the intercom as the animatronics immediately came to life again. Rockstar Foxy, Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie approached the main hallway as the Security Puppet popped out of her music box and Rockstar Golden Freddy materialized in front of Mike. Once everyone was inside, Mike smiled. "Well, that was…"

"Exciting?" Rockstar Chica asked.

"Creepy?" Rockstar Bonnie suggested.

"Scary?" Rockstar Golden Freddy added.

"Boring as all hell," Mike finished dryly. "Turns out, when you're a seasoned veteran who's survived 20 nights with killer animatronics, Night 1 conditions are a joke even under different circumstances. Though maybe that's my fault, even I forgot how good I am," he finished with a smirk.

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Most modest night guard in the world right here, ladies and gentlemen," Rockstar Freddy announced sarcastically.

Mike did an exaggerated bow. "Thank you, thank you, you're too kind."

"Yeah, because surviving Night 1 is sooooooooooo hard," Rockstar Foxy drawled as he narrowed his one eye. "Why don't you try Night 5 conditions and _then_ we'll talk."

An excited gleam appeared in Mike's eyes. "All right, Fritz. I'll take you up on that offer. Let's go."

 _Night 5 Conditions, "1 AM"_

"Oh good God, what the fuck was I thinking?" Mike ranted frantically. "I regret everything! I REGRET EVERYTHING!"

He knew that Rockstar Freddy had been serious in his warning that they had been more aggressive in hunting night guards back in 1987 (what with the toys helping them and all), but even he couldn't have foreseen the sheer bullshit he was now dealing it.

The moment he had started the timer, Rockstar Bonnie and Rockstar Chica had raced away from the bedroom, and even before the "first hour" had run its course both of them had already attacked him once each even as Rockstar Freddy advanced into the second floor hallway. The music box was also ticking down at a MUCH faster rate than before, and Scrap Baby had started to leer menacingly at him as early as the first time he put down the tablet. His attempts at checking Rockstar Foxy had been stymied by his efforts to put down the other three animatronics, and because of this Rockstar Foxy was already peering out from behind the curtain of the bathroom before 1 AM finally rolled around.

Mike knew that he couldn't keep track of Rockstar Freddy, Foxy, AND the Security Puppet, especially when one of those would require an additional activity. With a sigh, he decided to give up on following Rockstar Freddy entirely. Even if he managed to advance to the main hallway, he would only be another Rockstar Chica or Bonnie, as opposed to the Security Puppet who would outright end his game or Rockstar Foxy who would waste a lot of valuable time.

As he winded up the music box yet again, he heard the faint sound of a girl giggling in front of him. He immediately lowered the tablet to see Rockstar Golden Freddy sitting on the ground in front of him with his eyes completely empty. Mike immediately whipped up the Fuckstick and watched as the animatronic vanished in front of his eyes.

"Looks like Cassidy worked on her teleportation powers," he thought. "And where exactly does she vanish off to when she's not in the living room?" With a shrug, he turned on the tablet and checked the music box as was his new routine.

The next few minutes seemed to pass by in a blur. Rockstar Freddy had steadily advanced as time passed, his laughter echoing across the house with each movement. Rockstar Bonnie and Chica attacked with much more frequency than they had earlier, forcing Mike to flip up the Fuckstick every single time he put away the tablet to make sure he didn't lose. Things didn't get any easier when Rockstar Freddy finally reached the hallway – the animatronic bear never seemed to leave the main hallway, and while it didn't really matter which entryway he attacked from, the fact remained that he seemed to strike at the living room every few seconds, much more commonly than Rockstar Chica or Rockstar Bonnie did. It didn't help that the hallucinations from before seemed to be occurring more frequently than they had been during "Night 1", and while they were technically harmless they did serve to irritate and distract Mike whenever they popped up.

As Rockstar Golden Freddy appeared and vanished for the third time and 3 AM rolled around, Mike checked Rockstar Foxy. The last time he had checked, the animatronic had stepped out from behind the curtain, his mouth open in a soundless snarl. But now…

…he was gone.

Mike's heart leapt as he heard running in the second hallway approach the stairway. He switched the camera to the Prize Box and wound it up for as much as he dared before hastily shoving it aside. Fortunately, there was no animatronic waiting for him, and he quickly grabbed the flashlight and shined it at the left entryway just as Rockstar Foxy made his appearance. The pirate fox was standing in the doorway, his hook raised and his mouth opened in the same soundless snarl.

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of SCREW OFF!" he declared as he flashed the light seven times in Rockstar Foxy's eyes. The animatronic blinked several times and for a second Mike wondered if he had forgotten how many times he was supposed to flash the light in Rockstar Foxy's eyes. Fortunately, he had done it correctly, and the animatronic slowly retreated. As he heard it climb back up the stairs, he began to hear an unearthly electronic gibbering noise in front of him.

Up until this point, Mike had done what he thought was a solid job keeping Scrap Baby at bay, but after being attacked by Rockstar Freddy, Golden Freddy, and Foxy in quick succession, he simply never had the time to check on Scrap Baby properly and shut her down. Now, he was met with a truly disturbing sight.

Scrap Baby's previously empty eyes were now glowing bright green and her head was twitching uncontrollably. Her left hand was clenching into a fist and unclenching in rapid succession, and she was snapping her claw open and shut just as chaotically. The only thing Mike could think was that she truly looked like the predator that she had once been under William Afton's influence, just waiting to leap at him and capture her prey.

"And Liz wins the award for scariest shit I've seen so far this evening," Mike admitted to himself as he grabbed the flashlight and flashed the light eight times in a row onto her face. After the eighth try, Scrap Baby stopped twitching and she slumped forward, back into her deactivated phase. "Yeah that's right, sit the fuck down!" Mike taunted as he switched the tablet on again.

Part of him had wanted to cheese the whole game by keeping the Fuckstick up while looking at the tablet, but Charlie had made it clear to her that that was not how the night shift had gone down in the 1987 pizzeria – the night guards simply did not combine strategies like that. Mike dearly hoped that the tablet in the 1987 pizzeria was simply too bulky to use less than two hands to hold it and wind up the music box, because if it wasn't then frankly his predecessors were a bunch of fucking morons for not utilizing that simple a solution.

And speaking of the music box…pacifying Scrap Baby had taken up valuable time. The timer was now at just below half, and Mike knew that if he didn't wind it up now then he would be screwed. He managed to raise the bar to around ¾ before the tablet was forced down by Rockstar Freddy yet again.

"Oh my God, Fazfuck, fuck off!" Mike almost shouted as he flipped up the Fuckstick. He could have sworn that the animatronic muttered "Fazfuck?" under his breath as he stalked off.

For up until the equivalent of 5 AM, Mike was able to fend off the animatronics, though he had to work for it. Despite his best efforts, however, Rockstar Foxy had managed to step out of the curtain for a second time, and Mike knew that if he rushed out it would take even more time to stop him than it had before.

And then, just when Mike dared to hope that he might be able to win without any more problems, things started to fall apart. By sheer catastrophic coincidence, he was bombarded by assaults from animatronics one-at-a-time. First Rockstar Chica, then Rockstar Golden Freddy, Rockstar Freddy, and Rockstar Bonnie.

"Shove a metal carrot up your ass!" Mike growled as Rockstar Bonnie departed from the living room. "Okay, okay," he took a deep breath. "It's 5 AM. Just gotta check the Security Puppet and…OH FUCK FOXY!" he flipped up the tablet and tried to wind the music box up a few ticks before switching to the bathroom.

For the second time that night, Rockstar Foxy was gone.

"Shit shit SHIT!" Mike lowered the tablet…and this time Rockstar Freddy was waiting for him. Mike flipped up the Fuckstick to block off Rockstar Freddy, but he barely had enough time to counter Rockstar Foxy after the animatronic bear departed. This time, the fox animatronic had tried to be sneaky by hitting the RIGHT door instead, and Mike had to flash his light ten times to force him to retreat. Scrap Baby had taken advantage of the many intrusions to advance to her "spooky twitching" phase. Mike flashed his light eight times in her face like he had done before, successfully "decommissioning" her.

And then…the sound of "Pop Goes the Weasel!" started echoing ominously throughout the house.

"Aw, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck…." Mike groaned. He picked up the monitor to confirm that the worst had indeed happened. The music box was open and the Security Puppet was already gone. "And here she comes!" Mike began rambling as he lowered the tablet and lifted the Fuckstick to block off Rockstar Golden Freddy. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Tickle-Fingers herself coming here to rip me a new asshole!" He began to sing discordantly with the music. "I'm getting screwed! I'm getting screwed! I'm gonna be screwed! VERY VERY…"

 _DING! DONG!_

Mike stopped mid-tune as he stared down at his phone. The numbers 00:00.00 glowed faintly but proudly on the screen.

"YES!" Mike whooped as he threw the tablet on the couch. "I WIN AGAIN! WHOOOOOOOOO!"

"Awww…" the Security Puppet whined. She had been steadily floating up the stairs to come and get at Mike, but the timer had wound down to "6 AM" before she had made it fully. "I was so close!"

"Close but no cigar!" Mike grinned as the other animatronics started arriving. "Well, you guys weren't kidding when you said you were tougher on the night guards in 1987 than you were in 1993. I almost lost a couple of times."

"We hoped that dogpiling you towards the end would end up getting you," Rockstar Bonnie admitted. "I mean, obviously we didn't outright plan to hit you one after the other, since we didn't exactly communicate a full-blown battle plan back then and doing it right now would be cheating. But still, that was really lucky for us how we were able to hit you one at a time AND have Foxy come in right after."

"Well, if it had been even a few seconds earlier, you guys would have probably won," Mike admitted. "Security Puppet was _this close_ to kicking my ass."

"You said some really weird things sometimes, dad," Rockstar Chica commented. "Like…Miss Tickle-Fingers? What?"

"Look at those Puppet fingers and tell me those aren't the perfect fingers for tickling," Mike countered. A few of the animatronics opened their mouths as if to say something but ultimately didn't, since they couldn't really disagree with him even if they still found the whole thing weird as all hell.

"I have to admit," Rockstar Bonnie finally spoke up, "now that we're not doing this to kill innocent people, this was actually kind of fun."

" _We'll get you next time, dad!"_ declared Liz as she shifted back into her human form.

"You can try," Mike retorted with a smirk. "But whether you'll actually _succeed_ , now THAT is the question, isn't it? Though I do have to say, you were probably the creepiest animatronic out of all of them." Liz glowed at the praise as Mike looked at his phone again. "All right, guys, I'm tired after that fifteen minute shitshow. Why don't you guys try doing some activities that you've done in the past as the animatronics and see how similar or different they feel?"

"That sounds like a good idea, dad!" the ghosts in the animatronics readily agreed as they dispersed. After some thought, Liz departed to the workshop to possess Lefty. No reason to be left behind, after all.

Meanwhile, Mike climbed up the stairs and into his private study. He sat down on his couch and thought back to the game that they had just played.

"You know…" he mused aloud as his mouth began to stretch into a grin, "…I think I can think of a few ways to play around with our new game. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this!"

/

A/N: Bonus points to anybody who gets the references.

And there you have it, folks! The introduction to the "One Night at Mike's" series of chapters. Since I'm pretty much done with Epic Fantasy Adventures, I needed something to replace it and I can't think of many ideas better than this one. As Mike himself stated, there are a LOT of ways for me to play around with this theme and I'll be sure to implement as many of them as possible. This set of chapters is also a lot more "FNAF-y" than other chapters, which I think will attract you guys' interest a lot more. We also have the introduction of Savage!GamerMike, so that's also a thing.

I tried to establish a general and relatively clear idea of how the game works, which is mostly a combination of FNAF1 and FNAF2 (more FNAF2) with less bullshit moments (Fuck you Enragement Child) and a few bits of other games thrown in. However, (a) I might not have done it as clearly as I would have hoped and (b) there are still some details I haven't communicated across yet. As such, I will now post the mechanics for each of the animatronics down below:

Rockstar Freddy (Gabe) – Freddy starts in Mike's bedroom along with Bonnie and Chica. His behavior is a combination of his movement patterns in FNAF1 and FNAF2. At first, he will follow a set pattern: Mike's Bedroom - Upper Floor Hallway - Stairs - Main Hallway. Although his movements can be delayed by continuously checking on him with the camera, he will NOT move backwards while he is progressing to the main hallway and will NOT leave the area of the hallway once he arrives. Once he has reached the Main Hallway, he can attack from either entrance to the Living Room and will attack much more frequently than either Bonnie or Chica. If he is at the Living Room doorway, you can shine the Flashlight on him to stun him, though the effect is only temporary. If he chooses to enter the Living Room, you must flip the Fuckstick at him to make him go away (like Bonnie and Chica, he will pull down the tablet after a while). Failure to do so in a timely manner will result in a Game Over.

NOTE: I never really liked how Freddy seemed to become less and less of a threat as the games continued, to the point that he's barely focused on at all in later games. Even in FNAF2, the Freddies excluding Golden Freddy seem to attack much less often than other animatronics. In my little game, I attempt to rectify that problem by having Freddy as the most frequent and most dangerous NORMAL attacker, particularly in later nights where stalling him may simply not be a long-term possibility.

Rockstar Bonnie (Jeremy) – Bonnie starts in Mike's bedroom along with Freddy and Chica. He will wander throughout the house and will always attack the Living Room from the left side. His movements are random. He likes to wander around a lot though his movements are less focused as a result. If he is at the Living Room doorway, you can shine the Flashlight on him to stun him, though the effect is only temporary. If he enters the Living Room, you must flip the Fuckstick at him to make him go away (like Freddy and Chica, he will pull down the tablet after a while). Failure to do so in a timely manner will result in a Game Over.

Rockstar Chica (Susie) – Chica starts in Mike's bedroom along with Freddy and Bonnie. She will wander throughout the house and will always attack the Living Room from the right side. Her movements are random. She moves around less but is generally more focused in her movements than Bonnie is. If she is at the Living Room doorway, you can shine the Flashlight on her to stun her, though the effect is only temporary. If she _does_ enter the Living Room, however, you must flip the Fuckstick at her to make her go away (like Freddy and Bonnie, she will pull down the tablet after a while). Failure to do so in a timely manner will result in a Game Over.

Rockstar Foxy (Fritz) – Unlike the other animatronics, Foxy starts in the bathroom. You must frequently check on the bathroom to keep him at bay. Otherwise, he will start advancing out of the bathroom. If he leaves the bathroom entirely, he will rush towards the Living Room towards EITHER door. You MUST correctly identify which door he will attack from and shine the flashlight on him continuously for several seconds to force him to retreat to the bathroom. The more times he rushes out of the bathroom, the longer you will have to shine the flashlight on him before he retreats. Failure to do so in a timely manner will result in a Game Over. He is completely immune to the Fuckstick.

Rockstar Golden Freddy (Cassidy) – He (she?) will appear randomly in the Living Room while you are checking the cameras. He is completely immune to the effects of the Flashlight. If he appears, immediately lift the Fuckstick to make him disappear. Failure to do so will result in a Game Over.

Scrap Baby (Liz) – She will sit in the Living Room in between the two entrances, slumped over as though she were decommissioned. Every so often, however, she will begin to start moving, and will attack if she is ignored for too long. There are two stages (not including her inert state) that she will move through before causing a Game Over. To send her back into her original inert state, shine the Flashlight on her multiple times. The second stage will require more flashlight hits than the first stage to send her back into passivity, and you cannot move her from the second stage back down to the first stage – it's either all or nothing. Be warned, however – if you shine your Flashlight on her too many times while she is in her decommissioned state, you will trigger her to attack you immediately and end your game regardless. She is completely immune to the Fuckstick.

NOTE: She's essentially a combination of FNAF2's Withered Foxy (anyone remember how annoying HE was?), UCN Nightmare BB and her UCN self. She's less bullshit / more generous than Withered Foxy is but there IS a penalty for using the flashlight on her willy-nilly. Though part of that is because you also have Rockstar Foxy to deal with.

Security Puppet (Charlie) – She will remain in the music box in the Basement, which will continuously wind down as time passes. You must make sure that her music box is always wound up with your tablet. If the music box stops playing, she will come out and attack the Living Room. There is no way to repel her or stop her advance if she attacks, so a Game Over is inevitable unless you are very close to "6 AM".

Oh, and a little teaser to pique your interest for what is to come:

 **Mike Schmidt - ?**

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	60. Chapter 60 - Jamming with the Schmidts 1

A/N: Now that Mike and the family are recreating Five Nights at Freddy's in their own house (minus the murder and killing and vengeance and all that not-good shit), it's time for the OTHER logical conclusion for what to do with the Rockstars. It's funny since I've just finished doing something similar with the OTHER fic that I'm currently working on.

I've recently gotten a notice on one of my other fics that uploading lyrics is not allowed. Since this is chapter focused on the animatronics making music, that's…kind of awkward. I'm not sure how much those rules are enforced in practice, but TO BE ABSOLUTELY SAFE, I won't be typing the full lyrics. Instead, I **highly recommend** that you listen to the songs (which I will be highlighting just before they are performed and I will include a small bit of each verse/chorus so that you know which animatronic is singing. I am terribly sorry for this inconvenience, but I don't want this fic to get taken down after all, not when I put this much work and time into it.

Normally I put my responses to reviews in the beginning, but the one I have for my first major critical one is just so damn long that I figured it would be politer to save it for the post-chapter author's note. JustaMegaMothim, my response is at the bottom after the chapter so that other readers don't have to get tangled up in it (unless they want to for whatever reason).

We are so very close to reaching 200 Favorites. If you could help me reach that benchmark, I would be so very happy! :D Also, I probably won't be able to upload a chapter next week thanks to two tough med school exams fucking with my schedule.

Chapter 60 – Jamming with the Schmidts 1

The day after Mike and the ghost kids re-enacted the night shift at Freddy's in their house, the ghosts immediately got to work on their dream of being the musical performers that the animatronics were always meant to be. Upon uploading the first few songs, the children discovered that when a song was uploaded into the animatronics' database, any ghost who was possessing that animatronic would gain intrinsic knowledge of the lyrics in that song. Unfortunately, even though the ghosts could "choose" which song to play within a given database, they couldn't actually play any music along with them if they wanted to sing. In the Rockstars' current state, the songs would play automatically and essentially render them as glorified record players while the ghosts were unable to actually sing even if they could move the animatronic around.

To rectify this, Charlie decided to experiment with her magic on Lefty, who had been updated with a voice box and a music recorder just like the rest of the Rockstars. Liz happily gave Lefty back over to Charlie – as far as she was concerned, Lefty was still truly her sister's, and was merely a loan until Mike could deliver on his promise to create a new animatronic for her – and she spent the next few hours focused on magically altering the technology in the Rockstars so that they would allow the ghosts to properly sing through them while the music associated with the songs played separately in the background.

"How do you even do this?" Mike asked incredulously as she watched Charlie move on from Rockstar Freddy to Rockstar Chica. "Like, I didn't even think it was possible to magically alter technology like that!"

Charlie raised an eyebrow. _"And how would you know? It's not like anybody's done anything like this before."_

"Fair enough," Mike admitted. "But you still haven't answered my question on how you were even able to do it?"

Charlie shrugged. _"I just…reach into the threads of the functions of the machines and fiddle around with them, to be honest,"_ she answered. _"I don't really have a detailed answer that I can give you."_

"That sounds like it would be incredibly convenient or incredibly dangerous, depending on the machine," Mike commented. "But since it's just a simply music player, I think we'll be safe."

" _Don't worry, I'm doing everything I can to make sure that the animatronics are completely safe,"_ Charlie assured him. _"In fact, they should theoretically be SAFER, since I'm weakening the connection between the music and the rest of the animatronic's functions._

Mike merely nodded, pat Charlie on the back, and left her at her work. By the end of the day, Charlie had managed to successfully managed to optimize the Rockstars for musical performances by the ghosts, and all of the children were eager to have their first show.

" _We should invite the Marshalls!"_ Jeremy suggested excitedly. _"I can't wait to show our first birthday gifts and our first concert to them!"_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Not that I don't have an issue with that fundamentally, but how are you going to explain the presence of Freddy's animatronics in my house?" he asked.

" _We could say that you're a Freddy's enthusiast who managed to find the last Freddy's animatronics and altered them for us!"_ Susie suggested.

Mike resisted the urge to quip about how he was an enthusiast of a bunch of furry robots who once tried to kill him. "Well, all righty then," he answered. "I just hope that the Marshalls don't have negative impressions of the Freddy's franchise."

" _We'll make sure not to give anything away,"_ Gabe promised as he went off to send an invitation to the Marshalls for a "delayed birthday party." To the kids' delight, the Marshalls were free during the upcoming weekend and Ryan gave his permission for the Marshall kids to visit Mike's house.

When the Marshalls' care drove up to the driveway outside of Mike's home, the ghosts were there to happily greet their friends. "So what's this surprise that you're going to show us?"

" _Something really interesting that Dad managed to find for us,"_ Cassidy answered, not giving anything away. When the kids entered the living room, Alex and Marshall's eyes both bulged when they saw the inactive Rockstar animatronics standing one next to the other.

"Wait…ARE THOSE?"

Fritz grinned. _"The newest model of Freddy Fazbear animatronics!"_ he declared. _"Around here, though, we like to call them the Rockstars. Dad's a bit of a Freddy's enthusiast and he got these animatronics as bodies for us!"_

"That sounds really cool!" Meghan exclaimed, but then the excitement in her eyes suddenly dimmed. "But I heard…things…about the animatronics."

" _What things?"_ Liz asked, her voice carefully neutral.

"Well, I mean there's the ghost stories, but those are just something that people have brought up because of that Five Nights at Freddy's game," Alex explained with a dismissive tone. The expressions on his and his sister's face made it clear that they didn't really believe those ghost stories despite the presence of ghosts right in front of them, and nobody saw fit to correct them of their misconception. "Nah, what my sister's talking about is how there were some…accidents…with a few of the older models. Two people got bit in the head, if I'm remembering correctly."

The ghosts tried not to visibly show their relief. _"Oh, don't worry about that,"_ Gabe assured them. _"Dad actually made it so that these bots don't have any programming or AI in them at all. One of the bites only occurred because one of the bots was glitchy as all hell and because somebody fucked up with their programming. Neither of which is going to be a problem here because there IS no programming."_

Alex shrugged and visibly relaxed. "Oh, that's all right then."

Meghan didn't look as easily convinced. "What about the other bite?" she asked.

"I can explain that one," Alex answered. "Some idiot actually shoved his brother's head inside the animatronic's mouth. I mean, good God, what did he think was going to happen?" Neither of them noticed Liz flinch visibly at the description of her brother as an "idiot," even if it was done in ignorance and she couldn't disagree.

" _Well,"_ Charlie decided to keep the Marshalls distracted from Liz until she could calm down, _"we've been living in these animatronics with Dad for the past couple of days and nothing bad has happened at all. If you're not feeling comfortable about them, though, we'll stay a few feet away from you just to make sure nothing bad happens."_

"I think it'll be fine," Meghan replied. "It sounds like those bites were caused by something on the outside mucking things around and we won't have those problems here."

" _Anyway, the reason why we called you here is because we wanted to give you a musical performance in these robots!"_ Jeremy pressed on. _"We heard a lot from Dad about how badly the Freddy Fazbear name got mucked up because of all the bad shit that happened to it, and we figured that we could try and make these animatronics into performers again like they were always supposed to be."_

" _Even if it's only for a few people,"_ Susie added.

The Marshalls looked at each other and smiled. "I'm down!" Alex declared. "Let's hear it!"

The ghosts grinned and Charlie called Mike over to join the audience. They began to possess the animatronic corresponding to who they had used to be in darker times with the exception of Liz inhabiting Lefty (not that the Marshalls would know that) and they all activated one by one.

"All right!" Rockstar Freddy announced, already going deep into the act. "Welcome to the first Schmidt-Fazbear family concert, everyone! My name is Freddy Fazbear, and I'll be your host for the afternoon! With me have my good old friends: Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Golden Freddy, and Lefty!" Every animatronic waved as their names were announced, even though Mike already knew who they were and there was a good chance the Marshalls did too. Though Alex and Meghan didn't know it, Foxy's hook had actually been replaced with a right hand that matched his left for safety reasons. "And I'd like to give a warm thank-you to our older sister, the Security Puppet. She might not be able to sing, but she's the one who made today's show possible!"

"Man, it seems like I'm looking at something straight out of the old times," Alex whispered to his sister.

"We've got a lovely selection of songs for you, and I hope we can make your day truly magical!" Rockstar Bonnie picked up where Freddy had left off. He noticed the two Marshalls shudder ever so slightly as he spoke.

"Your voice sounds a bit creepy," Alex admitted when questioned.

"Yeeeeaaaaahhhh…I'm not too happy with it either," Rockstar Bonnie conceded, temporarily breaking character. "Luckily, we won't have to worry about it because we use the voices of the original performers whenever we sing."

"Fair enough," Meghan replied as Rockstar Chica looked over at Freddy questioningly. The animatronic bear nodded, and immediately Rockstar Chica, Rockstar Golden Freddy, and Lefty departed from the stage and joined their friends on the floor. "Wait, what's going on?" she asked, confused.

"Thar be too many performers on stage if we try to fit 7 robots, lassie," Rockstar Foxy replied, already engrossed in his act as a pirate. "Need to make some space for me friends up in tha' cove."

Alex and Meghan both chuckled at Fritz's roleplay. "I think I've got the perfect song to start us out with!" Rockstar Freddy declared. "Are you guys ready?"

"YEAH!" everyone shouted back.

"Then let's rock!" As if on cue, music began to play from within the bodies of the animatronics, and the first song began.

 **[["What I'm Made Of" – Crush 40"]]**

 **Freddy:** _"I don't care..."_ ( **Bonnie/ Foxy:** Set me free!)

" _Is it me…_

 **All:** " _Try to reach…"_

The Marshalls began bobbing their heads to the tune as Mike grinned. Charlie's magic had done its job beautifully.

 **Foxy:** _"Like a million..." (_ **Bonnie/Freddy:** __ _As they fall.)_

" _Is it me…"_

 **All: "** _Try to reach…"_

 _"You can take…"_

Rockstar Bonnie immediately began to launch into a guitar solo, causing both Marshalls' mouths to drop and even Mike's eyes to widen in surprise. It was highly unlikely that Rockstar Bonnie was ACTUALLY playing the guitar as an animatronic, but the way he moved his fingers on the instrument so perfectly and in sync with the music playing in the background created the powerful illusion that he really WAS that skilled with a guitar. __

 **All: "** _Try to reach …"_

" _Try to reach…"_

Mike, Alex, and Meghan all burst into cheers as the song finished and the Rockstars on stage took their bow. "That was amazing!" Meghan gushed. "And you WEREN'T just playing the song in the background?"

"Nope!" Rockstar Golden Freddy laughed. "They played the instrumentals in the background, but when it came to actually singing the music that was all them! It's amazing what you can do when you add a little magic to technology!"

Alex and Meghan gave a look of adoration and respect at Charlie. "Your magic is so cool!" Alex exclaimed. "I wish I could do that!"

The Security Puppet shook her head. "It's not as easy as it looks, and there's a lot of ways magic can go wrong," she replied. "It's probably for the best that my powers are mine and nobody else's."

"If you say so…" Alex replied skeptically, but he didn't comment further.

"So what next?" Meghan asked.

"Now we have a bit of a change in performers!" Rockstar Chica answered as Rockstar Foxy and Freddy left the performing area, replaced by Lefty and Rockstar Golden Freddy. Rockstar Bonnie was still on, but the way he respectfully backed away made it clear that he was solely going to be a guitarist this time. "Since the next song was originally sung by a woman, it's only fair for us to have some girl power on stage now!"

"That's right!" Rockstar Golden Freddy agreed. "We can sing just as well as the guys can! And we're gonna prove it, right here and now!" Different, slightly more somber but equally intense music began to play, and Rockstar Chica opened her mouth to sing.

 **[[With Me – SEGA/Jun Senoue]]**

(NOTE: GF is singing every "repeat" whenever someone is singing a single verse, except for her pre-chorus where it's the other two singing).

 **Chica:** " _You know…"_

 _"I can taste…"_

"Rockstars is right!" Meghan thought as she listened to Rockstar Chica finish her verse. "If that really is Susie singing in there, she's blowing the performance out of the water! Though I guess the fact that her voice changed to match the original singer's helps." Her eyes snapped back to attention as Lefty, Security Puppet, and Rockstar Golden Freddy joined in the song.

 **All (except Bonnie):** " _My eyes (my eyes)…"_

Rockstar Chica backed away slightly and Security Puppet floated forward to take her place.

 **Lefty:** " _You know…"_

" _I can taste…"_

 **All:** " _My eyes, my eyes…"_

Rockstar Bonnie erupted into another guitar solo to the delight of the Marshalls, while Mike whistled appreciatively at how accurate Jeremy's guitar-pantomiming skills were. He wondered if the former Bonnie inhabitant had ever had an interest in the electric guitar before his death, and was glad that his decades of torment hadn't ruined his enthusiasm.

 **GF:** _"I ca_ _n taste…"_

 **All:** " _My eyes, my eyes…"_

The animatronics bowed as the song came to its conclusion, earning more cheers of delight from the kids and applause from Mike. "And you only got this all set up in a few days?" Alex asked incredulously. "This is absolutely amazing!"

"I've never been happier that I took robotics engineering as my career path," Mike agreed with an appreciative smile. "Getting the Rockstars for you guys was the best decision ever!"

The animatronics all grinned at the praise. "I think we should do one more song before we move on to something else," Rockstar Freddy suggested. "But this time, I want to give our special guests here a chance to pick a song for themselves. Soooooo…any requests?" he held out his microphone to the Marshalls.

"'A Whole New World' from Aladdin!" Meghan eagerly answered. Alex gave his sister an annoyed look.

"You're not gonna wait for my opinion?" he complained.

Meghan shot him a glare. "Are you disagreeing with me?"

"Well…no…" he backed down.

"'A Whole New World'?" Rockstar Freddy repeated. "Great choice! And for this one, I think we'll have all the animatronics join in this time!" Even as he spoke, the animatronics that had been sitting out rejoined their fellows in the living room except for the Security Puppet.

"And ready? 1…2…3…"

 **[[A Whole New World – Aladdin (duh)]]**

The serene music that emanated from the animatronics created an entirely different atmosphere than the other two songs that had been performed, setting the mood perfectly for the final performance for the day.

 **Freddy:** _"_ _I can show…"_

This time, to the audience's surprise, Bonnie stepped forward to continue the lyrics. Unlike the other songs, it seemed that the animatronics were going to be sharing the verses instead of one animatronic singing a full verse at a time.

 **Bonnie:** _"I can open..."_

 **Foxy:** _"A whole new world..."_

 **Chica:** _"A whole new world..."_

 **Freddy:** _"Now I'm in..."_

 **Lefty:** _"Unbelievable sights..."_

 **Golden Freddy:** _"A whole new world… (_ **Foxy:** _Don't you dare close your eyes)  
(_ **Bonnie:** _Hold your breath, it gets better)_

 **Freddy/Bonnie/Foxy:** _"A whole new world… (_ **Chica:** _Every turn a surprise)  
(_ **Lefty:** _Every moment, red-letter)  
_ **All:** _"I'll chase…"_

 **All males:** _"A whole new world…" (_ **All females:** _A whole new world)  
_

The applause that followed the conclusion was the loudest out of all of them. It wasn't just because more animatronics had joined in and they had synced with each other perfectly. There was something in the way that the animatronics had sung that had struck a cord within both Alex and Meghan. It was as though, when you took out the romantic overtones in the song, the ghosts within the metal bodies truly valued the freedom the Disney song had described and had poured their heart out to show their love for it in a way that they hadn't for the other songs.

"That…was…GORGEOUS!" Meghan nearly shrieked with delight. "I can't believe just how…how…AMAZING that was!"

"If this is really what the old Freddy Fazbear animatronics were like, no wonder that franchise used to be really popular back in the day," Alex readily agreed with his sister. Hearing the last song in particular had made him feel like he was a kid again, a sentiment that he would have dismissed in public but had no trouble admitting to himself in a private setting surrounded by friends.

Charlie was glad that she was currently in the Security Puppet, for if she had been a ghost at the moment she wouldn't have been able to hide the tears in her eyes. After 30 years, the old spirit of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria had finally been restored and returned into what it was supposed to be. Even if it was only for an audience of three, even if nobody else in the world could see or hear the Rockstars perform, seeing her father's dream come back to life after it had been so brutally slaughtered by William Afton was one of her greatest wishes finally come true and a gift that she would never, ever forget.

Susie popped out of Rockstar Chica, the animatronic immediately turning lifeless with the departure of her host. _"So which animatronic was your favorite?"_ she asked, the other ghosts beginning to leave their animatronics as well.

"Rockstar Bonnie, definitely," Alex immediately answered. "Minus the creepy voice, the way he can pretend to play that guitar is so freaking awesome! Even if I know Jeremy was the one behind that."

"I like Rockstar Freddy too!" Meghan added. "He really seems like the leader of the Rockstar crew, and Gabe's performance really sold it for me."

"Aww, come on!" everyone turned to stare at Rockstar Foxy, who was currently the only still-possessed animatronic outside of the Security Puppet. "No love for Rockstar Foxy?"

Liz laughed. _"Oh my God, Fritz, you are SO obsessed with Foxy! Not everyone has to have the same taste that you do!"_

"But…but…I have an accordion!" Rockstar Foxy complained. "And a parrot! And an eyepatch! And…well, I did have a hook, but everyone here kept insisting I take it out for safety reasons," he rolled his one eye as he framed the last two words in air quotes.

"I dunno, man, that guitar is gonna be tough to beat!" Alex replied. "Besides, I'm sorry, but in this day and age accordions just aren't as cool as electric guitars." Mike watched with growing amusement as the kids started to laugh and trade barbs with each other, Fritz finally leaving Rockstar Foxy's body to properly join the rest of his friends and family.

It honestly surprised him that his kids hadn't insisted or even asked him to join in their concert. "Dodged a bullet there," he thought as he suppressed a smirk, thankful that the kids had been too preoccupied with their own participation to think about bringing him into the mix. His singing talents (or lack thereof) were one of the few things he had managed to successfully still keep from his children in the first year of their new family, and he wasn't entirely enthusiastic about revealing THAT particular secret. Luckily, nobody would ever spill the beans on that front…

…he hoped.

/

A/N: (shakes his head) Shame, shame, shame on you, Mike. For such a smart guy, you've just tempted fate in a rather idiotic manner right there, friend.

Again, I truly apologize for curtailing the lyrics in the actual chapter. Copyright is a bitch to deal with and all that, and I'm not going to risk having this story taken down. With that being said, if you take out the romantic subtext in "A Whole New World," I honestly do think that this song could fit very well with the ghost kids. They're finally able to see a whole new world out there beyond the prison-like walls of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, and they probably cherish that freedom only slightly less than they cherish each other and Mike.

Speaking of a Whole New World, I'm going to be writing up another vacation arc soon. This one is going to be OUT of the country, and I have two possible options I want to share with you.

The first is a vacation to a resort in a tropical area, like the Yucatan or Punta Cana. This chapter will more closely fit the "standard" idea of a vacation in a beach resort. However, I do NOT have a lot of experience with vacationing in tropical areas (sadface) so I won't be able to provide any details beyond research.

The second option is that the kids go to Jeju Island in Korea. For this option, Melody will be accompanying the family (I already have a scenario planned out that will make her inclusion feasible, so the family won't randomly be like "hey would you like to come with us") and I will be retconning her nationality to be Korean instead of Chinese. Jeju Island is probably less well-known to you guys than the "typical" tropical resort, but with this option I have PERSONAL experience from my summer vacation and I will be able to describe activities and famous sightseeing spots there with MUCH more detail and emotion thanks to my experiences. Please be aware that a beach/summer resort will **STILL BE PRESENT WITH THIS OPTION** , as the hotel I spent my nights in at Jeju is a very famous top-tier resort next to a beach.

I genuinely believe I can create a more enjoyable and well-written plot arc for you if I choose to have the Schmidt family and Melody go off to Jeju Island so that the ghost kids can see more of the world (with multiple aspects) and enjoy more of the freedom that they have been denied for so long because of William Afton, but I will ask for your opinions all the same. Melody's presence is optional for the first choice but mandatory for the second, as otherwise Mike will have absolutely no idea how to communicate with other Koreans.

For those of you who are wondering "what happened to Disneyworld", that's still going to be a thing. But that's going to be happening with the Marshalls in Winter time, and it's going to be after what may very well be the biggest arc I have planned for this entire fic.

Now then, time for that response I mentioned earlier. I'd normally do things like this via PM but that wasn't an option this time, so here goes.

justMegaMothim: Thank you for giving me my first major critical review. I'm going to offer you as respectful of a response that I can while still giving my honest opinion. You really, really, **SHOULD NOT** consider Matpat's Theories as solid truth. You try to present both your theories and his as "hard-core fact", when that is **flat out FALSE**. It has **NEVER** been confirmed by Scott that BV is Golden Freddy or that the Shadow Animatronics are the spring-lock victims, and it genuinely irritates me when people demand that the way THEY think about the lore is correct, when in reality Scott left it to all of his fans to interpret the lore however they want. The only times Scott has ever explicitly confirmed or debunked a major theory was when he debunked both MikeTrap and one of Matt's Dream Theory on FNAF4.

Also, the idea that "everyone accepts MatPat's theories as the only real canon" is **NOT EVEN CLOSE** to true. As I said before, Scott Cawthon directly DISPROVED one of Matt's theories in the past, which already destroys the notion that he's a fountain of truth who can do no wrong. In addition, MatPat's reputation outside of his fans (many of whom follow his every word without ever actually THINKING about his theories and the problems they have) has actually fallen quite a lot, if I'm being honest. Many people on both Reddit and the UCN Steam Forums have absolutely **DESTROYED** MatPat's Theories on UCN and later FNAF in general, exposing MANY flaws that render those theories a load of nonsense (especially any ones involving MikeVictim or MikeBot).

If you were to ask around or search on Reddit, you would find many people who would more than happily give you an explanation as to why MatPat's later FNAF theories make no sense at all. MatPat got a lot of stuff right **originally** (as in FNAF1-3), I respect him for that and his dedication to FNAF, and it is for these reasons that I have not joined many people in outright mocking him. But the quality of his theories has degraded significantly with regards to the latter half of the series to the point that he's outright considered a joke in some circles, and when you really think about the flaws in his later theories it's not that hard to see why. I won't go into detail here, as I'm a med student who barely has time to write chapters as it is. Ask around Reddit if you want more details.

And even more popular theories unrelated to MatPat, such as BV = GF, are (a) **not confirmed** and (b) have their own plotholes and contradictions. Now, to be fair, BV = GF has not been deconfirmed either. But it is **no better or worse** an interpretation than Golden Freddy as the 5th Missing Victim, a theory which is supported by the earlier games and still remains strong to this day. Point to me the EXACT quote from Scott where he outright says "BV is Golden Freddy," then I will believe you. But that quote doesn't exist, as otherwise people wouldn't still be debating his identity in late 2018. If anything, Scott has indirectly made an argument AGAINST Bite Victim being Golden Freddy, as he has explicitly stated that he made no retcons from FNAF1 to FNAF4 except for one that was "so minor and so seamlessly introduced that nobody noticed it." Golden Freddy had been solidly established as the 5th MCI kid back in the days of FNAF1-3, and suddenly changing GF's identity from 5th MCI victim to BV would be a fucking huge retcon that everyone would notice. Scott may troll the fanbase to Hell and he keeps secrets like nobody's business, but he doesn't flat-out lie in his statements.

Before you point to the "I Will Put You Back Together" line from FNAF4 as "proof" that BV = Golden Freddy, as so many BV = GF supporters seem to do, let me say right now that this line is NOT proof or confirmation. That is merely EVIDENCE. Evidence that supports but does not conclusively prove a particular theory. I could just as easily point to details from the minigames and articles in FNAF1-3 which point to Golden Freddy as the 5th MCI child, but do not conclusively prove that theory either. And even if BV "was put back together," that doesn't mean he was put back _as Golden Freddy._ So him being Shadow Freddy is entirely possible, and unlike with BV = Golden Freddy there is no evidence from the earlier games that contradicts this theory. But since we're talking about Golden Freddy, there is no solid proof that conclusively establishes the identity of the yellow bear, so we as fans of FNAF are allowed to make our own judgments and conclusions without being wrong.

Now, is everything that I wrote absolutely canon either? Of course not. None of what I write is an absolute truth any more than anything that MatPat comes up with, and I've made it clear that there are already canon divergences to begin with. It's heavily insinuated that Michael Afton is Mike Schmidt, which is a canon divergence that I had to implement to have the story make any sense. And the Nightmare animatronics are obviously just my interpretation as well. And we have little to no information on just how good or bad of a person William Afton was to his family or events that happen between the games, so it's up to each person to fill in the details his or her own way. Although the fact that he ignored the Foxy brother's abuse of the Bite Victim and that Scrap Baby has become fully evil in _FNAF6_ (as well as his absolutely atrocious treatment of Elizabeth in the books) DOES NOT help his case in the slightest.

And finally, just because "family" and "friendship" are the two main topics of this fic, doesn't mean that I can't branch out into other ones. Otherwise I'd be violating the rules with the many humorous moments spread out in the fic. The ghost kids have gone through some absolutely atrocious shit and to expect that they will suddenly do a complete 180 to happy-go-lucky with absolutely no problems whatsoever is unrealistic. The dark moments in this fic are very much in the minority and most of the story has a much friendlier and happier tone and atmosphere overall. I'm not annoyed with your disapproval of the dark moments or with the Christian themes, as I can't make everyone happy. But both the Nightmares and the dark moments have been received positively by the vast majority of this fic's readers, and I'm not going to change how I write to satisfy one person at the expense of the wider audience.

Sorry for the long wall of text, my readers. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.


	61. Chapter 61 - Misc Family Moments 3

A/N: I was bored on a Sunday evening, didn't feel like studying, so here you go. You get the chapter a day early since I doubt I'll have much time to post it tomorrow. Gonna wait until after my tests end before I start the Korea vacation arc, which pretty much everyone who voted chose. Not really much of a surprise tbh, since the Korea vacation is basically "summer beach resort vacation + lots more stuff that the kids'll be more likely to enjoy."

I've retroactively changed Melody's last name to Park since Kim as a Korean last name is so ridiculously cliché.

These last two weeks have been absolutely AMAZING for me in terms of FNAF accomplishments. I managed to beat Nightmare Aggressive Mode on FNAF3, Mad Freddy Mode, regular Blind Mode Nightmare **AND** Blind Mode All Nightmare on FNAF4 :D. Here's a tip for you guys – if you beat Blind Mode All Nightmare, you DO get the red stars for Blind Mode and All Nightmare as well as the combo blue star.

BlauOrange: Hey, Alex was the one who said it, not me :P

KaiIsAwesome: Aww, I'm sure they're not as bad as you think they are 😊 Though I can't say anything about fanbase sizes.

Happy Holidays: That voice was Cassidy's present-day voice trying (and failing, since it was merely a Nightmare-induced hallucination) to tell her past self not to follow William Afton and get killed by him.

Chapter 61 – Misc. Family Moments 3

Collateral Damage

" _I have a question…"_ Gabe asked as he floated into the dining room where Mike and Charlie were. He had just finished taking a nap in Rockstar Freddy, his animatronic body actually allowing him to feel what he was lying down on for the first time.

"Go right ahead," Mike invited as he finished eating his dinner.

" _How is this house supporting the weight of the Rockstars?"_ he asked. _"I mean, each animatronic weighs a couple of hundred pounds, right? We should have collapsed through the floor into the basement and left a giant hole behind."_

"That is a very good question,"Charlie replied from the Security Puppet, ironically in the one animatronic that _didn't_ have the problem of heaviness. "I actually used my magic to create several wards that strengthened the foundation of the house so that it could hold up the weight of the animatronics. I put up a few when I first came here so that the house could hold up Lefty whenever I needed to move him from the basement to the garage or vice-versa."

" _And they were strong enough to hold all of us?"_ Gabe questioned incredulously.

Mike smirked. "Why do you think it took several hours for Charlie to make her preparations for our little game that night? We didn't wait only because we wanted to get a creepy atmosphere. Just don't do something that's dumb as fuck like jumping up and down on the floors while you're in the Rockstars."

Gabe returned the smirk. _"No kidding,"_ he replied as he left the room.

In the days following the gift of the Rockstar animatronics, the ghost kids had gotten adjusted to using their new bodies. After those experimental days, however, it soon became clear that the kids had varying preferences when it came to how frequently they used the Rockstars. Some of them, like Liz, actually preferred the freedom and mobility that came with being a ghost and only used Lefty sparingly (though admittedly her particularly unpleasant experiences and alternate form in Scrap Baby likely affected her decision). Cassidy and Gabe used the Rockstar Freddies occasionally whenever the mood suited them, while Jeremy and Susie enjoyed moving around and living "life" as Rockstar Bonnie and Rockstar Chica.

But predictably, there was one ghost who particularly enjoyed being his respective animatronic more than any other.

"Argh, go fuck yourself!" Rockstar Foxy snarled and slammed his fist on the desk as Withered Foxy leapt towards his screen. "That's the 100th fucking time in a row! I couldn't have been THAT much of a jackass!"

Scott Cawthon had released the second game in the "Five Nights at Freddy's series," this one focused on the night shift in the 1987 pizzeria instead of the 1993 pizzeria. Mike had played the game almost immediately after it came out, and to the surprise of the ghosts it took him nearly three hours to beat Night 6 after he had defeated the same night so effortlessly in FNAF1. The ghosts, having gotten better at the first game, had tried their hand on the second…and promptly gotten wrecked hard.

As Fritz could currently attest to.

" _Hey, will you keep it down?"_ Cassidy poked her head through the wall. _"And don't hit the table like that, you're lucky you didn't break it!"_

"Night 6 is FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE!" Rockstar Foxy ranted. "Every time I try, I either get fucked by the Puppet, fucked by Foxy, or Balloon Boy and Toy Bonnie decide to take their sweet ass time in the vent openings! Just…how are you supposed to beat this? Why have you betrayed me Foxy?"

Cassidy only rolled her eyes at her brother's obsession. By far, Fritz had spent the most time in his animatronic compared to the others to the point that Mike had started to worry that he might accidentally get stuck in Rockstar Foxy even without Remnant involved. _"Just…calm down, geez…"_

"This is dad's fault," Rockstar Foxy grouched. "He was the one who worked with this Scott Cawthon guy on making the game, he probably made it like this just to fuck with everybody."

Mike, who happened to be walking by when he said that, poked his head in. "You do realize that I didn't design the game like that? I gave Scott the information that Charlie told me and he implemented it into the mechanics." He suddenly grinned. "All I did was approve it."

"Oh, so you APPROVED…" Rockstar Foxy lifted a middle finger towards Mike. "…well fuck you, dad!"

Mike smirked and returned the middle finger before leaving the room. Rockstar Foxy groaned in irritation and hit "6th Night" on the menu screen for FNAF2 again. "I'm going to beat this shit if it fucking kills me a second time."

Cassidy shook her head in exasperation and pulled her head back through the wall to her room. Rockstar Foxy gritted his fangs and began to play through the game. As the in-game hours passed and 5 AM approached, Rockstar Foxy began to hope that maybe, just maybe, he could finally join the ranks of his brothers and sisters who had beaten this night.

And then, Balloon Boy decided to ruin everything.

"Why are you still here?" Rockstar Foxy shouted. He lifted the Freddy mask and quickly shined the flashlight on Withered Foxy before slamming the mask back down on his face. "It's been seven fucking seconds! Fuck off already!"

Balloon Boy _finally_ departed from the vent, but not before leaving one final fuck-you. The music box had been winding down all this time, and because Balloon Boy had wasted so much time…it had finally run out.

"Aww, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…." Rockstar Foxy groaned as Pop Goes the Weasel started playing and he fended off an attack from Withered Freddy. "Please be merciful," he started praying frantically, "please be merciful, please be merciful, please be…"

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

The Marionette leapt at the screen from the shadows, causing a Game Over. With a roar of outrage, Rockstar Foxy raised his fist and smashed it through the laptop screen. The screen shattered into pieces as the animatronic's hand punched its way through, leaving bits of broken glass everywhere. The eyepatch covering Rockstar Foxy's right eye lifted up in shock as the ghost inside realized what had just happened.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me…" a voice muttered from outside. Very slowly, Rockstar Foxy turned to look towards his father, who was staring at the mess in disbelief.

"Oh my God, dad, I'm so sorry…" the animatronic muttered, his voice unusually quiet and subdued. He had often vented his rage at video games by punching harmlessly through the laptops as a ghost…but he had forgotten that he wasn't just a ghost anymore.

Mike groaned and palmed his face. "Ugggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh…look, I know I have more than enough money to replace things that get broken in this house, but for God's sake, this does NOT mean you can break your laptop whenever you rage at a video game. Even if it is Night 6 of Five Nights at Freddy's 2."

"In my defense…I kinda forgot I was in an animatronic?" Fritz offered weakly.

"You forgot…" Mike spluttered and then sighed. "Okay, I try to be as easygoing as possible but even I'm gonna have to put in some discipline for this. First off, you're cleaning up this mess right now."

" _Okay,"_ Fritz readily agreed as he left the animatronic. He could deal with that easily.

"Second, you can't use anyone else's laptop until your new one comes in. I'll still let you use your phone and play video games with the others, but I know for a fact that there's some things you can do on a laptop that you can't do on anything else," Mike continued.

Not unreasonable either. _"Sure,"_ Fritz acquiesced again.

The faintest trace of a smirk appeared on Mike's lips. "And three…your animatronic privileges are revoked for an entire week."

" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Several minutes later, Liz would fly up to her room to find a sulking Fritz in the corner and a laptop with a smashed screen. _"What did you do?"_ she gaped.

" _Don't…even…ask…"_

If Mike was the Phone Guy

The first thing the ghosts noticed when Mike walked into the living room was the satisfied smirk on his face. _"Well, that can't be good…"_ Jeremy thought dryly.

" _You seem happy with yourself,"_ Susie commented as she saw his expression.

"Yes, I am," Mike grinned. "I've found a way to add a little more to the, ah… _atmosphere_ of our One Night at Mike's game."

The kids stopped what they were doing, as One Night at Mike's had (to the slight guilt of the ghosts) become one of the family's favorite pastimes. They had even started a little competition over who could catch Mike first every round, as Mike did sometimes lose under Night 5 and more frequently Night 6 conditions.

"The two FNAF games released so far have always had some guy talking to the night guard over the phone," Mike explained. "I always felt something was missing from our own game, and hearing the Phone Guy's messages in the second game made me realize what was missing. So, I've decided to make some phone messages myself to the beginning of every quote-on-quote night of our game."

The mischievous gleam in his eyes made it clear to everyone that these weren't just simple "phone messages." _"All right, I definitely need to hear this,"_ Charlie commented as she and the rest of the kids followed Mike up to his study.

Mike's phone was flashing with incoming messages. "All right, let me just take care of this shit first," he said as he began playing them. He rolled his eyes as ad after ad popped up. "Nobody gives a shit about your fucking merchandise," he growled as he deleted them all. Soon, there was only one message left. Mike's message. "Ah, here we go!" He clicked the button on the phone and it began to play.

"Hey, what's up? The name's Mike Schmidt, and if you're hearing this message then more than likely you're some asshole thief who decided that trying to break into my house was a good idea. I'll get into a detailed explanation of why it wasn't in a bit, but the short version is that you fucked up. Big time."

Liz tilted her head in confusion. _"Wait, is this supposed to be from the perspective of a thief who tries to break into your house? Kind of like that one guy way back then?"_

"Yeah," Mike confirmed. "Wanted to set up a different kind of context than the actual Freddy's night shift. Plus," he smirked, "I'm planning on pranking Melody or possibly even the Marshalls with this some time in the future and I think it'll be hilarious to fool them into thinking that they were mistaken for a thief."

The kids were torn between amusement and slight guilt (remembering how they had first met Melody) as the message continued. "There's a couple of reasons for that. The first being that I don't even keep most of my money in the house to begin with, so if you thought that you were gonna hit a huge payload, you aren't getting jack shit. So too fucking bad."

" _Ouch,"_ Fritz winced with an expression of mock scolding. _"You could've been a little more polite about it."_

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Polite to a person trying to rob me of my stuff?"

" _Good point."_

"But that's not really the big issue right now compared to your second problem. You see, I happen to be the proud owner of the last and newest line of Freddy Fazbear animatronics. I like to call 'em the Rockstars, though maracas and accordions are a bit of a weird thing for a rock star to have. Anyway, I keep these animatronics with me in the house to…how should I put it? Brighten up the décor. The problem for you is that these animatronics act like they have a mind of their own when night time rolls around, and they REALLY don't like it when somebody who I didn't invite decides to fuck around here where they don't belong. And by 'don't like it', I mean they tend to beat the everloving shit out of intruders and then **take out the trash** _,_ if you know what I'm saying. So, full disclosure here, as of this moment…

… **you're fucked."**

Snickers broke out as the kids desperately tried to contain their mirth. After several futile seconds, they gave up entirely and all but collapsed into laughter. _"Well, that's one way to put it,"_ Cassidy chortled. _"I don't remember Phone Guy ever being this honest."_

"Hey, I'm not like those fucktards at Fazbear Entertainment. I tell shit the way it is," Mike replied with a grin, causing the ghosts' amusement to increase even more. "Well, I mean technically I'm bullshitting to begin with since you guys aren't ACTUALLY going to kill anybody, but putting aside that minor detail…"

"Now, if you listen very carefully to my instructions, you might be able to make it out of here alive. Granted, this isn't because I particularly give a shit about your continued existence…"

" _Oof, you are such a savage, dad,"_ Jeremy remarked with a grin that was just a tad creepy.

"…but more because I really don't want to spend literal hours cleaning the blood off the carpet. I mean, good God, do you know how hard it is to clean this carpet when somebody spills shit all over it? It takes fucking hours, man! And it's not like I can just waltz to the public laundry either and take out a carpet covered in blood and gore."

" _Glad to see you have your priorities straight,"_ Susie snickered.

Mike gave her a deadpan look. "Pizza."

Susie huffed and the other ghosts snickered as the message played on. "I don't want to deal with that shit, and unless you're seriously fucked in the head in one way or another, you probably don't either. So sit your ass down in the sofa in the living room, because that's probably the safest place in the entire house right now. Now, since this is your first night here, the animatronics aren't really all that active, though I don't think trying to make a break for it is the best idea since you might piss them off. You might have noticed a staff with a giant middle finger next to you, something that I like to call the Fuckstick. Love it, worship it, because that's the one thing that'll save your sorry ass tonight. And by that I mean most of the animatronics will get confused by the Fuckstick and just walk away if you flip it in front of their face quickly enough if they try to get you in the living room. You'll want to use that against Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica. That's the bear, the bunny, and the chicken, if you aren't aware."

" _How nice of you to provide a detailed guide on how to avoid getting fucked,"_ Gabe drawled as he rolled his eyes. _"Instead of, you know, actually coming to the poor shmuck's rescue."_

"Hey, it's their problem for breaking into a house filled with haunted animatronics in the first place," Mike countered.

"Now, there's another thing you should be aware of. In my basement, there happens to be a music box with a puppet inside it. A Security Puppet, to be more specific. That thing hates intruders even more than the rest of the bots, and if it gets out of the music box there is not a single thing on God's good Earth that can stop it from wrecking your face in."

" _More accurate than I care to admit,"_ Charlie conceded sheepishly, her sins as the Puppet in the back of her mind.

"Fortunately, the tablet over on the sofa comes with a program that'll let you wind the music box up while the camera's focused on the basement. It also comes with a map of the house and cameras in each room so you can keep track of the animatronics. Trust me when I say that you'll want to keep that box wound up at all times. I wasn't kidding earlier, if that Puppet gets out of the box that Fuckstick isn't gonna do jack shit against it."

" _How come you didn't mention me or Fritz…err, Foxy?"_ Liz asked.

"It's Night 1," Mike explained, "Foxy was never really a Night 1 threat. Not in the actual night shift or in either of the games. Thought I'd keep it that way and have it apply to you too since you act similarly to how Withered Foxy does in FNAF2."

"That's pretty much all I have for you right now," Mike's voice on the answering machine was wrapping up the call. "Hopefully, you now realize why trying to break into my house was a fucking awful idea and what you can do to get yourself out of this mess. The bots all deactivate every couple of minutes to reboot their programming, and that's your chance to get the hell out of this house if you've managed to make it that far. So, good luck, and if you do manage to get the hell out of here…

… **stay the fuck off my property."**

The line went dead and Mike turned to his kids. "Well, whaddaya guys think?"

" _That is the most asinine, shameless, brutally honest Freddy's-related phone message I have ever heard in my entire existence,"_ Charlie gave her verdict, before her mouth split into a grin. _"And I loved every second of it."_

" _I don't think you could've gotten your point across more clearly if you shoved it up the player's ass,"_ Fritz added, causing the other ghosts to crack up even more at the…interesting imagery.

"Well that's good," Mike replied. "I know I did this partially just to be an ass, but the Phone Guy really did give me the basic information I needed to survive and I wanted to make sure I did the same here, all jokes aside."

The amusement faded somewhat as the ghosts remembered the man they had murdered. Seeing the despondent looks on their faces, Mike quickly changed the subject. "So! Who's up for wanting to see me try and fail miserably at 10/20 mode of FNAF2?"

The ghosts grinned. The best night guard they knew versus a mode that put 4/20 mode to deep and everlasting shame? This should be good.

Confrontation

Mike hummed to himself as he worked on his project in the workshop. It had taken him the better part of a few months, but he was almost done. Hopefully, he would be able to finish it before he took the kids out for an extended vacation out of the country later in the summer. After the complete success of the vacation to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, he was ready to broaden their horizons and really show them the rest of the world.

A distant knock on the door to his workshop drew his attention. "Come in!" he called as he set down his tools. The door opened, and Ryan walked in. To his surprise, the man looked troubled, even agitated. "What's up, Ryan?" he asked in concern. "Is something the matter?"

"…you could say that," Ryan muttered as he closed the door behind him. "We need to talk, Mike."

"I'm all ears," Mike assured him as he drew two chairs for himself and his friend. "What about?"

"Your kids, Mike," Ryan responded, and immediately Mike was on alert. "They're not just a bunch of random ghost kids who quote-on-quote happened to pop up in your house…are they?"

The silence from Mike was enough of a confirmation in and of itself. "How did you figure it out?" Mike asked quietly.

"Some of it was from the Five Nights at Freddy's games," Ryan admitted. "My kids like to play those sometimes. Though it wasn't just that. The fact that the game takes place in 1993, back when that pizzeria was still a thing, the fact that many night guards disappeared and were more than likely killed by being stuffed in suits, the way that your kids seem to possess and move around the Rockstar animatronics _almost too easily…_ different things that might actually be much more connected than they initially seem…"

"…"

"Are they the ones?" Ryan looked Mike in the eyes. "Are they the ghosts that were possessing the original Freddy Fazbear animatronics?"

"…yes."

"So it's true," Ryan muttered. "They're not the innocent ghosts I thought they were. They've killed people…just like the bastard who murdered them. They're…"

" **If you call them monsters, I swear to God…"** Mike hissed venomously. Ryan's head snapped up to his friend…and what he saw and felt chilled him to his very core.

The friendliness, the good humor, the compassion, the characteristics that had made Mike such a valuable friend for over thirty years…all of it had completely vanished. Mike's face and eyes burned with barely restrained fury, and he seemed to almost emanate an aura of menace that was nothing short of terrifying. **"You don't know a damn thing about them, Ryan,"** he snarled. **"You don't know ANYTHING about the sheer amount of shit they've been through, or how much they regret doing what they did thirty years ago."**

"Then help me understand!" Ryan protested. "Help me see them as something other than murderers of innocent night guards."

Mike took a deep breath to calm himself down. "You do deserve an explanation, I'll give you that," he conceded. "Most of them were slaughtered by a man working at Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, a man wearing an old Bonnie suit. None of them ever saw the man's face, only that he was wearing the purple uniform of the security guards working there. But that was only the beginning of their suffering."

Ryan's eyes widened in horror as he realized what was about to come. "Oh, God…" he breathed.

"The murderer stuffed the kids in the animatronics, probably to hide the evidence of his crimes," Mike continued, carefully omitting the details regarding Remnant and William Afton. "But there was something inside those suits that caused the souls to be trapped in the animatronics instead of being free to move on. Can you imagine it, Ryan? Being forced into a cursed existence, trapped inside the animatronics and unable to move or say anything as your friends and family search for you without ever being able to find you? Not ever able to DO anything until midnight when the only company you have is your fellow murder victims, existing like this for years on end? Can you honestly tell me that you WOULDN'T want revenge on the person who put you into that never-ending torture?"

"…I'd go insane," Ryan admitted, already realizing how unfair he'd been. Yes, the ghosts now hanging out with his son and daughter had killed innocent people, he wasn't wrong about that, but he hadn't even bothered to consider _why_ or _how_ these now-pleasant and friendly children could have ended up like that. "Fucking dammit, I'd go insane and probably end up doing the same thing."

"…and I would too," Mike agreed. "These kids…they wanted revenge on the bastard who murdered them. I'm not going to deny that, and I'm not going to deny that they fucked up in a big way while they were trying to get it. But it wasn't just revenge that they were looking for, Ryan. They also wanted to protect other kids like them, kids who might one day be murdered by a security guard pretending to be a good person. It's already happened once, why couldn't it happen again?"

"But it was at nighttime!" Ryan protested. "There wouldn't even BE any kids around nighttime!"

"I never said their logic was flawless," Mike answered. "I freely admit that their logic is a pile of nonsense to any sane, rational person. But they did genuinely want to help other children, even if it was based on a rationale that was utterly fucked up. And besides," his lips twitched slightly, "I've found that ghosts don't really mature, at least not at the same rate that a living person would. Charlie's really the only exception. Do you honestly expect rational and coherent thought from a regular kid, let alone one who's gone utterly bonkers?"

Ryan thought back to how silly Alex and Meghan had been even just a few years prior. "You have a point," he admitted. "You were there, weren't you?" he asked. "You spent 20 nights at Freddy's. You spent 20 nights being attacked by them."

"Yes, I was there," Mike agreed. "I dealt with their shit night after night for 20 nights in a row. Which means that I have more of a right to judge them for their actions than almost anyone else alive right now. And after spending a year with them, living together as a family, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they were just kids who lost their way. All of them regret what they did in the past to the point that they still have nightmares to this day about their own actions. And it was lucky both for them and for me that they finally found their way here of all places. Because this past year has been the best one in my entire life."

He suddenly glared right back into Ryan's eyes. "So do you still think my kids are nothing but killers and monsters, Ryan?" His voice dipped back down into its unholy, chilling growl. **"Choose your next words** _ **very carefully**_ **."**

"…they're not, and now I feel like an asshole because I knew they weren't bad at heart even before you gave me this explanation," Ryan finally answered after several seconds of silence. "I know that just from the way they hang around with my kids and the way they look up to you. If they really were evil then something bad would've happened to either you or to them long before now. It's just…" he sighed, "…when I found out that they killed people back then, I started panicking. I got worried that Alex or Meghan might not be safe around them, that one day they might kill them when I wasn't looking." He shook his head in self-disgust. "It's such a stupid thought in hindsight…"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Mike's lips. "Let me set your mind at ease," he assured them. "There is zero chance of that happening. Every single one of my ghost kids hates, and I mean HATES, child murderers and hurting kids more than anything else. I'd go so far as to say that they'd rather throw themselves straight into Hell than do anything that would hurt me, Alex, Meghan, or anybody they care about." There was an odd intensity in his voice that sent shivers down Ryan's spine for some reason, though he couldn't tell why. "Heck, apart from you or Stella, I don't think you could find anybody else who could better _protect_ them, if anything."

Ryan took a deep breath and nodded, clearing away the last of his doubts. "I don't want them to know, Mike. I don't want Alex or Meghan to know about what your kids did three decades ago."

Mike's lips curled into a wry smile. "Believe me, Ryan, that is the LAST thing that I want to happen." Ryan got up and was about to leave, but before he could Mike stopped him. "Ryan?"

The man turned to look at his friend. "You were smart to talk to me about this privately. And you were very, VERY lucky that none of my kids were around to hear this. So just to make sure that the two of us are crystal clear on this, let me give you this warning right here and now."

Mike's eyes narrowed back into the menacing glare from before, though this time it wasn't as hostile. "I've worked my ass for an entire year trying to give my kids the closest thing they can ever get to a new life, and I helped get the Five Nights at Freddy's games out in a way that people would know what happened to those poor kids that got murdered without outright telling people that the hauntings actually did happen. The last thing either of us needs is for the past to come back and bite them in the ass if someone they trust and respect decides to throw their sins in their face or if the wrong kind of people find out that the ghost stories surrounding the Freddy Fazbear franchise are actually true. **So never tell a single person what I've told you here today under** _ **any**_ **circumstances, and** _ **never**_ **insult my kids to my face or theirs ever again.** _ **Do I make myself clear?"**_

Ryan gulped, fighting down his fear. "Since when the _fuck_ was Mike this terrifying?" he thought blankly. "Crystal," he managed to choke out.

" **Good** …so how're the kids doing?" the abrupt change to Mike's normal friendly tone was so sudden that Ryan could have sworn he felt the mental whiplash.

"Uh…they're doing fine," Ryan replied uncertainly. "Meghan showed them Rayman Legends and now all of them are obsessed with it."

"Ah, Rayman Legends. Great game, easily one of the best platformers ever made. Now I'm curious to see how the kids handle the original Rayman, cause THAT was some brutal shit," Mike started rambling about the Rayman series, almost as though the last few minutes were nothing more than a figment of the imagination.

But he knew that it wasn't. Ryan knew that somewhere in the corners of Mike's mind lurked a dark and terrible fury that he was only now seeing for the first time. And as his college friend showed him the progress of his latest creation, he uttered a silent prayer for the poor fool who ever managed to bring down the wrath of Mike Schmidt upon his head.

/

A/N: And there we go. Two light-hearted, humorous shorts and a surprise one that's dark and serious thrown into the mix. I figured you guys would enjoy the imagery of Rockstar Foxy literally punching a hole through his computer. And you can blame Mike for all the bullshit moments in FNAF2 :P. And as for the phone message, can you imagine my version of Mike leaving a "Phone Guy" message that ISN'T sarcastic, brutally honest, and asinine as all hell?

For the third short, a long time ago one of my reviewers brought up the point that Ryan never really found out about the ghost kids' pasts like Melody did. And not everyone might display her immediate forgiveness. I didn't want Ryan to just give away a free pass like Melody did, but I didn't want him to hate and reject them either. So I found a middle ground with Ryan questioning what kind of people they are, and Mike being the one to set him straight. Finding out that your children are hanging out with people who are technically murderers can't be a pleasant experience, after all, even if the days of violent insanity are LONG behind the ghost kids.

And of course, we can't forget the (brief and subdued) return of Dark!Mike! Even if his concerns were understandable, Ryan came dangerously close to hitting one of the few things that could legitimately piss Mike off, and we all know how terrifying his wrath can be from the conclusion of Nightmare's attack on the family. I originally had a different idea where Mike outright snarled at Ryan to **"get the hell out of my sight,"** but that didn't really fit since they ARE friends and Ryan's concerns aren't unreasonable. So instead I had Mike do a Mood Whiplash that (a) fits his character better and (b) is still a bit creepy due to how sudden it was. But if you're disappointed that Dark!Mike didn't stay for very long, don't you worry. I'll be _thoroughly_ scratching THAT particular itch sooner than you think.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	62. Chapter 62 - Tragedy and Travel Plans

A/N: You guys all seemed to really enjoy Dark!Mike! Which, considering what I have planned very soon, makes me VERY happy…heh heh heh…

But that's for later. Right now, it's time to start the Summer Vacation arc! Which is really ironic since right now it's wintertime/Christmastime, but whatever :P

DeathTheWolf: That is basically how Rockstar Golden Freddy works in ONaM.

Sandshrew master 317: "Mike's New Ghostly Family" is a _very_ slight AU to "A Legacy Laid to Rest" where Jeremy Fitzgerald doesn't exist. In this continuity, Mike found Charlie and adopted her alone. Everything else from "A Legacy Laid to Rest" remains true though. I address this in the first chapter if you want more details.

BlueJay: Dammit, every time I think I got all of them I always end up missing one. Thanks for the tip!

JustAesthetic (and everyone else): Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy New Year! Also, William isn't ever going to repent, find forgiveness, or be forgiven. It's not in his character.

Hello: I've had my fair share of Korean snacks but I don't recall coming across something like THAT before.

Chapter 62 – Tragedy and Travel Plans

Jeremy yawned as he flipped through the channels on TV. He had gotten up a bit earlier than the others today and was a bit curious to see what was happening in the outside world.

So far, he hadn't been impressed.

*click* _"boring…"_ *click* _"who cares…"_ *click* _"whatever…"_ *click*

He was about to turn off the TV when something suddenly registered in the back of his mind. Picking up the remote, he turned back to the last channel that he had skimmed through. Featured on the screen was a large industrial building, a large chunk of which had been utterly consumed by a vicious and raging inferno. As it was nighttime on the screen, the fire must have died down by now. Jeremy didn't even want to think about what the building must look like in the present time.

" _Jesus Christ, what the hell happened…"_ the ghost muttered as he watched the smoke and the fire blaze the building. His eyes fell on the headline for the news broadcast…and his jaw dropped.

" **EXPLOSION OF FLAME IN EISENSTEEL ROBOTICS BUILDING!"**

Eisensteel. The name of the company his dad had used to work in.

" _DAD!"_ he shouted frantically, and Mike rushed into the living room. His eyes widened in horror when he saw the news on TV.

"Oh my God…" he breathed, and Jeremy was stunned by the look on his father's face. Up until this point, Mike had always approached the majority of bad situations that came his way with nonchalant acceptance, calculating coolness, and a smidgeon of deadpan humor thrown in. But now he was pale as death, his expression contorted in pure horror, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

" _Are you all right, dad?"_ Jeremy asked worriedly, trying not to hide his own rising fear. He knew that Mike had used to work there, but what could have shaken him so badly?

Unless…

"Melody sometimes works the night shift there!" Mike quickly explained, and now his son understood all too well. Mike whipped out his cell phone and frantically punched in Melody's cell number. By now, the other ghosts were starting to phase into the living room, and one quick look at the TV screen, Jeremy's terror, and Mike's ashen face were enough to clue them in that something terrible had happened.

"Come on, Melody, pick up!" Mike pleaded frantically as the phone started ringing. "Goddamn it, Melody, pick up! PICK UP!"

It wasn't until the sixth ring that the phone finally answered. "Hello?" a male voice that was decidedly _not_ Melody's answered. But it was a voice that Mike recognized.

"Mr. Santor?" Mike's shock at hearing his former boss's voice temporarily replaced his panic. "Is that you?"

"Indeed, son. I take it you've seen the news," Mr. Santor sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how this could've possibly happened…those poor souls…"

"Where's Melody?" Mike asked frantically. "And why are you using her cell phone?"

"Ah, so that's why you've called her," despite everything, Santor couldn't help but chuckle. "You can rest easy, Mike, she's fine. She wasn't in the building when everything went to hell in a handbasket."

A wave of relief washed over Mike and he mouthed to the other ghosts. "She's fine." Everyone immediately and noticeably relaxed at the knowledge that Melody hadn't been harmed by the fire, although they were all still looking at the burning building worriedly. Even if Melody had survived, it was more than likely that a good number of people hadn't. "But why are you using her phone?"

Mr. Santor sighed again. "Melody is currently in a meeting with the other board members. She had a feeling you'd call and she asked me to answer for her while she was busy. It's not all good news for her, Mike. The sad truth is that while she may be just fine, her projects…weren't so lucky."

Mike let that sink in without a word. The last time she had been at the house, she had been eagerly talking to him and his kids about the project she had been working on for years now. All that work now gone forever, burning away to oblivion in the flames… "she's not getting fired, is she?" is the only thing he could think to ask.

"Oh, absolutely not!" Mr. Santor exclaimed. "None of this mess was even remotely her fault, and a chief engineer like her is too valuable to be replaced. I just…don't want to think about how she'll react when she learns the unpleasant news from the board about what happened to her work…"

Mike shuddered. "Tell her that if she needs any help, my door's always open," he assured his former boss. Santor gave a brief reply in the affirmative and then hung up, as some of his subordinates had found him and started asking him questions.

" _What happened?"_ Susie asked, clearly worried about Melody.

Mike took a deep breath and shook his head. "She wasn't in any danger, but all of her hard work from the last two years went up in flames along with the building. I didn't work on any special specific projects like she did, but I know I'd be devastated if something like that happened to me."

" _I hope she's okay,"_ Cassidy murmured.

It wasn't until several hours later that Melody finally called Mike. The man immediately noticed just how exhausted and empty her voice sounded, and when she asked if she could come by the house he immediately accepted without even a second thought. When Mike left to pick Melody up at the gate and brought her back in, the ghosts were stunned by how utterly _broken_ she looked. Even Bonnet, the pink rabbit puppet who was normally so cheerful and giggly, was uncharacteristically silent, moving only to peer worriedly at Melody's face. Mike guided Melody over to the table in the dining room as the ghosts followed behind at a respectful distance.

"Are you all right?" was the first thing Mike asked once they had both sat down.

Melody shook her head. "No…" she confessed, and it was clear that she was trying desperately not to cry. "So many things going so horribly wrong. I…I had a friend I made…after…after you left…she…she…."

The woman burst into tears as Mike held her gently to him. "I'm sorry…" he murmured. "I had no idea it was that bad. When I talked to Mr. Santor earlier, he mentioned your projects being destroyed but he never mentioned this."

"So…so many people who worked the night shift there died…died horribly, millions of dollars' worth of machinery and projects being de-destroyed, it's all spiraled down into a g-gigantic nightmare!" Melody sobbed out. "Eisensteel was my home away from home, and seeing…seeing what happened to it…and to learn that my…my projects, on top of all of every…everything…"

Mike nodded silently, not knowing what to say. It was painfully clear now to him that, apart from her being alive and unharmed, everything that could have gone wrong for Melody had indeed gone horribly wrong. Bonnet wrapped her tiny arms around Melody's cheek in an attempt to comfort her, but it wasn't until several moments later that Melody finally managed to collect herself. "What's happening now?" Mike asked quietly.

Melody sighed as she wiped away her tears. "It's a real shitshow over there, that's for sure. All I know is that almost everybody's on leave for at least a month, including me, while the board is trying to figure out this whole mess." She shook her head. "I don't know what I'm going to do …I don't know what to do…"

Mike comfortingly pat Melody's shoulder, but he was at a complete loss as to how he could make things better for Melody. Sure, he had started out with nothing, but life had been comparatively and consistently easy once he had found the means to secure his future. Melody had been living a stable life that she had enjoyed…a huge part of which had now been brutally ripped away from her.

Before he could think of anything, he could feel one of his kids' voices in his head through their mental link. _"Dad?"_ Cassidy called.

"What is it, Cass?" Mike asked, a little more brusquely than he intended.

" _I…I have an idea for how we can make Melody feel better,"_ the former Golden Freddy inhabitant suggested.

"More than what I have right now. Let's hear it."

" _We're going on our out-of-country summer vacation soon, right?"_ Cassidy asked. When Mike replied in the affirmative, she continued. _"Maybe…maybe we can bring Melody along with us? I think it'll be a good way to keep her mind off all the bad things happening to her."_

Mike's eyes widened as his mind processed Cassidy's idea. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. Melody clearly needed some kind of distraction from how badly things had gone to shit for the company that she worked at and loved, and it would be easy for Mike and the family to accommodate her. Not to mention the fact that the kids would love to hang around another adult figure that they liked and trusted besides him for an extended period of time.

"What do you guys think?" he asked mentally.

" _Definitely,"_ Gabe replied. _"I think it's a great idea, especially if it makes Melody feel better."_

" _She needs this vacation more than we do,"_ Fritz added.

" _It'll be so nice to have someone else we can talk to besides you!"_ Susie chimed in.

Mike nodded at Cassidy and the girl floated forward until Melody could see her. _"Melody…I think we can think of a way to help you. We're going on our first summer vacation soon, and this one's going to be longer than the one we had earlier. Why don't you come with us?"_

Melody's jaw dropped. "Wh…what?"

" _You look like you could really use a break from all the crap that's happening to you,"_ Fritz added. _"And we'd love to have you around!"_

"But…" she stuttered, "I…I don't…"

" _The whole burden excuse isn't going to work on Dad, Melody,"_ Charlie interrupted gently. _"If he can take care of all seven of us for a year, adding you to our vacation for a month will literally be nothing to him."_

"I don't think I could say it any better than they are right now," Mike added with a finality in his tone that brooked no argument.

Melody sat silently for a few seconds as she took in the family's generosity. Then she wrapped her arms around Mike in a tight hug and buried her face in his shoulder. "You guys…" she sniffed, "…you guys are the best people I've ever met in my entire life! None of you…none of you ever deserved any of the bad things that ever happened to you!"

"But would I be the person that I am if all that shit _hadn't_ happened to me," Mike wondered in his head as he and the ghosts returned the hug to Melody. She couldn't feel the ghosts' presence like Mike could, but there was no mistaking the kindness and warmth that each of the ghosts had for one of the very few adults they ever trusted.

"Now I feel terrible," Melody muttered once she had collected herself again. "You guys were probably spending your day just fine and dandy, and then I had to just trample my way in here and probably ruin your day."

"That's not ruining my day," Mike retorted. "What would ruin my day is learning that a friend's life had suddenly gone to shit and that I didn't do a goddamn thing about it." The noises and gestures of agreement from the ghosts made it very clear that they felt the same way.

"So where were you planning to go?" Melody wondered. "I didn't know you were planning a second vacation."

Mike grinned, happy to change the subject away from the Eisensteel explosion. "We are going to try a vacation out of the country this time!" he declared. "I was thinking a flight to a tropical resort in a Caribbean country somewhere. Don't have the details finalized, but…"

"Can I…can I make a suggestion?" Melody asked tentatively. "I know I don't have any right to suggest anything, all things considered, but…"

" _Go right ahead,"_ Charlie invited. _"It's not like we have anything solid planned out right now."_

"There's an island in South Korea that I think would make for an amazing vacation spot," Melody explained. "It's called Jeju Island, and it's almost like its own little world. Not only does it have the really fancy beach resorts that you were looking forward to with your original plan, but it's an absolutely beautiful hotspot of nature. Part of that is because it was actually once a volcano!"

The kids' jaws dropped. _"A volcano!"_ Liz gasped.

"Yep," Melody smiled for the first time since she had arrived at the house. Already she was starting to forget the troubles that had befallen her beloved robotics company. "It might not be active now, but it left a HUGE impact on how Jeju shaped up into what it is today. There's quite a few tourist sites and landmarks that only exist because of that volcano."

" _I wanna see this!"_ Jeremy crowed excitedly.

"There's also a lot of other tourist attractions that I think the kids would enjoy," Melody added. "Rail bikes, a maze park, a glass castle, I could go on and on and on!"

The kids all looked at Mike with excitement showing in their eyes. _"Can we go there?"_ Susie begged. _"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeassssssssseeee?"_

Mike smirked. "Well, this sure beats the everloving crap out of anything I had planned!" he commented. "This sounds like a hell of a good time! Fuck yes I'm down!"

The ghost kids all cheered, Bonnet joining in as she giggled and wagged her little arms around. Her master seemed happy, and that made her happy too. Though the mood faded a bit when Mike suddenly frowned. "Although there is a _slight_ problem…"

" _What is it, dad?"_ Cassidy asked worriedly.

"I don't know how to say one fucking word in Korean," Mike answered dryly. "Which MIIIIIIIIGHT be a problem."

It was Melody's turn to smirk. "Oh, don't you worry about a thing, Mike," she interrupted. "You and your family were kind enough to invite me to your first summer vacation, and I absolutely refuse to be, as you would put it, a useless fuck who doesn't do a goddamn thing except mooch off another person's generosity."

Mike laughed. "Well, that might not have been EXACTLY how I would word that particular phrase, but I will admit it does match my style. You know me so well."

"I've been your work trainee and later partner for years, Mike," Melody deadpanned. "It'd be a problem if I _didn't_. Anyway, as I was saying, I'll be your translator so you don't accidentally make a fool of yourself in Korea and have a better understanding of what's going on around you."

"Not making a fool of myself is always a good thing," Mike agreed dryly, earning a few giggles and eyerolls from the ghosts.

"And I'm going to be paying for my own expenditures," Melody continued. "My own shopping, my own plane ticket, my own food. I know you can technically pay the price for all of that easily, but I don't care. I'm not negotiating on this, Mike."

Some of the ghosts looked like they wanted to argue, but Mike knew and understood what Melody was saying. This wasn't just Melody refusing to be a charity case or a burden. This was her way of proving to herself that she had some control of her life after a huge chunk of it had taken a massive blow. And he knew that the _real_ way to help her was to let her take care of what she saw as her own responsibilities.

"Only if you let me pay for the hotel rooms and the car rentals," Mike answered, his acquiescence going unspoken.

Gratitude flickered in Melody's eyes for the briefest moment, before they sharpened into focus. THIS was the Melody Mike knew from his days at work, a woman with a mission and the drive to get shit done. There was a reason she'd been promoted to Chief Robotics Engineer after Mike had retired. "All right, guys, we need to start planning this vacation," Melody began to address the kids, who felt relieved that Melody's demeanor had changed from its earlier depression.

"This is your first summer vacation and your first vacation ever outside of the country, and I'll be damned if I don't make it the best I can possibly make it. But before we begin, I would like to say that Jeju Island actually only an hour's plane ride from Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Which by itself has quite a few tourist attractions of its own. Do you guys want to visit Seoul as well as Jeju? We could probably cover most of what you'll want to see in Jeju in about a week if not less."

The kids looked over at Mike, who shrugged. "I don't have a problem with that," he answered.

"Perfect," Melody grinned. "Then let's get down to business!"

/

A bit of a shorter chapter since I've had a busy weekend (ironically busier than my med school weeks lmao). This'll set up the next vacation arc, which will most certainly be longer than the last one.

I've noticed that, Dark!Mike section in the last chapter notwithstanding, things have been a bit _too_ calm, happy, and peaceful lately. So I figured I'd throw in a bit of darkness into the mix in the form of tragedy, albeit tragedy doesn't directly affect Mike and his family. But perhaps that might not be enough for some of you.

Well, don't you worry. I believe the next major arc that I have planned after this one will fulfill your desires **and then some**.

But that's for later. Right now, Melody, Mike, and the ghost kids have a vacation to enjoy! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy New Year!


	63. Chapter 63 - Vacation to Korea Part 1

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! A new year, and a new arc!

I'll be completely honest, back when I first wrote the explosion at Eisensteel I really didn't have much of a reason for it beyond it being a plot device to have Melody come along with the Schmidts for their vacation since I didn't want the reason to simply be "hey wanna come with us?" But with what I have planned for the next arc coming up, I might…reconsider…the significance of that tragedy…

But anyways, that's not important right now. It's time for the family's first vacation outside of the country (and outside of the Western U.S. for that matter XD)

Note that Melody has been included in the "mental link" that the family shares whenever they're in public, so anything she says to the ghosts is externally silent (otherwise it would look really weird if Melody "talks to empty air"). Also, Bonnet will NOT be following the family to Korea since bringing along a pink metal bunny puppet would be kind of hard to justify, especially with her being an airport security nightmare. She's been left at Melody's house and turned off.

BlauOrange: In terms of finances and standard of living, Melody isn't doing THAT badly. You have to remember that she had a job as Chief Robotics Engineer for 2 years and was likely in a higher than normal position beforehand, which would've provided her with a steady, above-average source of income. The explosion at Eisensteel was more of an emotional devastation for Melody – at least one if not more of her friends was brutally killed, a place she loved working at was violently destroyed, and years of hard work on special projects was obliterated in seconds.

JustAesthetic: Liz can't really feel them anymore because she's a ghost. By now she's recovered enough mentally that she's mostly fine with them as long as they're in the "mere annoyance" category. As for how she reacts to them if they're bad enough, well…you saw what happened to Electrobab.

Yamgi: Sorry I didn't see your review until just recently. In terms of characters in the family, Mike is Mike (lol), Gabe's the Freddy ghost, Jeremy's the Bonnie ghost, Susie's the Chica ghost, Fritz is the Foxy ghost, Cassidy is the Golden Freddy ghost, Charlie / Mary is (or should I say WAS the Puppet), Liz is/was Elizabeth Afton.

Chapter 63 – Vacation to Korea Part 1

Mike was a man who prided himself on his planning capabilities. Cunning and caution were mandatory personality traits to survive the twelve years that had made up his pathetic excuse of a childhood, and even after things had finally started going uphill he had always tried to set up as many plans and preparations as necessary for both his former job and important events in his life.

But there were still a few things that no amount of preparation could possibly prepare him for. And one of those was…

" _OH MY GOD, THAT FLIGHT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BORING!"_ Fritz complained loudly, even though only the rest of the family and Melody could hear him thanks to Charlie's silencing spell and their mental link.

…the eleven-hour flight and the sheer amount of tedium that came with it. Even after knocking off a few hours by sleeping at odd times to prepare himself for crossing the International Date Line, that was still easily one of the most mind-numbingly inane things he'd had to do in his entire life. Melody and even the ghosts hadn't fared any better – it turned out that forty years of torment in the same cursed existence _didn't_ immunize you against the more mundane forms of boredom.

"Now I'm wondering if I can extend the vacation a bit just so I can delay having to deal with that bullshit again for as long as possible," Mike half-joked as he followed Melody to customs.

" _I'm down for that,"_ Jeremy quipped.

"Har har, let's just get to the next plane so we can finally get to Jeju already," Melody muttered.

The ghosts groaned at the realization that they had to go into yet _another_ plane to finally reach their island, even though it would only be an hour's flight this time. By all accounts, they had been incredibly lucky – most of the flights to Jeju were from a different airport entirely, and they had managed to snag two flights that were (a) both from Incheon airport and (b) close to each other in terms of timing. That didn't stop any of them fidgeting and grumbling as they changed airplanes and finally completed the last leg of their journey.

" _Are plane rides normally this dumb?"_ Cassidy asked as they finally, FINALLY managed to get out of the airport at Jeju. Even the novelty of floating outside of the plane and flying around it to see the sky had run its course after a few minutes.

"Most relevant plane rides are only about 2 to 5 hours, and the second one is only if you're going from one end of America to another," Melody explained. "Only reason why this one was so long is because we travelled across the Pacific Ocean and a huge chunk of the world."

" _It's weird to think that right now at home it'd be nighttime,"_ Liz commented as she peered at a nearby clock, which read 3 PM.

"Yep, time zones are weird like that," Mike replied blithely as they finally made their way outside. A blast of hot air immediately hit their faces as they took their first steps on Jeju Island.

" _Holy crap!"_ Susie exclaimed, wiping her brow even though she couldn't physically sweat as a ghost. _"It's boiling out here! It's even worse than Utah!"_

Melody chuckled. "I, uh, I may have forgotten to mention that Korea tends to get hit by bad heat waves during the summer."

Charlie rolled her eyes. _"And you're telling us this NOW?"_ she deadpanned as they walked over to bus station that would deliver them to the car rental they would use during their stay in Jeju. Melody's Korean heritage immediately came in handy, as she was able to fluently converse with the attendant in charge of the rentals and quickly got them a car to use.

" _All I heard from that was blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah,"_ Gabe muttered as the two adults got into the car.

" _You too?"_ Jeremy joked.

" _Learning another language sounds hard!"_ Susie commented.

"It can't be any harder than learning English," Mike replied as Melody drove out of the rental area and into the roads of Jeju. "We're supposedly one of the hardest and most complicated languages out there. Heck, I still don't get all the rules."

" _Don't get or don't give a shit?"_ Liz asked dryly. Mike only gave her a smirk in response.

Melody concentrated on the road in front of her, following the directions on the GPS as they guided her out of the city and into the highway. Mike and the ghosts focused their attention on the surrounding atmosphere, taking in the view as it zoomed past them.

" _This kind of reminds me of our own trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas,"_ Susie remarked.

" _Yeah, but that was just a bunch of desert,"_ Fritz replied. _"This time there's a whole lot more green!"_

" _I like it,"_ Charlie commented with a smile. _"It seems…more wholesome."_

Mike shrugged. "The desert has its own type of beauty, but I do have to agree that this place looks more lively."

" _I saw a sign for a Greek Mythology museum a few minutes ago. Can we go there?"_ Cassidy asked.

"We could," Melody answered, "but there are other places where you can see Greek mythology in museums. You're in a whole new place here, and to get the most out of it you should focus on going to things that you won't be able to see anywhere else. That applies to anywhere you got a vacation, honestly."

"Truer words couldn't have been spoken," Mike agreed, and the two smiled at each other. Neither of them saw the ghosts smirking at them until Fritz let out a snicker.

"What are you laughing at?" Mike asked with a raised eyebrow.

" _Nothing!"_ Fritz replied quickly. A little _too_ quickly in Mike's opinion, but before he could press the topic any further Charlie (intentionally or not) provided a distraction.

" _So what's the hotel we're going to?"_ she asked.

"We're going to a hotel called Jeju Shilla," Melody answered. "It's got a beautiful view of the ocean with equally amazing pool grounds, and it's right next to the beach. There's actually rooms with both beach and mountain views, but we decided to stick with the beach view."

" _Why?"_ Liz wondered.

Melody smirked. "Because we're going to see PLENTY of mountain soon enough," she promised with a wink as she drove down an exit off the main highway and into a slightly smaller, more local road.

" _Hey, look over there!"_ Jeremy pointed at a sign. _"Doesn't that lead to the Glass Castle thing that you guys told us about?"_

Mike squinted at the sign. "I… _think_ it is…" he agreed, "but that's for later tonight. Right now, we have a hotel to get to."

" _And I think we're almost there!"_ Susie cheered. _"I can see palm trees!"_

Sure enough, the telltale indicators of any summer hotspot stood proudly as the group completed the last leg of their lengthy travels. The ghosts could see other hotels pass by, as well as a building called "Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum" that looked…frankly bizarre, if they were quite honest.

"That one's only if we still have time," Mike told them as they watched it fall out of sight. "There's a couple of those in America."

" _Gotcha,"_ Charlie affirmed as Melody finally pulled into the driveway of the Shilla Jeju. From the outside, it looked like a single-rise, white building with a pink roof that stretched from one side to the other. The ghosts stared at it and the fountain gushing out water out in front.

" _That's it?"_ Fritz finally spoke what was one everyone's mind after several seconds of silence. _"I kinda imagined it to be, you know, a little…"_

"… _bigger."_ Liz finished for him.

Melody grinned. "You do realize that the major part of the hotel is in the _back_ , right?"

"… _I knew that,"_ Fritz replied as his cheeks darkened with embarrassment. Charlie gave him a pat on the head as Mike and Melody got out of the parking lot, taking their bags with them as they made their way into the hotel. They quickly checked in and received their hotel keys before walking deeper inside.

Everyone's eyes widened as they finally got their first good look at the inside of the hotel proper.The inside of the Shilla Jeju was ornately decorated with lights and trees, and the entirety of the massive lobby seemed to glow with a golden hue. A luxurious staircase led down to the floor below, covered with a beautiful red rug. Windows that stretched from floor to ceiling covered the other wall, and while the family (and friend) couldn't get a clear view just yet they could already catch the glimpses of an outdoor paradise.

Mike's stomach grumbled, prompting an amused look from Melody and giggles from the ghosts. "Man, I am so hungry!" he declared. "I don't think I've had anything to eat so far outside of airplane food for hours!"

"Well then, allow me to introduce you to the feature of Korean society that is the bakeries," Melody grinned as she guided Mike and the kids over to the hotel's café on the right. "There are bakeries literally EVERYWHERE in Korea, and all of them serve so many different kinds of breads and baked goods that you just can't wrap your head around it all. And you're not gonna find them in America unless you stumble across an H Mart somewhere."

" _So many options…"_ Fritz stared at the food hungrily.

Melody stared at him. "Are you _salivating_?" she asked incredulously. "But you're a ghost! How do you even _eat_?"

Mike grinned. "We found out a couple of months ago that the ghosts can taste what I'm eating if they're partially possessing me while I'm eating something. When we went to Las Vegas they took turns entering my body while I ate what they wanted for a buffet."

Melody whistled, clearly impressed. "And you don't even blink at letting them into your personal space like that? That is some dedicated ghost parenting right there." The ghosts in question grinned and gave their father quick hugs as Melody picked up two each of a loaf of Maple Bread, a bun covered in upper crust called a Soboro, and a circular smooth bun with small black sesame seeds sprinkled on top. "The last two are my favorites, and I just really like the look of the first one," she explained as she paid for them. A waiter guided them over to the parlor overlooking the lower floor, and the two friends sat down at a table as Melody ordered something in Korean.

"What did you just ask him?" Mike wondered as the waiter left.

"I ordered a classic Korean desert," Melody smiled. "It's called Patbingsu, and it's a bowl of shaved ice with a lot of different possible toppings thrown in. The usual choice is red bean, but the Jeju Shilla has a rather more…unique…twist to it. Instead of red bean, they add in fresh apple mangos with a side of mango ice cream thrown in."

" _Stop making me feel hungry! I feel like I'm dying again!"_ Fritz complained, earning a bout of laughter from the others.

"I ordered two Apple Mango Patbingsus, one for each of us," Melody continued. "From what I've heard this is the Jeju Shilla's specialty."

"Thanks for making this so much easier," Mike said gratefully as the waiters delivered two bowls of said dessert to their table. The ghosts looked hungrily at the Patbingsu and the pile of baked goods. "You know the drill, guys."

Melody watched with amusement as the ghosts took turns semi-possessing Mike while he started eating at the popular Korean dessert. From the glowing looks on their faces and the way Mike started eating more rapidly, she could tell that all of them were delighted with the dessert she had ordered.

" _This is soooooo goooooooooooooood…"_ Liz happily moaned as Mike devoured a heaping spoonful of mixed mango, mango ice cream, and ice flake.

" _Man, I thought this was going to be some crappier version of ice cream when I heard it was made of ice flakes,"_ Gabe agreed. _"Damn, was I wrong!"_

" _It's the way they mix it all together,"_ Charlie suggested. _"The synergy is what really makes it amazing."_

"You might be right," Melody agreed as she and Mike finished their desserts and got to work on the pastries. This time there wasn't enough for all the ghosts, so they decided to just let Mike eat the small buns by himself and buy more later. Mike was delighted to discover that the crust on the Soboro bread was partially made of peanut butter and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the "red bean paste" in the other bread was a lot tastier than it first sounded. Everyone got to enjoy a bite out of the maple bread loaf, though.

" _It's like eating toast covered in maple syrup,"_ Susie said happily as they finished. _"Only with much less of a mess."_

"I can't be eating too much now," Mike reminded them. "There's still dinner to worry about."

" _Let's go check out our room!"_ Charlie suggested, to which everyone happily agreed. They quickly rode the elevator the appropriate floor and located their room. It might have been a lot smaller and not as luxurious as the suite Mike had rented back when they had been in Vegas, but the delighted squeal that Melody let out when she saw the room made it clear that, as far as regular-sized hotel rooms went, it didn't get much better than this.

"Oh my God," she crowed happily, "I can just lie down on this bed, relax, and enjoy the beautiful ocean view outside!" She dropped her suitcase and bag onto the ground. "But as much as I want to take a nap, there are bigger and better things to do than just waste the day in a room."

Mike smirked. "Outside?"

Melody grinned. "Outside." She went into the bathroom to change into swim clothes while Mike did the same in the main room, the ghosts respectfully looking away to give them both some privacy. When they were done, Melody was in a black swimsuit that matched her hair while Mike was wearing a Hawaiian style shirt and bathing suit that blended perfectly together.

"I've been waiting that entire plane ride to hit the jacuzzi," Mike commented with anticipation as they rode the elevator down to the first floor.

" _What's a jacuzzi?"_ Charlie wondered. At this, Melody gave Mike an incredulous look.

"You've been to a hotel fancier than this and you didn't let the kids enjoy a jacuzzi?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, they're ghosts! It's not like they can swim in water!" Mike tried to defend himself.

"They could semi-possess you like they do whenever you eat something!" Melody shot down his argument. Everyone stared at Mike, who face-palmed as he realized how he had completely missed a solution that simple.

" _In Dad's defense, we weren't really focusing on pools in Las Vegas,"_ Liz decided to help her dad out. _"We were more interested in gambling and seeing the sights. And watching Dad kick a giant bear demon's ass in poker,"_ though she obviously didn't project that last thought.

Mike grinned. "Well, now's the perfect time to catch up on what we missed," he declared as the elevator stopped at the lowest floor of the hotel. The group followed a family of four out through the double doors and outside…and it was here that the kids finally realized exactly why the Jeju Shilla was one of the highest rated hotels out there.

" _Oh…my…God…"_ Susie's jaw dropped, and everyone's reactions were very similar to hers. The grounds they had entered looked like nothing less than a miniature natural wonderland. Trees of all kinds sprouted up around them, decorated with an equally diverse array of beautiful flowers. Part of the pathway leading out of the hotel and to the rest of the grounds was a bridge covering a stream, and Cassidy was delighted to see a small pool to the side with large goldfish swimming carefreely in the summer sun. They maneuvered around the trees, walking in a semicircle until they found a fork in the road. One direction continued to move farther away from the hotel, closer to the ocean. And the other circled back around towards the hotel and the main grounds. They decided to follow that direction first, and as they passed the last set of trees they found two more paths. One of them leading straight to the hotel, where the family could see a large swimming pool with kids happily frolicking about in the water. The pool was so large that it continued into the depths of the hotel, the connection between outdoor and indoor marked by a stone bridge at the edge of the building.

" _I wish we could swim there,"_ Cassidy said wistfully.

"Unfortunately, this section is more for kids," Mike explained. "It'd be fine if you guys were alive, but it'd be a bit weird if two grown adults suddenly just decided to wade in there."

" _What's weird about it?"_ Liz asked curiously.

"It's complicated," Mike answered in an unusually terse voice that told the kids not to ask any more questions.

Melody decided to rescue Mike. "Fortunately, there's a separate pool for people 18 and above like us. Let me show you guys." She guided them up a flight of stairs, and the kids gasped as they recognized the setting from the pictures they had seen of the Shilla. The pool they saw now was smaller than the one they had seen below, but there were several beds surrounded by curtains and chairs set up around the perimeter of the pool and even inside the pool itself. Melody and Mike looked at each other and grinned. "Awwww yeah…" they both said at the same time. Mike had already rented a pool bed for himself and Melody, so there was nothing stopping them from claiming that bed for themselves and lying down on the covers. The exhaustion of the plane ride finally caught up to them, and they were both asleep within seconds.

The ghost kids took up perimeter around the bed that Mike and Melody were currently resting in, making sure that nobody could steal the few belongings they had brought with them. It hadn't occurred to them just how tired the two adults might have been from their travels, and all of them agreed that they deserved some rest. _"They look so cute together,"_ Susie was the first to say something after several minutes as she watched the two adults snoozing contentedly in the warm summer atmosphere.

" _Cute? They're flat out adorable!"_ Cassidy cooed.

" _They should be a couple!"_ Liz added with a silly grin on her face.

" _Why…AREN'T they?"_ Jeremy suddenly asked. All eyes turned to him. _"I mean, they've known each other for years, they have the same interests, Mike trusts her enough that she knows all about us and his past, and putting all that aside it's easy to see they're really close friends. So why aren't they a couple?"_

" _Didn't Oskar hint that he wanted the two of them to get together?"_ Fritz pointed out.

" _But what if they aren't one for a reason?"_ Gabe decided to play Devil's Advocate. _"What if they simply like being friends, or if they've dated each other in the past and it didn't work out?"_

" _We have no idea,"_ Liz added. _"Though I will say that you don't invite someone to a vacation in another country if they're simply 'just a friend.'"_

The ghosts pondered her words for another moment. _"I'm gonna be honest with you guys,"_ Susie finally broke the silence. _"I've been wanting Mike and Melody to get together for a while now, but only because…I want a mom in my life,"_ she confessed.

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"Are you saying Dad isn't good enough?"_ Next to him, Liz bristled slightly.

" _Not at ALL!"_ Susie quickly clarified, looking insulted at the suggestion. _"Dad is perfect! But…there are some things that only moms do and only dads do, if you get what I'm saying. And…I kind of want to have a mom in my life just as much as we have dad. I know it's selfish, but…"_

" _I kind of agree with you, actually,"_ Cassidy gently assured her. _"And if Melody did become our mom, it would make things easier for dad too."_

" _I get where you two are coming from, I really do,"_ Charlie put a hand on both their shoulders, _"but Mike and Melody should be the ones to decide how their relationship goes, not us. And besides,"_ she smiled, _"Melody doesn't need to marry Mike or anything to be a mom for us."_

" _Let's not ask her about this now,"_ Jeremy suggested as Melody started to stir from her nap. _"She's got enough on her plate as it is."_

Melody blinked and yawned, only just now realizing that the ghosts were still there. "Were you guys here the entire time?" she asked.

" _Yep! We've been guarding the bed to make sure nobody tried to steal your stuff!"_ Fritz cheerfully replied.

"Oh shit, I am so sorry!" she quickly nudged Mike away. "Mike, the kids are going to get bored if we don't give them something to enjoy soon!"

Mike's eyes shot open. "Crap, you're right." He got up off the bed. "Why don't we hit the jacuzzi now?" he asked. Melody happily agreed to his suggestion and the two walked over to the jacuzzi at the edge of the adult pool.

"Imagine a hot bath," Melody explained to the kids. "Except the bathtub is the size of a small pool, and there's extra water and pressure pushing into the pool from all size. It's hard to explain it, but it's easily one of the most relaxing things you can possibly enjoy."

The kids looked down at the jacuzzi, its depths glowing with faint light and with bubbles frothing all over its surface. Mike and Melody entered the pool, and identical expressions of delight and comfort entered their faces as the water hit their bodies. "Ahhhh…" Mike sighed contentedly. "I've had a few little aches here and there as I hit my late 40s and now those are all gone." He looked over at the ghosts. "So who wants to try first?"

The ghosts did a quick mini-tournament of Rock-Paper-Scissors and Liz won. Once she entered Mike's body, she immediately felt the warm pressures of the jacuzzi waters nearly overwhelm her senses, making her feel alive, peaceful, and comfortable in a way she had never felt before. _"Oh my God…"_ she purred, _"it's soooooo relaxing. I could sit in here all day, it feels so nice!"_

" _There's six other people here, you know,"_ Jeremy said dryly. Liz had the grace to look embarrassed, but Mike gave her permission to stay in for another minute until she left to make room for someone else. The ghosts entered Mike's body one-at-a-time, and all of them enjoyed the waters of the jacuzzi just as much as Liz had.

" _Can we get a hot tub when we get back home, dad?"_ Cassidy begged as Charlie left Mike's body, having opted to go last. _"Please?"_

"That's gonna be a bitch to maintain, especially since I already have a pool even though I barely use it," Mike replied as he and Melody spent a few more minutes in the jacuzzi. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to put a veto on that one."

" _Awww…"_ the former Golden Freddy inhabitant moaned as Mike got out of the jacuzzi. _"Can we go to the beach next?"_

" _We've never seen one before,"_ Jeremy added.

"Sure!" Melody said as she got out of the pool. "But getting there isn't as easy as you might think. Well, it is for you guys, but not for us."

" _What are you guys talking about?"_ Fritz asked.

"You'll see," Melody promised. She guided them out of the pool area and back towards the first fork in the road they had seen earlier. A winding road led down both sides, leading to areas unseen that were likely past the boundaries of the hotel grounds. Melody led them over to a wooden structure hidden in the depths of the trees at the edge of the cliff face. She focused her eyes on a flight of wooden stairs that led downward.

It soon became painfully clear to Mike (and not so painfully clear to the ghost kids) exactly what Melody meant, as the only path that led to the beach was a flight of stairs that led straight down the cliff face. Going down wasn't a huge issue, but Mike dreaded to imagine how painful going back UP would be. Once again, the ghost kids found themselves incredibly grateful that they were already dead, as they didn't have to deal with any of the work that Mike and Melody did to get down to the beach.

And it turned out that this was the first of their problems with the beach.

"AGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mike howled as he stepped onto the sand. "MY FEET ARE BURNING! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!"

The sun had scorched the sands of the beach to an unbearable level, and the only that both Mike and Melody had in the form of footwear protection were open sandals that were almost completely useless. "Okay, we _seriously_ didn't prepare properly for this," Melody muttered as she and Mike retreated to safety on the wooden structure leading back to the stairs.

"Why don't you guys explore the beach on your own while we stay here so we don't end up giving our feet third-degree burns?" Mike suggested. The kids agreed to the suggestion and flew out to get a better view at the beach. At first, they were awed by the beautiful view of the waves rising up to hit the shores, the feel of the seaside wind on their bodies, and the sight of sailboats in the distance. But once the euphoria wore off, they quickly realized that what they could actually do was incredibly limited, and it wasn't long before they returned to Mike and Melody ready to go back up.

" _I think the pool and the jacuzzi are good enough for us,"_ Charlie summarized what they were all feeling as they started heading back up the hotel.

"Huff…puff…okay…the beach…was…a…bust…" Mike groaned as he painstakingly and arduously climbed back up to where they had been before. The ghosts were silently thankful that they didn't have to deal with any of the bullcrap that came with getting back up to the top of the cliff face and the hotel. "I can feel all those aches and pains coming back already. Is there a place where I can get a massage or something?"

Melody perked up at the word "massage." "There _is_ , actually…" she realized. "I think I saw directions for one on the way out. Wanna give it a try?"

"Hopefully it'll help me forget the pain in the ass that was climbing up those stairs," Mike deadpanned as they navigated through the grounds and back inside the hotel towards the indoor spa. "At least the kids got something out of it."

Melody laughed. "Think they'll enjoy possessing you during the massage a lot more," she joked as they paid for twenty minutes' each. As Mike and Melody each relaxed on the two beds prepared for them and the masseurs got to work, the ghosts possessed Mike in the reverse order that they had during their experimentation with the jacuzzi. And all of them enjoyed the sensations of Mike's massage just as they had in the warm hot bath.

" _The massage is so much better than the jacuzzi! Every part of my body feels comfortable in ways I can't describe, and I don't even have a body anymore!"_ Susie argued as Liz got out of Mike's body.

" _Screw you, the jacuzzi is way cooler! The way the water hit dad's body and my soul can't be beat!"_ Fritz argued.

Gabe facepalmed. _"I can't believe the two of you are actually arguing about this,"_ he muttered as the masseurs finished their jobs.

" _Oh, like you don't have an opinion,"_ Fritz retorted.

"Well, I personally enjoyed the massage more," Mike ended the argument, "but that makes sense when you consider that I had to pay money for the massage while the jacuzzi is free and I can go there literally any time I want."

" _That's a fair point,"_ Charlie acknowledged as the massage time ran out. Both Mike and Melody looked perfectly relaxed again, and with dinner time coming up the timing couldn't have been more ideal.

"So where do you want to eat?" Melody asked as they reviewed the possible restaurant options. "The buffet restaurant is all the craze here."

The kids' eyes lit up at the word "buffet," but to their surprise Mike shook his head. "I kind of want to save that for tomorrow, actually. With what we have planned over the next few days I think I'm going to need the bigger energy boost then. Anything a little smaller?"

"There's a Japanese restaurant called Hinode," Melody suggested.

Mike gave her a thumbs-up. "Perfect." With that confirmation, the group returned to the hotel room to change into fancier clothes. Melody had to smirk at the fact that even though nobody could see them, the ghosts had changed their attire into dresses and fancy shirts to match what would be expected by a restaurant in a fancy hotel.

"Really going all-in with this," she chuckled as she guided them over to the restaurant and asked the waiter to get them two seats. Both Mike and Melody ordered a tray of sushi and Teppanyaki, a selection of dishes cooked with an iron plate that included steak, shrimp, and various other seafoods that had been advertised as one of the best meals by the restaurant. The two adults were content to enjoy their meal in relative silence, with Mike letting the ghosts possess him to taste anything that especially caught their eye.

After a couple of minutes, Mike decided to break the ice. "So how are you doing, Mel?" he asked, his voice more serious than it normally was.

Melody caught what Mike was getting at. "Much better than I have any right to be, all things considered," she replied after a few seconds of silence. "I'll have to come up with different projects to get started on, but I can at the very least be grateful that I wasn't in the building when it exploded. But speaking of projects…I wanted to ask you a question, Mike."

"Go right ahead!" he invited as he took a bite out of some shrimp.

"Have YOU been working on any projects ever since you retired?" she wondered. "You told me you occasionally tinkered with something here and there, but I can't imagine you working all that much after you suddenly became the proud father of seven kids." She noticed how the ghosts suddenly became more attentive than they were seconds earlier…apparently, they didn't know much more about Mike's hobby than he did, for some reason.

Mike shook his head. "Not anything major, no. But I did come across two things that've caught my attention. They're both for the kids, so I'm trying to keep them a secret."

" _Awwww!"_ Fritz gave a disappointed whine.

"Get wrecked," Mike projected with a smirk. "But anyway, one of them's small enough that I can work on it by myself, but the other one I think will be too much for me to handle. I was planning on commissioning it at Eisensteel, though with what's happened I doubt that's within the realms of possibility at the moment. I was wondering if you'd like to help me out on it once everything gets settled?"

Melody thought for a moment. "What is it you're working on?" she asked. "I definitely have the free time now, and it sounds like it could be a good project for me to work on until I find something that's worth researching again. But I need more details."

Mike shook his head. "I can't tell you now. I want to show you the blueprints when we get back to America. Mind you, I had to make some… _significant edits_ …let's just say that the original had some features that were definitely too unsafe for me to keep in there." Liz could have sworn that Mike's gaze had turned to her for the briefest of moments, but before she could register it properly Mike was already talking with Melody again.

"Well, as long as you've removed those unsafe features you've talked about, I can take a look," Melody offered. Mike nodded once and put his utensils down on his now-empty plate.

"I'm still tired from that plane ride," he groaned. "Do you want to just spend the rest of the night out at the pool? We can get started with all the real tourist-y stuff tomorrow."

"That's probably a good idea," Mike agreed. "From what I've heard, we're going to need all the rest we can get for some of these sites." He sneaked a jealous glance at the ghosts. "You guys have it easy, you can just fly in the air and don't have to deal with any of the hard work."

" _Can't believe I'm saying this, but I am really happy I'm a ghost right now,"_ Susie replied with a cheeky grin.

" _We finally get to enjoy the perks,"_ Gabe added in a deadpan tone. _"Forty years too late, but meh. Better late than never, I guess."_

"Why don't you guys explore the hotel a bit, and then come meet with us back at the pool bed we were at earlier to relax for the rest of the night?" Mike suggested. "There's still quite a few places here that we haven't visited yet, and I think I saw a video game room on the way out on the first floor. If you're lucky and nobody's around, you might be able to sneak in a few video games without people thinking his resort is haunted. Just remember our hotel room number if you can't find us."

" _Sweet deal!"_ Fritz agreed eagerly, and the ghosts quickly began making plans to split up and explore the hotel.

"We have ways of meeting back together and making sure nobody gets lost. They did this at the Grand Canyon and at Vegas, they'll be fine," Mike quickly explained to Melody, knowing full well that letting kids wander off without supervision would look like poor parenting without proper context. As the ghosts separated and flew out of sight, Melody and Mike changed into their swimming clothes again and walked back out into the grounds. Night had fallen and more people were out and about in the pool areas. They made their way back up the adult swimming pool and each one of them ordered a non-alcoholic beverage before claiming a lawn chair that had been set up in the pool itself.

"Thank you again for inviting me on this vacation," Melody thanked him with an affectionate smile on her lips. "I don't know what I'd be doing right now if you hadn't brought me along."

"That's why I brought you along," Mike answered gently. He raised his glass and Melody did the same. "To an awesome vacation and a close friendship!"

"To an awesome vacation and a close friendship!" Melody repeated. The two clinked their glasses and started drinking, silly grins on their faces. Even though they had only spent one day in a hotel so far, both Mike and Melody knew that one of the best moments of their lives was on the horizon.

And they both looked forward to sharing every second of it with seven ghostly children denied happiness for far too long.

/

A/N: I wrote a surprisingly large amount considering that this entire chapter is basically one day in a hotel :P

I tried to incorporate some of my own personal experiences in this vacation, since it is one that I took during the summer of 2018 and I still remember the details from it. Yes, the 11 hour flight really WAS that much of a pain in the ass, and the sand at the Jeju beach was indeed so hot that I nearly burned my feet from it. And yes, Korean bread and Patbingsu is freaking amazing and I will send Nightmare after anyone who disagrees with me.

One thing I wanted to address was Mike and Melody's relationship, the nature of which I am deliberately keeping ambiguous. They are definitely very close friends, possibly even closer than Ryan and Mike, that cannot be denied. But whether they are simply friends or there's the potential for romance? That I'm leaving up in the air for now so I can decide one way or the other without affecting the flow of the story. You can tell not just with the way they interact with each other (there's no romantic overtures between the two whatsoever even though they're comfortable with each other's presence to the point they can share the same pool bed without a second thought), but with the ghost kids' divided perspectives as well. Susie and Cassidy clearly hope that the two will get together, but Gabe and Charlie don't quite agree with them. Either way, this chapter was a good way for me to establish some chemistry between the two characters, which I noticed was somewhat lacking before now.

As for Mike's projects: one of them I've left enough hints for you guys to figure out, but the other one I'll be surprised if anyone does.

And that's all for now, hope you guys enjoyed!


	64. Chapter 64 - Vacation to Korea Part 2

A/N: And continuing on with the vacation! I honestly don't have much to say that won't already be expressed through the chapter, though I will say that I'm saving my commentary for the _next_ arc.

I encourage you guys to look up the various things I describe in this chapter, as then you will be able to see what the family sees and understand their perspectives on it.

There's a good chance that I'll be taking a week off between this chapter and the next. I'm starting to feel a bit of burnout and taking a break will be a good way for me to recover and make sure that the quality of the chapters doesn't decrease because of burnout. The fact that my charger for my laptop just randomly broke for no reason means that the chances of me taking next week off have just gotten MUCH higher.

Smiles: Sorry, but you're wrong about the project that Mike is offering Melody to participate in. The original animatronics are torn to pieces, burned, and gone beyond any hope of recovery.

BlueJay: I'm not sure right now. Since Rockstar Golden Freddy is a gift from her father Cassidy might not want to separate the head for fear of accidentally breaking him. There's also the fact that unlike the original Golden Freddy, Rockstar Golden Freddy is a new, fresh, and functioning animatronic so the head might not be detachable in the first place.

PenDragonJ: I'm not sure if I'll do that idea yet. FNAF is a much newer game in this timeline, so it hasn't really gotten off the ground yet. Besides, the controversy and debates haven't really kicked off until FNAF4 (cause Bite Victim), and I don't think Scott in this fic's universe will make any more than 3 games (FNAF1-3). The main reason I say this is because FNAF4 and onward focus more on one specific family (the Aftons), and the last two especially feature Liz. If Scott released FNAF5 and FNAF6 and the Marshalls/Melody got wind of it then he might as well go up to them with a megahorn and shout "LIZ IS ELIZABETH AFTON AND SHE TRIED TO MURDER KIDS LIKE HER FUCKED UP EXCUSE OF A DAD." Given Mike's protective and paternal nature I HIGHLY doubt he'll just let an invasion of privacy on one of his children happen like that, especially since it'll essentially be slandering Liz and making her relive her past torment/guilt.

Chapter 64 – Vacation to Korea Part 2

The chiming of an alarm clock blared through the room as Mike groggily opened his eyes. He could see Melody stirring from her sleep on the other side of the bed and the ghosts doing the same all around him.

" _Morning,"_ Liz murmured as she stretched her arms.

"Morning," Mike replied as he got out of the bed and moved to the bathroom to get dressed.

" _Kind of early, isn't it?"_ Fritz asked. _"Only 7:00? Shouldn't we be waking up later on vacations?"_

"If we were only visiting one place, you'd be right," Melody answered. "But there's a lot of places to visit at Jeju, and a lot of things to do today. I honestly doubt we'll even get to all of them in one day before we get too tired."

" _I've been looking at the map of Jeju,"_ Charlie added, _"and I'm not kidding when I say that we're literally traveling across the entire island to get to some of these places."_

"And besides," Mike added as he left in the bathroom, now dressed, "I want to hit the buffet restaurant for breakfast before it gets too crowded."

The ghost kids' eyes lit up hungrily at the mention of the word buffet. _"No complaints here,"_ Jeremy quickly replied as Melody also changed in the bathroom. When she was ready, the two adults and the ghost children left the room and rode the elevator to the 3rd floor. When they reached the lower lobby, they could see that even with Mike and Melody's prompt actions, The Park View buffet restaurant already had nearly half the tables filled with people. Melody quickly secured a table for herself and Mike, and the two split up to get food for themselves.

To the surprise and delight of the ghosts, the breakfast buffet served at The Park View offered even more than they expected. There were certainly entrees that fit the classic description of breakfast – omelettes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, all of which Mike would have scooped on his plate even if the ghosts hadn't been begging him to do so. But there were other foods offered that wouldn't have been out of place in a traditional Asian restaurant - fried rice, dim sum and dumplings, Korean barbecue, sushi – all of which were enough to make the family salivate in anticipation. When Mike returned to the table, Melody was already there with a smaller but still sizable selection of food on her plate. Her eyes widened when she saw just how much he had brought with him.

"Wow," she whistled, "I never took you for much of a big eater, but holy crap was I wrong!"

Mike chuckled. "I think you're forgetting that I'm technically eating for 8 people now instead of 1. Besides," he added, "we skipped lunch completely yesterday and as good as the Japanese food was, it was covering for two meals and I'm back to an empty stomach again."

Melody looked around at the ghosts, who were hungrily eyeing the plate of food. "Good point," she conceded. The two adults started eating their meals contentedly, and by now the ghosts were practiced enough with sharing meals with Mike that they were able to create a "possession line" in a quick and orderly fashion with little issue. While they would have all loved to taste every single piece of food that Mike had collected, they had to acknowledge that Mike's stomach would very likely literally explode if he tried to eat that much food. With how much he had eaten on his first pass, Mike barely had enough room left for dessert.

" _So, Susie, finally found something better than pizza?"_ Gabe teased as she watched the girl's rapturous expression while Mike ate part of a ham, onion, and green pepper omelet.

" _Oh my God, Gabe, shut up!"_ Susie pouted as she playfully swatted her brother's shoulder.

" _What's that you're drinking?"_ Liz wondered as she pointed at a small mug next to Melody's plate. Inside was a brown liquid with white cream shaped into a heart at the very center.

"This?" Melody looked at the mug. "This is a special latte that I ordered. And I've got to say that this is the some of the best coffee I've ever had in my entire life."

"I think I'll get one when I pick up dessert," Mike decided. "If what I've heard about some of the places we're going to is true, I'm going to need it."

" _Can we try it?"_ Cassidy asked as she eyed the liquid curiously.

"Oh, hell no," Mike retorted, "you guys are NOT allowed to possess me while I'm drinking this."

" _But why not?"_ Jeremy wondered.

"Because I don't know if you guys would be affected by caffeine," Mike explained. "Charlie MIGHT be okay with it, but if someone like Cassidy, Susie, or God forbid FRITZ gets spiked with caffeine, then I can say without a shadow of a doubt that we'd all be well and truly FUCKED."

The kids burst out into giggles as Fritz spluttered protests. Even Melody was struggling to hold back her laughter – from what she'd seen about each of the ghost kids' personalities, Mike's statement was all too true.

"Time to get dessert," Melody declared as she got up from her seat. Mike did the same and the two walked over together to the dessert station. Even with how much they'd already eaten, both adults felt their mouths water at the variety of pastries, cakes, ice cream, fresh fruit, and chocolates that were presented to them. At the urging of the ghosts, Mike scooped as much as he felt he could physically eat as possible and made quickly retreated to the table to enjoy his dessert.

" _I honestly think this is even better than the buffets we had at Las Vegas,"_ Charlie contentedly commented as Mike finished the last thing on his plate, a small Tiramisu cup. _"And that was already pretty high up on the list of best meals I've ever had."_

"My stomach feels like it's going to explode," Mike groaned.

"You're going to get sick if you keep eating like that," Melody chided. "You're definitely gonna have to skip lunch or else your stomach'll explode! Not that I planned on eating lunch either," she added with a groan.

"We'll eat something a little smaller for dinner," Mike decided as he and Melody got up from the table. "And from what I've seen for our plans, I'll be walking off all these extra calories by the end of the day."

The two made their way back into the room and changed from fancy restaurant attire into T-shirts and shorts. They then rode the elevator up to the floor with the hotel's main entrance and departed from the hotel. _"Charlie said earlier that we'd be going to places all over the island today. Is that really true?"_ Cassidy wondered as they got into the car.

"Yep!" Melody replied cheerfully as Mike opened the map to show his kids the island. "We're going all the way from the bottom of the island to the top and back! I'm personally looking forward to the things more towards the top of the island myself."

" _You never told us what we were going to see specifically,"_ Jeremy pointed out.

Melody smiled mischievously. "You know some of the places we're going to already. We just didn't tell you _when_ we're going to see them. And besides, Mike and I want to keep some things a surprise. You guys like surprises, right?"

" _Depends on the surprise,"_ Susie thought, and she knew her siblings would feel the same. After all, William Afton had promised a "surprise" on Cassidy's birthday the day they had all been worried, and everyone knew how THAT had turned out.

But that had been William Afton. This was Melody and her father, two people who couldn't have been any more different from their murderer. She forced a smile on her face. _"Yeah, we love surprises!"_ she declared, hoping that Melody hadn't noticed her brief unease.

To her relief, Melody had already begun pulling out of the hotel's parking lot and it didn't seem as though she had noticed anything amiss. Within a few minutes, they were driving on the roads of Jeju again like they had done yesterday. The ghost kids noticed that the road they were going to this time had a bit more civilization on it than before, and they had the good fortune to marvel at the majestic Jeju Stadium on their way to their first location.

"If I remember correctly, the Jeju World Cup Stadium's held the FIFA World Cup several times," Melody explained as they drove by. "It was also built in the shape of a volcano just like Jeju itself!"

" _Whoa…"_ Gabe breathed. _"That is so cool!"_

" _But…aren't volcanos supposed to be tall and pointy?"_ Fritz asked. _"That stadium looks kinda flat and round."_

" _Some volcanos can be like that,"_ Charlie explained. _"Especially shield volcanos. I'm not sure if Jeju actually IS one, but I know those kinds of volcanos exist."_

"Well, we'll definitely see SOME volcano-related things in Jeju," Melody promised with a wink. The gesture heightened the kids' excitement as they drove on. After several minutes, they reached a suburban part of the island situated on the edge of a cliff, and Melody drove down a road carved into the cliff face until they reached the bottom. There, the kids could see a large parking lot with several small shops set up and a trail next to them that led to some unseen location deep within the woods.

"And we're here!" Mike declared as Melody drove into the parking lot. "Our first location. We're going to have to take a slight walk into the trail, but it shouldn't take too long for us to get where we need to."

They got out of the car and Melody did her thing, buying two tickets for herself and Mike and generally making communication a whole lot easier than it could have been. The ghosts eyed several stores with interest but Mike vetoed their requests to shop around. "We'll take care of that AFTER we're done here, not before," he told them. "No point in carrying around bags of stuff for no reason."

" _That's fair,"_ Liz conceded. After they had passed the main booth, they noticed several stone statues of different sizes that all had the same basic shape – an old man wearing a hat with two hands clasping its belly.

"Oh wow, I didn't expect to see so many of these here!" Melody exclaimed. "These are iconic statues of Jeju, and they're called Dol Hareubangs. According to tradition, they're gods of protection and fertility, and supposedly they were even able to protect against demons travelling between realities!"

Mike pictured Nightmare in the back of his mind. The idea of the black bear demon knocking his head on an old man statue and failing to get through was hilarious, but he HIGHLY doubted that particular characteristic of the Dol Hareubang statues would pan out in practice.

The adults bought their tickets and followed the other tourists down the path covered by the trees. A serene river flowed to their left, with a bridge branching off the other side at one point with several small cylinders that could serve as stepping stones next to it. Mike and Melody decided to ignore it for the moment in favor of following the main path to their main destination. They continued to walk for a few minutes with the ghosts questioning what they were going to see, until at last they cleared the last few steps of the path to reveal…

" _A WATERFALL!"_ Susie gushed. The ghosts looked at it in wonder, pleasant memories of the last waterfall they had seen at the Grand Canyon already returning to them. Most of the water flowed down the right of the cliff face, but they could see several other smaller streams falling alongside it into a large pool.

"That's right!" Melody grinned as she gestured towards it. "This is Cheonjiyeon Falls, a famous waterfall in Jeju."

Gabe gave the waterfall a skeptical look. _"I mean, don't get me wrong, it's pretty and all that. But the last one we saw at the Grand Canyon seemed a little…"_

"… _bigger?"_ Liz finished, understanding where her brother was going.

" _Yeah,"_ Gabe agreed.

"I'll admit that it's smaller than other waterfalls like Niagara," Mike admitted. The ghosts raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name, and Mike quickly promised he'd explain later before continuing. "But it still doesn't make it any less beautiful."

"There's actually an old legend associated with this waterfall," Melody added. "They say that a long time ago, a dragon used to bathe in this pool."

The ghost kids grinned. _"Okay, THAT is pretty cool,"_ Fritz commented. Melody asked a fellow tourist to take a picture of her and Mike, and the two friends grinned at the smartphone as the tourist took the picture. When Melody received her phone back, she looked up the photo and smiled before showing it to Mike.

"Perfection," Mike nodded approvingly as she put her phone away. "Well, that's all we need to see here. We've got a lot to do and less time to do it than you might think." As they returned the way they had came, Mike and Melody crossed the bridge they had passed by last time. On the other side was a stone performance hall with several long slabs that served as benches. "I wonder what people perform here," Mike commented as he stared at the currently empty stage."

Melody shrugged. "Who knows? Plays, Korean folk music concerts, could be anything."

"Well, looks like nothing's happening right now. Still kind of cool to see what places looked like in the distant past," Mike replied as they crossed their way back over the stream back to the main path. This time, they opted to cross via the stepping stones, a decision that almost turned disastrous when Melody stumbled on one of the stones and nearly fell into the river. Mike quickly grabbed her wrist and the ghosts used their abilities to keep Melody from slipping and falling.

"Whoo, that was a close one," Melody breathed. "Thanks for that. I would've been in big trouble if I got my phone wet."

" _No problem!"_ Cassidy cheerfully replied as they made their way back into the car. On their way, as Mike had promised, he and Melody visited the gift shops located near the parking lot. Mike bought two Dol Hareubang statues and Melody bought one for herself. When they got back into the car and Melody started driving back out, Charlie suddenly got a crafty and mischievous look on her face.

" _You know, I looked up something else about Cheonjiyeon Falls that I found VERY interesting,"_ she said in a voice that seemed a little _too_ happy.

Mike was instantly suspicious. "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

Charlie smirked. _"Well, I heard that Cheonjiyeon Falls is a great spot…for lovers."_

Melody jolted and nearly hit the car in front of her in surprise, while Mike's eyes widened as he was totally caught off guard. All of the ghosts were grinning cheekily at him and Melody.

"…"

" _Nothing to say, dad?"_ Charlie asked innocently.

"…fuck you."

The ghosts all immediately burst into laughter as Melody groaned both at Charlie's insinuation and Mike's response. "Was cursing at your daughter REALLY necessary?" she scolded.

"Eh, we're pretty lax on rules when it comes to cursing in the household," Mike replied. "Would be hypocritical to lay down the law on them for that when I do it all the time."

"Fair enough," Melody conceded. "As long as they know it's all in good fun."

" _Don't worry, Melody, we are completely fine,"_ Liz assured her.

" _Besides,"_ Fritz added, _"cursing is fun! And a good way to relieve stress."_

Melody chuckled. "Well, I can't DENY that one," she admitted.

As the car drove on, the kids soon realized that they were leaving the buildings and all traces of civilization behind. Trees soon began to surround them until the area outside of the road was an entire forest. The more perceptive ghosts also began to realize that the road was slowly rising in elevation as well, and that they were moving in the direction away from the coast.

Jeremy was the first one to realize what was going on. _"Are we…going up the volcano?"_ he asked in amazement.

Melody grinned. "Yep! We are driving up Mt. Hallasan as we speak!"

The kids gasped in shock. _"Whoa…"_ Gabe breathed. _"I mean, I knew the mountain was big, but I didn't think it was so big that it covered the entire center and we'd be driving across it for more than half of the trip to the other side of the island!"_

"This is the volcano that made Jeju what it is, Gabe," Mike replied. "If it was anything less impressive than this I'd be highly disappointed."

Susie looked out of the window at the trees surrounding them. _"I just noticed something!"_ she exclaimed and pointed out the window. _"Look at the trees!"_

The family and Melody looked more closely at the trees and they quickly saw what the former Chica inhabitant did. The trees on each side of the road didn't merely "grow", but rather seemed to bend towards each other to form several natural arches, one after the other. Combined with the dense leaves and foliage blocking the sun, it was almost as though they were driving through a tunnel made of trees instead of stone.

" _Damn,"_ Jeremy whistled, _"if I didn't know better I could have sworn that somebody deliberately grew the trees like that."_

"Nature can be pretty surprising," Mike said appreciatively. "And to think that this whole mountain was once an active volcano. I don't think we'll find a more natural place in all of Jeju."

And indeed, the only sign of civilization for several minutes was the road they were driving on. It wasn't until they reached the highest part of the road that they finally came across a campground where several cars and buses were dropping off campers and tourists. _"Is this one of our stops?"_ Cassidy asked excitedly.

Melody shook her head. "Unfortunately, not this time," she answered in the negative. All the ghosts groaned, as they had been eager to see Mt. Hallasan like they had the Grand Canyon.

"The reason why we're not stopping here to go on the trails is because if we tried to, it would end up taking a hell of a lot of time," Mike explained. "There are a lot of other places we want to see, and other natural wonders in Jeju that would take a lot less time for us to view and explore."

" _You guys WILL be climbing up a mountain, right?"_ Fritz pressed. One of the reasons they had been so excited about visiting Jeju was the prospect of seeing things related to the volcanos of Jeju.

"Absolutely," Melody promised. "You have my word."

" _That's good enough for me,"_ Liz replied with a smile, and the other ghosts nodded in agreement. Leaving Hallasan National Park behind them, they descended the mountain and eventually came across the first traces of civilization again. Unlike the area around Cheonjiyeon Falls, which was a densely populated suburb, there were only a few buildings and cars scattered about. Melody passed them by and it wasn't long before the ghosts could see the faint outline of the shore on the opposite side of the island. Melody drove alongside it for several minutes until trees began to block that side of the road, then made a right turn into a parking lot surrounded by trees. The ghosts looked around in confusion – there was no indication of anything particularly noteworthy about where they had arrived.

" _Uhm…where are we?"_ Susie asked, confused.

" _I don't see anything special about where we are right now,"_ Charlie murmured confusedly.

" _Are you sure we're at the right place?"_ Cassidy asked.

Mike nodded. "Yep. According to the GPS. We're here."

Melody winked. "Just follow us. Trust me, we know where we're going."

The kids looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Mike and Melody out of the car. The two adults climbed up several steps, passing a food court and gift shops on their way. "You know, we should probably put our jackets on, Mike," Melody suggested as they grew closer.

"Yep, I agree with that," Mike concurred. To the ghosts' shock, they proceeded to take out two jackets and put them out.

" _What are you guys DOING?"_ Fritz spluttered. _"Do you not know how hot it is right now? Do you WANT to burn up in your jackets?"_

"Oh, we know exactly what we're doing," Mike smirked. "Because we've arrived at our destination."

"You guys were looking in the wrong direction," Melody added cheekily. "You were looking more towards the sky, when in reality where we're going is deep underground." The two adults completed the last few steps, and the ghosts gasped as they finally realized where they were at.

The family had arrived at a large pit, with stairs leading downward into its depths. At the bottom of the pit was the entrance to a deep, dark cave. The only illumination in the cave appeared in the form of small artificial lights that showed very little of what lay within, but the family (and especially the ghosts with their enhanced night vision) could see that there were even more stairs descending further into the darkness.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Manjanggeul Cave!" Melody declared. "One of the most famous lava tunnels in the entire world!"

" _Whoa…"_ Liz breathed. _"I know you guys mentioned a cave before but I wasn't expecting this!"_

" _This is so cool!"_ Gabe exclaimed.

" _I wanna go exploring!"_ Jeremy added excitedly.

"Calm down kiddos, we're not exactly young anymore," Mike joked. He and Melody descended the stairs, and as they approached the cave entrance the ghosts quickly realized that they had made the right call in putting on jackets. Just like the cave seemed to consume the sunlight, it also devoured the sweltering summer heat and left only cold air remaining. Melody shivered and instinctively moved her body closer to Mike for warmth, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they reached the bottom of the stairs and the true beginning of the lava tunnel. An electronic sign to the side told them that they had 1000 m to go until they reached the end of the tunnel.

As Mike and Melody walked deeper into the cave, everyone marveled at the many sights to be seen inside the Manjanggeul lava tunnel. Several colored lamps shined on different parts of the ceiling and walls, giving the tunnel a beautiful radiance that contrasted sharply with the darkness of areas that weren't affected by lights. The rock formations in the tunnel themselves were also much more chaotic and diverse than the ghosts had expected – sometimes the walls were rough and jagged with stalactites jutting out of the ceiling, while other times the dimensions of the cave seemed almost neat and orderly depending on how the lava had cooled. Any time the ghosts found something especially interesting, they flew up closer to inspect a specific rock formation before returning to Mike and Melody.

"You know," Mike began as they reached the halfway point (500 m), "if I had to pick a cave to get lost in, Manjanggeul would probably be one of the best options."

" _Really?"_ Liz asked. _"Why would you say that?"_

"Because as vast and big as this cave seems, it's deceptively straightforward," Mike explained. "Only two directions to go in – down the way we're going and back the way we came. It's not hard to find your way out of what's essentially a bidirectional glorified tube."

" _I mean, there's all these lights everywhere and the checkpoint sounds,"_ Charlie pointed out. _"Only an idiot would get lost in this cave."_

"No, even if there were no lights or signs, I'd still pick Manjanggeul," Mike insisted. "You could easily get around the lack of vision by hugging one of the walls and moving really slowly. Eventually, you'd find the exit if you stuck to the plan and didn't panic. People walk back and forth through this tunnel all the time."

The ghosts pondered Mike's words. _"Huh…that's…a pretty good point,"_ Gabe mused.

"Well, that's assuming that the stairs are still there," Melody pointed out. "Otherwise you'd have a damn hard time getting out even if you DID make it to the exit."

"Very true," Mike conceded. He took a step forward, not realizing that he was about to trip over stepping stones inside of a puddle. "Oh, SHI…!" he gasped as he stumbled around. This time, it was Melody's turn to grab him by the shoulder to steady himself, and the ghosts pushed against him to keep him from falling. "Thanks, guys!" he breathed a sigh of relief. "That was almost really bad."

" _You can count on us, dad!"_ Cassidy assured him. Melody couldn't help but smile at the show of affection as they continued past that minor obstacle. As they passed the ¾ point, they soon found themselves climbing up on an artificial walkway that had been constructed over the ground.

" _What's the deal?"_ Gabe protested. _"Why this random walkway when everything else has been completely natural?"_

Mike shrugged. "Either the ground below us is way too rocky to be considered safe or there's water that's too deep or too wide to simply put stepping stones on," he theorized. "If it's because there's deep water I may have to reconsider what I said earlier about Manjanggeul being one of the better places to get lost in."

" _The rest of the cave has been pretty level in terms of the ground,"_ Charlie noticed. _"It'd be kind of weird for there suddenly to be a deep water-filled pit in the middle of nowhere."_

"True," Mike agreed as they stepped off the walkway back onto stone ground. A sign next to them told them that they were getting close to the end.

" _Holy crap!"_ Fritz suddenly exclaimed as he pointed at a rock formation to the side. _"Look at those rocks! It looks like an elephant's toe!"_

" _Hey, you're right!"_ Susie floated closer to inspect what Fritz was pointed at. _"That thing DOES look like a gigantic toe!"_

" _That's really cool!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"I don't remember seeing anything like that even at the Grand Canyon!"_

"I don't know if it would be hilarious or sad if that really DID turn out to be a petrified elephant's foot down here," Mike mumbled.

" _What would an elephant even be DOING down here, dad?"_ Charlie deadpanned.

"Who the heck knows," Mike drawled. They climbed up on another artificial walkway, and as they reached the end of the cave the family could finally see the main highlight of Manjanggeul. A column of stone, decorated with colored lights, stretching from floor to ceiling.

"You guys are looking at the largest lava column in the world," Melody explained. "Formed when lava dripped from a hole in the ceiling."

The ghosts flew closer to the column, passing the threshold that humans were allowed to reach, and inspected the majestic (albeit weirdly-shaped) stone structure. _"And made THAT?"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"If it was just lava dripping then it must have taken forever!"_

" _I don't understand nature, man!"_ Jeremy shook his head.

"I doubt anyone could," Melody assured her. She turned around and asked a tourist to take a picture of her and Mike. This time, the ghosts decided to pretend that they could actually be seen by the camera and posed in different places all around the lava column, grinning alongside Mike and Melody as the unsuspecting tourist took a picture of the two friends. When he handed back the camera, Melody showed the picture to Mike, who grinned approvingly at it.

" _We were pretending to take the picture too!"_ Cassidy happily told them. _"I know the camera can't see us but it's still fun to pose!"_

"Well, I've heard some stories about cameras picking up spectral figures like ghosts on photographs that shouldn't be there," Melody commented. She looked at the picture and frowned. "Doesn't seem to have worked out here, though."

"Ah well," Mike shrugged. "I would've been surprised if it did. Maybe if you guys concentrated it would work, but you might also end up making yourself visible by accident and then we'd have a real shitshow on our hands."

"I can already see the headlines now," Melody joked. "Historic Korean Lava Tunnel Haunted by American Kid Ghosts. Cue the mass panic."

"Assuming that people don't even question how seven non-Asian ghostly children ended up in Manjanggeul to begin with," Mike added.

The kids giggled at the two adults' jokes as they retraced their steps back to the entrance of the cave. On the way back, the ghosts took the time to look at any rock formations they might have missed, although since they had already viewed the things they found interesting they mostly engaged in small talk with the two adults and each other instead. Mike and Melody took one final picture in front of the entrance in the cave, and the two adults climbed back out from the world of cold and darkness to blistering summer heat.

"It's amazing just how much and how quickly the temperature changes with just a few small steps. And I can already feel myself starting to sweat," Mike groaned. "Let's hit the car and the A/C quick!"

"I am completely in agreement," Melody added. The two adults wasted no time in making their way back to the car they had rented, everyone (including the ghosts) eager to get out of the sunlight

"Man, can you believe how cheap these tourist attraction prices are?" Mike asked as Melody navigated back to the main road. "The equivalent of two dollars in America for adults if not less? That's practically a steal! Compare that to museum admission prices in America and just…wow…"

"Forget museum admission prices," Melody countered with a laugh, "I've bought beverages and snacks that are more expensive than admission prices for these Korean attractions!"

"Speaking of Korean attractions…" Mike quickly looked at the map. "Is the next one…?"

Melody nodded. "Yep."

"Gotcha," Mike put the map away. He turned to face his ghostly kids. "So how are you guys enjoying our vacation to Jeju Island so far?" he asked.

" _It's absolutely amazing!"_ Cassidy gushed.

" _That lava cave was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!"_ Gabe added. _"If only I could see it when it was actually being formed by lava…"_

" _I want to see more of Jeju traditions,"_ Charlie commented. _"I can already tell this island has a rich history, even though we've really only seen it from the Dol Hareubang statues so far."_

" _Neeeeeeeerd…"_ Fritz teased, earning a light whack on the back of the head from Liz.

"Glad to hear it, you guys," Mike answered with a knowing smile. "Because let me tell you, we're only just getting started!"

/

A/N: And here's a good place to stop! I was going to add in another location but I was beginning to feel tired and this was already approaching 12 pages on Word. That and the fact that I have a fuckton of exams coming up soon.

I hope you guys are enjoying my descriptions of Jeju Island so far! The places and sights the family are seeing are based on my actual experiences, and I highly recommend you look up the things I've written on Google Images as seeing them again in picture form really helped jog my memory of my vacation.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!


	65. Chapter 65 - Vacation to Korea Part 3

A/N: Welp, this is what I warned you guys about. The increased difficulty of my med school exams and the upcoming arrival of Boards means that I might skip weeks of chapters like I did just now. This wasn't the first time I took a break, and it probably won't be a last.

To all you guys asking me about the fandom and such: I'm actually not all that familiar with other aspects of the FNAF fandom or fan games like Joy of Creation. I might write about them, but if I do it will probably only be as part of "Random Family Moments" or MAYBE "Fun with Video Games" chapter at most.

DeaththeWolf: I honestly don't think FNAF1 Golden Freddy is "merely" a ghost. We see his head along with the other very real animatronics in the Bad Ending of FNAF3, suggesting that William DID take him down along with the other animatronics even if we never saw him actually do it (likely due to the limited number of nights). There's also the fact that if he was merely a hallucination, he shouldn't have posed a threat either to you or Phone Guy in FNAF1.

I wouldn't put it past Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria to use the Golden Freddy suit despite the controversy. It would make for a decent backup in case the main Freddy ever stopped working for whatever reason, and FFP could either claim ignorance or claim that since kids aren't allowed to come up near animatronics anymore (they used to free roam) that the grisly accident that happened with Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria won't be repeated, especially since that accident was technically caused by external factors. And putting all that aside, they're FFP. It's scientific fact that the management is a pile of brainless imbeciles.

Chapter 65 – Vacation to Korea Part 3

" _So where to next?"_ Jeremy asked eagerly as Melody drove the car on the highway. They were hugging the edge of the island as best as they could so that they could enjoy the beautiful ocean scenery as much as possible.

"Well, we've still got plenty of time left in the day, and this time I think we should do something that's a little more focused around you," Mike answered.

"Any guesses as to where we're going next?" Melody added.

The ghosts convened and began whispering to each other. _"Are we going to the Maze Land?"_ Liz finally asked.

Mike jolted in his chair. "How the hell did you figure that out so quickly?" he spluttered.

The kids grinned. _"Well, you really didn't mention many other kid-oriented places, at least not around this part of the island,"_ Charlie pointed out.

"Damn. Well, you're certainly not wrong," Mike admitted with a rueful smile. "Maze Land isn't too far away from Manjanggul, hence why we're going there next. And if I'm not mistaken, I think we're almost there!"

"Indeed we are!" Melody declared as she drove past a sign highlighting the entrance to the attraction and into a parking lot. "Let's see how big these mazes really are!"

The kids eagerly floated out of the car as Mike and Melody climbed out. All of them made their way over to a map stationed near the entrance of the mazes, the kids chatting and even challenging each other excitedly with each step the adults took.

" _I bet I can make it through all the mazes first!"_ Fritz pompously declared.

" _With your sense of direction?"_ Jeremy rolled his eyes, _"I could probably make it through both of them before you even made it out of one!"_

" _This can't really be that hard, can it?"_ Cassidy ventured. _"I mean, this is something made for kids, after all."_

" _I dunno, from what I remember those mazes looked pretty big…"_ Charlie commented doubtfully.

The family and Melody finally arrived at the map, and their eyes widened in surprise as they realized that the mazes weren't created in some haphazard, random shape. One of them (or two, Mike couldn't really tell) looked as though it had been grown in the form of a Korean gong, while the other looked like one of the Dol Hareubang statues that Mike and Melody had bought earlier.

" _Wanna split up, four of us take one maze and three of us take the other?"_ Liz asked.

" _That sounds like a good idea, how about we mix it up so that it isn't boys and girls like we normally do it?"_ Gabe suggested.

" _I'm down with that_. _So how about Cassidy, Fritz, and Charlie take one maze, and Gabe, Jeremy, Liz, and I take the other?"_ Susie suggested.

" _Sure!"_ Charlie agreed. _"But to make sure we get the full experience, let's put some rules for ourselves. No flying above the level of the walls, no phasing through the hedges…"_

A crafty gleam appeared in Fritz's eyes.

"… _and no phasing through the floor to try and get past either of those rules."_

" _Fuck,"_ Fritz muttered. More than one of his siblings rolled his eyes.

" _What about dad and Melody?"_ Cassidy asked. _"Are we going to leave them behind?"_

"This is mainly for you guys," Melody explained. "And besides, we're going to need all the energy we can get when we go for the biggest part of the day later."

" _All right,"_ Gabe answered. _"You know how to summon us if you need us."_

"Enjoy yourselves, kiddos," Mike waved them off, and the ghosts headed off into the maze in the groups that they had arranged. After they were gone, he turned to Melody. "I think now would be as good of a time as any to talk about the project I mentioned earlier in a little more detail, if you don't mind."

"Sure, let's just find a place that's a bit more private," Melody replied. They walked into some nearby woods that were part of the park, enjoying both the emptiness and the shade around them. "So what's this project you wanted to share with me?"

Mike cleared his throat. "So, I came across plans for…an animatronic," he began. "Similar to those old Freddy Fazbear animatronics, and yet different. More advanced. Melody, have you ever heard of Circus Baby?"

Melody tilted her head. "I…vaguely recall something about it. A sister franchise to Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, I think? I don't know, I never really had any significant interaction with that animatronic or franchise."

"And thank FUCK for that," Mike thought, though he didn't say it out loud. "I…came across some old blueprints that were used to make Circus Baby. One of my kids really liked Circus Baby…she was her favorite animatronic back when she was alive, and even now she still is."

"…it's Liz, isn't it?" Melody interrupted. When Mike stared at her, she sighed. "I've been around your kids long enough, Mike. There's something different about Liz, something that makes me think she wasn't originally one of those kids murdered by the fucking psychopath. I do have to admit that there's technically something different about Charlie, but it's pretty clear that she's connected with the Puppet, not this…Circus Baby character."

"I won't go into the details regarding Liz and Circus Baby now. That's her story to tell, and she's the only one with the right to share that with you. But the long and short of it is that I've come across the old blueprints for Circus Baby," Mike explained. "As advanced as she was, there were some features in her that were incredibly dangerous, and I spent a LOT of time removing and changing things to make it so that she's completely safe. I was thinking about remaking Circus Baby as a gift for Liz, since we had our first family birthday a while back and I kinda gave her the short end of the stick as far as birthday presents are concerned."

For a few seconds, Melody wondered what he meant by that, but then brushed it off. "Will working on this get me in trouble?" she asked. "I don't want to get sued or arrested for copyright violations."

Mike smirked. "You don't have to worry about a thing on that score, Mel," he assured her. "The company that originally owned Circus Baby went completely out of business. I doubt most people remember who Circus Baby even is. Besides, this is meant to be more or less private to my family anyway."

"If it's for your family, I'll be happy to give you a hand," Melody decided with a smile. She still couldn't help but marvel at how easily Mike had transitioned into a family man especially given that he hadn't had a true family for the better part of 40 years.

"Great!" Mike grinned. "We can discuss payment later. And yes," he silenced her with a hand before she could speak, "I AM paying for this. I don't believe in forcing people to work for me without giving them something back in return."

"Only you, Mike," Melody muttered as she rolled her eyes. She looked back over the way they came, towards where the mazes were. "I wonder how the kids are doing so far."

/

" _Fritz, where the heck are you going?"_ Cassidy demanded.

" _The other side of the gong is this way,"_ Fritz confidently declared. _"I'm sure of it!"_

" _You got lost three times in a row!"_ Charlie retorted. _"One of which was somehow going back the way we came! Do you even know what the heck you're doing?"_

" _Nope!"_ Fritz cheerfully replied. _"It's more fun this way!"_

Cassidy groaned and Charlie palmed her face. _"Typical…"_ she muttered under her breath.

/

" _This is a small, circular clearing,"_ Gabe muttered as he looked around him. He was sorely tempted to fly upward so that he could get an aerial view of the maze, but it would be going against the rules. _"I think we're in one of the eyes!"_

" _I think you're right!"_ Liz exclaimed as she flew a few feet away. _"Look at those three hedges over there. Two of them looked curved and one of them looks almost triangular. I think that's the nose!"_

" _So we managed to find our way to the face?"_ Susie asked, before she burst out into giggles. _"That is so cool!"_

" _Do you guys think there's any way to connect between the two mazes?"_ Jeremy asked. _"I might have seen something like a pathway between them, but I don't know for sure."_

" _Maybe we might be able to pass the others?"_ Liz suggested.

" _Only one way to find out!"_ Susie declared. _"Let's go, guys!"_

/

Mike shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine," he commented. "If these guys can navigate through the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, a small maze park should be a joke in comparison."

"True."

"You know, I've always wondered something," Mike changed the topic as they started to walk out of the woods. "Do you have any family still in Korea? I know that you have a sister who's in the states on the other side of the country, but that's it as far as I can remember."

Melody nodded. "I have a cousin who lives in Seoul. We're gonna be spending our first night in Seoul there after we get finish up with Jeju. Luckily she mostly lives alone, so we won't be imposing on her too much." She made a face. "It'd be kind of awkward if she had a huge family and we just barged in and crowded up her apartment."

"No kidding," Mike muttered as the two stepped out of the shadows of the trees. They waited for a few minutes until the group of four ghosts came out of the maze shaped like a gong. It wasn't very long before the other group of kids joined them at the entrance to the Dol Hareubang maze.

" _Hah, we beat you guys!"_ Jeremy declared with a grin. _"I knew we'd win!"_

" _I wasn't aware that we were in a race to begin with,"_ Charlie retorted.

" _I think we're good to go now,"_ Liz informed her father. _"Can we take a few seconds to fly up and see the mazes from above before we go?"_

Mike grinned. "Be my guest!" he invited. The ghosts flew several feet in the air, enjoying a scenery perspective that would normally only be found on Google images. It still amazed her, Charlie mused, just how much beauty there could be even in something as simple as a hedge maze. Content with the view, the kids flew back towards the rented car, Mike and Melody following closely behind. The welcome chill of air conditioning revitalized them as Melody drove out of the parking lot and out into the open road.

"Should we do some of the volcano-related things now, or…?" Melody asked after several minutes of driving on the road.

The kids perked up at the mention of the word _volcano_ , but to their surprise and disappointment Mike shook his head. "I think it'd be better if we wait for tomorrow to do that," he decided. "One of the most popular mountains in Jeju is supposed to have a beautiful sunrise view, and it's way too late for that right now. Besides, I'm interested in doing things that are a little more down-to-Earth today. Remember those rail bikes we mentioned earlier?"

The kids' eyes flashed with excitement. _"Yeah!"_ Gabe eagerly answered. _"It sounded really fun!"_

"Well, that's where we're going to next!" Mike declared. "Hopefully I can get some exercise to get rid of all the fat from our earlier buffet."

" _That sounds really cool!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"I hope we get to see a lot of cool things in the countryside!"_

" _Yeah, so far it's either been all trees or empty grasslands,"_ Jeremy commented dryly.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Melody said as she pulled into the what appeared to be the Jeju Rail Bike station. It was a small outpost-like building with several orange picnic tables scattered about. One could even see a disused railbike amongst the tables for kids to have fun in. Beyond the station were two sets of railroad tracks with several rail bikes with different patterns of colors and shapes drawn onto them. Melody and Mike bought two tickets for themselves and climbed into one of the rail bikes, a light blue one with several moon and star-shaped patterns that particularly caught Melody's eye. The bike itself turned out to be an electric one that required only minimal effort to get moving, which Mike wasn't sure was a good or a bad thing. Once he was sure that all the ghost kids had securely anchored themselves to the rail bike, Mike hit the pedal and the rail bike set off at a pleasant, relaxing place.

There was no way for anybody to know exactly where they on the island they were going on the rail bike, but wherever it was, almost all traces of civilization had been left behind except for the tracks on the rail bikes themselves. The children enjoyed the scenery as it passed by, but they hadn't yet seen anything that they wouldn't have already seen driving around the island in their car. Until, several minutes later…

" _I see animals!"_ Susie exclaimed as she pointed out the window. Everyone turned to look where Susie was pointing. Sure enough, not too far away from the rail bike, were a group of four brown cows grazing peacefully in the meadow. One of them was close enough that if he wanted to, Mike could reach out and touch it.

Instinctively, the former Chica inhabitant reached a spectral hand out of the rail bike and stroked the cow's side. The cow looked up and stared at the rail bike for a few seconds before returning to its business.

" _Did it notice you?"_ Cassidy wondered.

" _I don't think so…"_ Susie murmured, _"but it might have felt something."_

"I doubt that, to be honest," Melody said as she shook her head. "I can barely feel you apart from maybe a brush of air, and this is when one of you guys is actively trying to hug me."

Fritz smirked. _"Maybe we could try and spook it?"_ he suggested mischievously.

Susie smacked his brother on the head. _"That's so mean!"_ she chided.

"And it's a terrible idea for so many reasons," Mike deadpanned. "Leave the poor animal alone, Fritz."

" _Awww…"_

Mike pushed on the pedal and the rail bike sped past the cows. It wouldn't be the only time that they would see the animals of Jeju, however, as they soon came across ducks, horses, more cows, and even black pigs.

"Oh, so that's what tonight's dinner is gonna look like," Mike remarked.

The ghosts all whirled around to stare at him. _"Wait, WHAT?"_ Jeremy exclaimed.

"You didn't think we were going to eat two buffet meals in the same day, did you?" Melody questioned, clearly amused by their reactions. "We were looking for something a little smaller scale, and wouldn't you know, Korean Pork BBQ made from black pigs is actually quite the delicacy around here."

Liz looked at one of the black pigs, which was caked in mud from resting in a dirt puddle. _"Ewwwwww…."_ she made a face, _"I think I'll pass on tasting tonight."_

"Aww, don't be like that!" Melody grinned. "I remember when my family used to make Korean BBQ pork and Kalbi. Those were easily some of my favorite Korean meals ever, and I'm pretty sure the locals know what they're doing cleaning and preparing the food."

" _Maybe…"_ Cassidy muttered, _"but only because you're the one suggesting it."_

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Mike asked with a smirk.

" _Not all adventures are created equal,"_ Gabe countered.

Mike shrugged. "Fair enough, but it's worth at least trying once. That way you don't have another What-If to add to your life. Because God knows those can really drag your spirits down."

Nobody could find anything to say to Mike's sudden bout of wisdom, so they drove the rail bike on in silence. "You really like animals, don't you, Susie?" Melody suddenly asked after they passed another group of black pigs. "Did you used to own one?"

Susie sighed. _"Yeah. Back when I was alive, I used to own a golden retriever. He was such an adorable little puppy that I used to play with all the time. Then, he got…he got killed. Run over by a car."_ She buried her face in her hands. _"I never saw what happened, but…but…"_

Melody's eyes widened as the girl struggled to hold back her tears. "Shit, I just fucked up big-time," she thought frantically. She tried to hug the girl but to her frustration her hands passed through her. "I'm so sorry to hear that," she murmured. "I hope it was quick and painless."

Susie managed a weak smile. _"Not your fault, Melody. And yeah, Oliver was one of the big reasons why I love animals so much. Maybe Dad might buy a pet for us one day, but with us being ghosts I don't know how that would work out."_

As the ghosts and Melody took turns comforting Susie, none of them noticed Mike's eyes narrow or the dark expression on his face. Not because Melody had accidentally brought up a painful past or Susie's request, but because of what Susie _hadn't_ told Melody. He knew that William Afton had lured Susie to her death with the tainted, deceitful promise of reuniting her with her lost dog. And though Susie had said nothing about it, Mike couldn't help but wonder if William had been the one to kill her beloved Oliver, all so that he had an excuse to dangle in front of an unsuspecting, innocent Susie.

"Either way, who gives a shit?" he snarled in his head. "The fact that he used Susie's dog as a way to manipulate her and kill her is yet another reason to hate the fucker just a little bit more than I already do."

" _Dad!"_ Mike was snapped out of his thoughts by Liz's excited voice. _"There's something really cool over there!"_

Forcing a mask of pleasant emotions on his face (he was still a bit in turmoil to match his inner thoughts with his facial expression), Mike turned to look at where Liz was pointing. In the distance was a tall mountain surrounded by many smaller hills. Mike thought he could see a few craters interspersed with the hills as well, but with their distance there was no way for him to be sure.

"This is Yongnuni Oreum!" Melody explained. "It's something called a parasitic volcano. I have no idea what the hell that even means, but apparently it's called that because it looks like a dragon laying down."

Charlie scrutinized the mountain. _"I…can't see the resemblance,"_ she admitted after several seconds. _"I mean, granted, I've never seen a dragon laying down before, but still."_

" _I mean, I can kind of see it if I look at it in a really specific way,"_ Gabe squinted. _"But I don't know if I'm only seeing it because Melody pointed it out to us."_

" _Wish we had a real dragon laying down to compare it with,"_ Fritz snarked.

"When we find one, you let me know and I'll schedule an interview," Mike deadpanned as they left Yongnuni Oreum behind them. During the remaining length of their rail bike ride, the kids found three other sights that they found particularly interesting. A wind power generator farm with might turbines that spun freely in the air, a particularly majestic mountain that they all marveled at (missing the smirks on Melody's and Mike's faces as they did so), and an island off the coast of Jeju that had a lighthouse standing proudly on it. When they arrived back at the station they had started at, the ghosts all agreed (especially Susie) that despite the occasional dull moment, the rail bike had been well worth it.

Melody started driving back down in the general direction of the Jeju Shilla, though she was using a different route than she had taken so far. On the way there, they stopped at the Jeju Folk Village to satisfy Charlie's interest in the ancient history, society, and culture of Jeju. Though some of the more immature ghosts couldn't help but groan at the idea of *shudder* _learning_ , even they had to admit that they were curious to see how people lived back then.

Although the gate to enter the folk village was impressive and majestic, the ghost kids soon realized that the buildings within the folk village were rather simplistic and very small. The vast majority of the buildings were made of stone and thatched roofs, and most only had 1 to 3 rooms at most. There were several interesting materials in the buildings made of wood, porcelain, bamboo, earth, and even iron, but none of the ghosts pretended that they would ever choose life in a traditional Korean village over the comforts of modern housing in a thousand years. It didn't help that some of the structures were dedicated to housing animals, which left a…less than pleasant aroma. Despite this, however, there was a certain organization to the village, how each building was suited for a different purpose, that the ghost kids could appreciate. They weren't sure if ancient villages really had arranged their buildings like this or if modern individuals had constructed the village in this way, but either way they couldn't help but respect the amount of effort that had gone into the creation of the village.

The most interesting building to them was the palace. Separated from the rest of the village by stone walls and a large gate, it was an impressive structure with a courtyard that possessed a sense of majesty even with its ancient roots.

" _Still can't hold a candle to Dad's house, though,"_ Jeremy declared as they left the palace behind them. _"It's my favorite house ever and nobody can tell me otherwise!"_

" _Is that because of the house itself or because dad's the one who owns it?"_ Gabe questioned.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. _"The answer should be obvious, Gabe."_

" _True,"_ the former Freddy inhabitant conceded as they completed the last stages of their journey through the folk village. On their way back, they passed what was apparently a prison of some kind, and the kids had fun pretending to be criminals locked up in jail for a few seconds. Once they had arrived back at the entrance, Mike and Melody decided to buy a few more souvenirs (including a pack of Jeju citrus chocolates), before making their way back to the car.

" _Has the nerd gotten all the history and culture she wanted?"_ Fritz quipped at Charlie.

Charlie rolled her eyes and barely resisted the urge to swat him on the back of the head like her sister had done earlier. _"Yeah, I'm good,"_ she affirmed as Melody drove away from the folk village. There were a few more sights that Melody and Mike wanted to see with the kids, but those would have to wait until nightfall. Melody drove in the direction of the Shilla Jeju, but to her surprise she passed the hotel entirely. Instead, she continued for a few more minutes until they arrived at a seemingly unimportant parking lot near the edge of the island.

" _Why are we here?"_ Cassidy wondered. _"I don't see anything around here at all!"_

"We just need to walk this road for a few minutes," Melody explained as they did exactly that. The kids tried to get a glimpse of what Melody wanted to show them, but there were several trees around them that blocked their view. It wasn't until they approached the end of the road and a wooden overlook on the edge of the cliff that they finally saw what Melody wanted to show them.

And not for the first time or the last, they found themselves blown away.

In the distance was the Jusangjeolli cliff face, and it wasn't like any cliff face any of the kids had ever seen before. The wall didn't seem to look like a regular cliff wall so much as it did a set of mighty and imposing stone pillars, as if a team of master crafters and masons had carved the pillars out of the cliff wall. The top of the cliffs appeared as though they had been painted white with white streaks creeping down the black stone, a beautiful juxtaposition of light and dark. The coast at the base of the cliff seemed equally intricate in its design, as though it were made out of cuboidal and hexagonal stone building blocks positioned right next to each other.

" _This can't be natural, can it?"_ Jeremy spluttered. _"I mean, how did random nature and chaotic elements make something this organized and intricate? This can't be real!"_

Gabe and some of the other kids flew up to the cliff face to examine it more closely. He shook his head in wonder. _"It's real. I have no idea how, but this cliff face is real!"_

" _This is amazing!"_ Liz reached out to "touch" the stone. _"I don't remember seeing anything this wonderful even in the Grand Canyon!"_

" _Imagine, so many other places in the world with marvels like this!"_ Cassidy murmured. _"The world is truly a beautiful place."_

The ghosts flew back towards the adults, who had taken advantage of the kids' distraction to ask a tourist to take a picture of the two of them. Once the tourist had given the photo back, they returned to the car and Melody drove them over to the Korean BBQ pork place that she had promised. It was still only 5 PM, but Mike and Melody's stomachs had finally emptied from the massive buffet meal they had planned earlier, and they had deliberately planned to eat an early dinner so that they could go to bed very early in preparation for tomorrow.

The kids were still a bit queasy about the prospect about eating black pig, especially given that they had SEEN the pig when it was still alive during the rail bike tour, but one taste of the pork through semi-possessing Mike quickly put their fears to rest. Melody instructed Mike to cut out the excess fat on the pork slice, wrap it up in a large lettuce leaf, dip it in sesame oil, and then add gochujang sauce if he wanted to spice up the flavor a bit for maximum deliciousness. It might not have been an extravagant affair like the buffets at the Shilla Jeju, but Korean BBQ had its own unique flavor and taste that all the kids thoroughly enjoyed.

" _Just gonna try not to think about the black pig we saw earlier as I enjoy this,"_ Susie mumbled.

" _You saying that defeats the purpose,"_ Gabe commented dryly.

"I noticed that you're not adding the gochujang sauce yourself," Mike pointed out. "There a reason why?"

Melody looked a bit sheepish. "Well, to be honest…I really hate spicy food."

Fritz's eyes bulged comically. _"Wait, WHAT?"_ he spluttered. _"Spicy food is AWESOME!"_

"Yeah…" Melody admitted, "I don't like most spicy food at all. I absolutely despise kimchi."

"Oof…" Mike groaned melodramatically. "That's a stab to the heart right there."

"Hate spicy sauce, hate cabbage, hate hot peppers, how do you think I'm going to react when you mix all that crap together?" Melody asked.

Mike shook his head. "You are a TERRIBLE Korean," he muttered as he ate another pork slice, this time for Cassidy's benefit.

"You're not the only one to tell me that, believe me," Melody deadpanned as she did the same.

" _Dad, I think the real question is how you don't know this about Melody after twenty years of being her friend,"_ Charlie questioned.

Mike shrugged. "Don't ask, don't know, never came up before now," he replied blithely as he finished his last pork slice. The two paid for the meal and they climbed (or flew) back into the car, where they could talk freely. "Remind me, Mel, is there anything else we need to do before we wrap up today at the hotel?"

"One last thing," Melody replied. "A place known as the Jeju Glass Castle. From what I've heard it has some really beautiful glass structures and artwork that I think the kids will really enjoy."

" _Uhm…slight problem,"_ Charlie interrupted. All eyes turned to her as she held up her cell phone. _"It closes at 6 and we have less than an hour to get there. And it's halfway across the island. We're not gonna make it in time."_

" _CRAP!"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"And I was really hoping to see it too!"_

"No problem, no problem," Mike brushed it off. "There's a reason why Melody and I decided to schedule the plane flight to Seoul the day after tomorrow rather than late tomorrow. We have all day tomorrow to take care of anything we might've missed today."

" _Thank God,"_ Liz sighed with relief. _"It would've been really sad if we missed something cool just because of a time constraint."_

" _I do have to say something, though…"_ Jeremy began as Melody drove back to the hotel. _"You guys promised us that we would see a lot of mountains and stuff related to volcanos. We have seen some of it, sure, but not anything up close and personal like I expected. Closest thing we've seen so far was Manjanggul, and even though we drove through Mt. Halla-san we didn't actually stop at the campsite there. That was the part of the vacation I was looking forward to the most, to be honest."_

Melody and Mike smiled at the former Bonnie inhabitant. "Oh don't you worry, Jeremy," he promised. "We wanted to save the best for last. There's no way we'd forget about something that important."

"The way we scheduled our trip, we wanted to save the best for last," Melody continued. "Tomorrow's going to be our last day in Jeju, and we really wanted to make it count. I might not have ever been to these places personally but just from the pictures I've seen I can promise that what you see tomorrow is gonna blow you away more than anything else we've done today."

The confidence and assurance in her voice was able to wipe away any doubts that the kids had in their minds. All of them had been utterly amazed and delighted by what they had seen in the past two days, and Mike and Melody still hadn't showed them the best parts yet?

The ghosts had always been incredibly grateful to Melody. For accepting them despite their past crimes, for giving them company and a link to the outside world, for bringing them to this island and showing them the marvels and wonders that the world could hold. They were close to both her and the Marshalls in different ways, and yet Melody was privy to secrets that the Marshalls were not, and in a way their connection to her was deeper because of this despite seeing her less often than their other friends.

And more than one of them couldn't help but wonder how much better life could be…if Melody was their mother figure instead of merely a close friend of their father's…

/

A/N: And I think that's a good place to stop for now. There will be one more chapter in Jeju, and then either one or two more chapters in Seoul, Korea. I spent three weeks in Seoul when I went there, but I doubt that our characters will spend more than a few days there.

One of the things I wish I did in this fic was touch on the interaction between Melody and the kids more often. While I didn't want to have her take up too much focus (any chapters that focused on the FNAF timeline are MUCH more important than anything involving Melody or even the Marshalls for obvious reasons), I do acknowledge that I could have utilized her a bit more before this arc. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

It looks like at least some of the kids are seriously warming up to the idea of pairing up Melody and Mike, or at the very least having Melody have a bigger presence in their lives as a mother figure of some kind. Mike might be a great father figure, but no matter how hard he tries he would never be able to truly fill in the gap caused by the lack of a maternal figure. Mike and Melody aren't _completely_ clueless that the ghost kids are up to something, but I don't think either of them realizes just how seriously they are considering this idea, especially Susie and maybe Cassidy as well.

But that's in the future. I actually have a VERY big reason why I'm holding off any full-blown romance between Mike and Melody. The next arc I have planned after this one will probably be one of the most important arcs, if not THE most important arc in the entire fic, and as you'll soon see, characters outside of the original FNAF timeline have no place in it.

Next chapter, the family will FINALLY get to see those mountains and natural wonders that I promised. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	66. Chapter 66 - Vacation to Korea Part 4

A/N: And here we are at the last chapter for the Jeju before we move on to Seoul. The places I will mention here are personally my favorite places out of all the ones I visited during the Jeju part of my vacation, but I'm not sure I'll be able to properly convey the beauty and majesty of what I saw through mere words. I high, HIGHLY RECOMMEND you look up the places on Google images so that you'll be able to truly understand what I saw and what the family will soon see.

Jillygalaxy: William will be damned forever. He's guilty not just of crimes against the body but crimes against the soul, and there's a reason why he's suffering eternally in the lowest pits of Hell at Nightmare's (lack of) mercy. Also, I don't believe in the theory that Ballora is William's wife. It's a nice idea but one that has very little substantial evidence to back it up. It won't be true in this fic, at any rate.

JustMegaMothim: I honestly don't think that the Funtimes were ever possessed by souls. As far as I know, the only Funtime that was explicitly shown to be possessed was Baby.

DeathTheWolf: I should specify that when I say "a ghost can't harm humans," I meant to say an "isolated ghost not possessing anything can't harm humans." Every other dangerous possessed animatronic, even ones with special designation like Springtrap, Baby, and Puppet, were physical beings possessed by someone else. There is NO other example of a ghost taking on the shape of an animatronic in all of FNAF, which makes me doubt that FNAF1 Golden Freddy is a ghost to begin with. It makes more sense to me that he's an animatronic that has more supernatural powers than usual to compensate for the fact that he can't move. And I don't think I'll explain how Shadow Bonnie and Golden Freddy "crash the game" in this fic's verse, mainly because I honestly haven't given it much thought since it was never a major detail.

Thx: I usually update on late Thursdays. I originally tried to do it every week, but with how busy my schedule's getting because of second year med school I will have to skip a week every so often. At worst, I can guarantee at least one chapter a month, though I haven't been forced to do that yet and I'll try my hardest to avoid that level of infrequency.

Phillip: I'm not sure yet.

Chapter 66 – Vacation to Korea Part 4

"Wake up, Mike!"

Mike groaned as he rolled about in the hotel bed. "It's…too…early…" he mumbled. "I wanna sleep…"

"Mike!" Melody pushed at his arm. "Wake up! We have to go now if we want to see the sunrise!"

Mike blearily opened his eyes and looked at the alarm clock. "At 3 AM?" he mumbled. "This early?"

"If we miss this, we might not ever get another opportunity!" Melody exclaimed. "We have to make sure we get there on time!"

" _Why…are you guys…so loud…?"_ a sleepy voice interrupted. Mike and Melody both turned to see a barely stirring Charlie.

"We have to wake up, guys," Mike explained as he got off the bed to go get changed. "Otherwise we'll miss the sunrise at Ilchulbong."

" _This…early?"_ Fritz whined.

"We don't have a choice, you guys can go back to sleep in the car," Melody demanded. Reluctantly, the other kids started stirring from their sleep and the family rushed to the car as quickly as possible. Mike quickly checked to make sure that each of them had anchored themselves properly before allowing them to doze off once again. At first, he attempted to get a glimpse of the view outside as Melody drove on the dark and mostly empty roads, but since it was too dark outside to see anything he eventually gave up and fell asleep as well. In what seemed like no time at all, Melody was shaking Mike awake and rousing them all from their slumber.

" _We're…here?"_ Cassidy mumbled.

"Yep," Melody confirmed with an eager grin. "We're at one of the places I was really looking forward to the most in Jeju."

Even through their exhaustion, Melody's enthusiasm was beginning to trickle through the others' minds. The two adults and the ghosts got out of the car, ignoring the sudden swelling of heat in the warm summer night, and got a look around their bearings. To their surprise, the parking lot they were now in was much more crowded than what most people would expect for any tourist location at 4 in the morning. To the left were several small shops for tourists, including a souvenir shop like the one near Cheongsam Falls, a convenience store, and most bizarrely…

" _What the heck is a DUNKIN DONUTS doing here of all places?"_ Jeremy spluttered.

Melody shrugged. "American franchises in foreign countries are more common than you might think. Heck, I've heard that some Dunkin Donuts in Korea offer treats and drinks that you can't get anywhere else."

"Think I'm gonna need those after we finish up here," Mike mumbled.

" _What ARE we doing here, dad?"_ Liz asked. Mike turned to face her and the rest of the kids.

"You guys wanted us to go mountain climbing for the longest time," he informed them. "And we are finally ready to give you that wish. We wanted to save the best for last, after all."

"This is one of the most famous places in all of Jeju," Melody continued. "Welcome to Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. The sunrises at the top of this mountain are said to be some of the most beautiful in all the world!" The ghosts all turned to look up at the mountain that Melody was pointing to. Although the darkness of the night obscured most of the details, the mountain still gave off a sense of majestic grandeur that offered the promise of a beautiful view to any who could master it.

"We better get hurrying or we'll be too late for the sunrise!" Melody urged. Deciding to take her word for it, the family quickly approached and passed the buildings in front of the mountain peak to get to the base of the Ilchulbong as quickly as possible. As they did so, Melody launched into a description of how the mountain had been created in the chaos of magma colliding with water, rising from a pile of volcanic ash to the mighty mountain that now stood proudly today.

" _So a bunch of ash and magma made something like this? That's insane!"_ Cassidy exclaimed.

"Nature can be crazy sometimes," Mike replied as Melody purchased two tickets for them. Once again, Mike had to marvel at how cheap the tickets were compared to tourist locations in America. Once they passed the gate, the family had a better view of what Ilchulbong looked like now that it wasn't blocked by buildings. The base of the mountain was a meadow covered with grass, save for stone paths that were flanked by wooden fences. The paths to the right climbed upwards, joining into the two main roads that tourists would use to climb up and down the mountain. The ghosts had hoped to get a clearer view of the path leading up the mountain, but the upper parts of the mountain were completely covered by trees that made any long-distance scouting attempt all but pointless. There were also a few paths inexplicably leading in the opposite direction towards the left, making them wonder if there wasn't a path leading down to the shoreline as well.

Mike stared at the distant peak of the mountain. "We have to climb up _all that?"_ he spluttered.

"Yep," Melody blithely replied. "Hope you've been keeping in shape! Oh wait," she smirked, "you've been pigging out with all your meals for the past two days. Almost literally, in one case."

The ghosts started giggling at her playful jabs. "I had my reasons!" Mike protested.

"Never said you didn't," Melody's smirk widened. "Doesn't change the fact that what I said is true."

" _Don't worry about it, dad, it can't be that bad!"_ Cassidy tried to assure him.

Mike gave her a dirty look. "What are you complaining about, you have it easy! All you need to do is fly up the mountain next to us!" He looked up again at the mountain peak, which suddenly seemed a lot more imposing and distant than it had been seconds before. "Welp," he muttered, "this is gonna suck…" He sighed and began to walk towards the ascending path, his friend and children following close behind. As they approached the fence opposite where they had come, Mike took a glance over the barrier and was surprised to see a steep drop alongside a stony cliff face leading straight into the sea.

" _Imagine how dangerous this path would be if this fence wasn't here,"_ Gabe muttered as they walked alongside the cliff fence up to the main road. About a minute of climbing later, the smooth stone path soon ended, transitioning into a set of stone stairs that marked the proper beginning of their climb. By now they were underneath the cover of the foliage, which would have provided welcome protection against the sun later in the day but at the moment was completely pointless. After the first set of stairs they passed a small pavilion to their left, which served the function of a miniature convenience store where foods and drinks would normally be sold.

"That has to be one of THE worst jobs here," Mike commented dryly. At the confused looks of the ghosts, he explained further. "Imagine that you had to walk up the path and the stairs to get here every single day just so you could do your job. And imagine that you had to do it while CARRYING anything that runs out here with you. Not to mention the fact that you're likely doing this AND serving here for the whole day while the sun's already out, which means doing all of this under this crazy summer heat."

The ghosts all cringed as they visualized the scenario Mike was describing. _"When you put it like that, that sounds terrible!"_ Susie muttered.

" _At least it can't be as bad as being a night guard at Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria?"_ Fritz hazarded. Gabe gave him a dirty look for bringing up their less than savory past, but before he could say or do anything Mike snorted.

"Pfft, being a night guard was easy as shit once I figured out the strategy," he retorted. "Sure, the penalty for fucking up was a lot harsher, but that just gave me plenty of incentive not to fuck up in the first place."

"Are you guys talking about…?" Melody interrupted.

" _Yep,"_ Gabe replied.

"It's in the past, we got over it a while ago," Mike brushed aside her concerns with a wave of her hand.

Melody shook her head in bemusement. "Not sure how to feel about how casually you guys are talking about that, but okay." They had passed the convenience store pavilion in the midst of their conversation, and were now climbing up the mountain proper. As everyone quickly realized, the path leading up Ilchulbong consisted mainly of stone steps with the occasional landing in between, some of which conveniently had stone cylinders and even the makeshift bench to accommodate weary travelers. Mike was now huffing and puffing in exertion, an unfortunate and irritating reminder of the climb up the cliff from the Jeju beach. And just like before, the ghosts had no issue keeping up with Mike and Melody thanks to their spectral nature.

" _I like being a ghost now!"_ Liz giggled as Melody offered a bottle of water to Mike, who gratefully accepted it and began drinking it greedily. _"We don't have to deal with any of this!"_

Mike responded by flipping a middle finger up at her, not missing a beat in between his drinking. Melody rolled her eyes at the display of immaturity as all the ghost kids started laughing. "You guys really lucky nobody was around to see Mike flip the bird at empty air," she deadpanned.

"That's why I did it," Mike blithely replied as he finished the bottle. Melody rolled her eyes again as they continued their climb. As they did so, they passed by a few other tourists who had also come to the mountain for the same purpose that they had. A few of them were grouped up on a landing close to the peak, where they were admiring a tall stone pillar carved with various symbols and letters.

" _Can you read that?"_ Charlie wondered as they stopped to inspect the pillar.

Melody shook her head. "Either those letters are carved in ancient language or they're written in Chinese. Either way, can't read shit."

" _I wonder what this pillar was made for,"_ Gabe mused.

Mike shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. Ancient civilizations did a lot of things that most people nowadays would call plain weird."

Several of the ghosts noticed how the landing was one of the few places on the mountain's ascending path not exposed to trees, but before they could get a good look Melody caught their attention.

"Don't look yet!" she insisted. "We're almost at the top. You don't want to spoil the view down here."

" _Good point,"_ Charlie conceded, and with a great exertion of willpower the kids managed to avoid the temptation to get an early glimpse of the mountain view. As Melody had stated, they didn't have long to wait, and the last stretch of the mountain climb was laid out with wooden, more modern stairs rather than the stone steps that had defined most of the route.

" _Why didn't the ancient people just finish the stone staircase?"_ Susie asked. _"Seems like they got so close to the top only to just give up at the finish line."_

" _Maybe they thought this was good enough?"_ Fritz hazarded. The ghosts immediately shook their heads – if they had been the ones making the staircase, they wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than full completion.

" _Maybe this stone staircase isn't as old as we think it is, and they just changed how it was made towards the top to make things easier?"_ Liz suggested.

"We might find an answer towards the top of the mountain," Mike interrupted their hypothesizing. Together, he and Melody completed the last few steps up the mountain, the ghosts trailing them closely behind. The wooden stairs led up to a landing that could accommodate several people, more than half of which had been fashioned into stepped benches in the style of an auditorium. Already, several other tourists had arrived and claimed seats for the incoming sunrise, and the two adults quickly claimed an empty spot.

" _We made it in time,"_ Gabe breathed a sigh of relief. _"Would have been a huge disappointment if we missed it."_

Cassidy squinted in the distance. _"Are those…are those rays of light coming up?"_ she pointed. An excited look crossed her face. _"I think…I think the sun's coming up!"_

" _This is the first time we've seen a sunrise from a place high up like this,"_ Jeremy added, his eyes fixed towards the East.

"Then you couldn't have picked a better spot to see your first sunrise," Melody replied with a smile.

 **[[Recommended music for this next section – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of the Sky – "Time Restored" or In the Morning Sun"]]**

The rays of light intensified as the sun slowly crept up from the horizon, casting golden light that brightened with every second. As it did so, the veil of night that had obscured the summit view slowly vanished, and the ghosts all gasped in awe and wonder as they realized just how large Seongsan Ilchulbong actually was. The landing they were on was on the edge of a massive crater, the edge of it was ringed with trees that gave way to a lush green meadow that covered the entirety of the crater. Beyond the opposite edge of the crater lay the sea, its dark blue contour juxtaposed with the brightening sky. The sun's rays cast the crater, water, and sky in a brilliant golden hue, making the entire view seem all the more precious and valuable. Mike and Melody both took out their phones and began taking pictures, making sure to have a record of this moment to cherish.

The kids stared at the scene, utterly starry-eyed. _"It's…so pretty…"_ Susie gushed.

" _This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen…"_ Liz mumbled.

" _That crater looks awesome!"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"I want to play tag in it!"_

"You'd probably be the first person to ever play tag in the crater of Ilchulbong," Melody remarked with a grin.

Mike wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew her close to him. "Thanks for bringing us here," he murmured. "Not just to the mountain, but to Korea. What you planned here was far better than anything I could've ever come up with, both for me and for the kids."

Melody leaned into his arm. "You came through for me when my life was going to shit," she answered, her voice equally quiet and serious. "This is the least I could do."

Cassidy caught a glimpse of the two of them and caught Susie's attention. The girl was annoyed at first at being interrupted, but her irritation quickly changed into amusement when Cassidy pointed at the two adults staring at the sunrise together. Both tried and failed to suppress their giggles at the sight, earning an eye roll from Charlie, the only other person who had noticed the sudden closeness of the two adults.

After a couple of minutes, Melody withdrew from Mike's arm and stood up. "We still have to see the other side," she pointed out, appearing as though she were only speaking to Mike when in actuality she was addressing the ghosts as well. "There's more than one view." Mike and the ghosts followed her to a part of the landing that had been made to get a better view of the opposite side, back in the direction they had come. The ghosts were once again blown away by the view of the West, different than the one to the East but no less beautiful.

Unlike the Eastern view, which had been wholly natural, this one was a juxtaposition of civilization and nature. Everyone except Melody had been asleep during the car ride, so everyone was surprised to discover that they were actually on an entirely different island off the coast of the "main" Jeju island. The immediate area surrounding Ilchulbong was completely natural, either trees or open plains, but beyond that the island was covered by buildings that looked like tiny matchboxes from their perspective, a small city that had been built on the edge of Ilchulbong. Small bridges connected to the main island, where the ghosts could see traces of buildings and trees mixed together. And all of this was complemented by a much clearer view of the sea, to the point that the kids could see a hint of green land submerged underneath its waters.

" _I can't believe we missed all of this on the way here!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"And how is the land underneath the water so green? Shouldn't it have drowned?"_

Mike shrugged. "Maybe different plant life? Who knows?"

" _I honestly can't tell whether I like this view or the other one more,"_ Liz murmured. _"They're both so beautiful in their own ways."_

" _I'm really glad we came here,"_ Susie added. _"Coming here was definitely worth it."_

" _You guys still want to play tag in the crater?"_ Fritz asked. In response, Liz lightly pushed him.

" _You're it!"_ she giggled.

" _Hey!"_ he protested as the other ghosts fled, all laughing as Fritz chased them into the meadow that covered Ilchulbong's crater. Mike and Melody watched with amusement and contentment as the ghosts tried to catch each other with varying degrees of success. Since they all had the same advantages of fast speed and infinite stamina as ghosts, the ghosts decided to make the game more interesting by intentionally trying to screw each other over to make things easier for the "It" player. The game ended with Charlie tagging Gabe, at which point Mike mentally called them all back.

"I think it's time we wrap things up here," he declared. "There's still other things that we need to do."

" _Good point,"_ Charlie agreed as the family started to descend the mountain. Unlike the climb up, which had been mostly obscured by trees and defined by stone stairways, almost the entirety of the descent was defined by wooden stairs flanked by rails to keep tourists from stumbling. Another significant difference was that this part of the mountain wasn't obscured by any trees at all, so everyone could enjoy a clear view of the West until they reached the treeline much lower down the mountain and a stone path like the ones at the start of their climb. During the last stages of their descent they passed by a set of restrooms, which Mike couldn't help but give a dry look at.

"Wouldn't it be better for these restrooms to be, oh I don't know, on the way UP the mountain?" he deadpanned. "What's the point of having them here when the whole journey's almost over?"

"Who even knows…" Melody muttered. "Maybe there just wasn't any room on the way up."

"Still kind of pointless," Mike grumbled as they finally reached the paths at the base of the mountain. By now, both Mike and Melody were weary from their climb, and took the time to reward themselves with fresh ice-cold drinks in Dunkin Donuts. Taking Melody's advice to heart, Mike got a Jeju Tangerine Coolatta for himself, while Melody herself ordered a Green Tea Coolatta. The two savored their reward for an exercise-intensive morning, with Mike allowing the ghost kids to taste his drink through semi-possession. The two adults returned to the car tired but happy, with the kids eagerly chattering about their experiences on Ilchulbong.

"Thank God for the coffee," Melody muttered as she started the car. "I think I was going to pass out without it."

"If it weren't for the fact that our other main stop today is much closer than the hotel, I'd suggest we go back there and take a nap," Mike agreed. "With how close Sangumburi is we might as well just get that out of the way."

" _Sangumburi?"_ Liz repeated, tilting her head.

" _These names still confuse the crap out of me,"_ Jeremy muttered. Melody grunted as she drove through the narrow and confusing streets of the city, trying her hardest not to get lost. After a few minutes, she managed to escape into a road next to the sea, and as she drove across the bridge connecting the two islands the kids turned around to get one last look at the mountain peak where hey had witnessed their first high-altitude sunrise. They soon left the coast and city behind, driving deeper into the natural and forest-covered depths of Jeju.

" _Is it just me or is this around the same place where we went to Manjanggul and all those places yesterday?"_ Gabe asked.

Charlie peered at the navigator map. _"Yeah, kind of, actually…"_

" _Why does it feel like all the cool stuff is on the Northeastern part of the island?"_ Fritz wondered. _"Seems like we've spent most of our time there."_

"It had a good combination of things that both you and we could enjoy," Mike replied. "I know I have the maturity level of a 10 year old sometimes, but adults and kids will always have different tastes."

" _We're technically old enough to be adults,"_ Fritz pointed out.

Mike only smirked at him in response. "You sure as hell don't act like it."

Fritz pouted as the rest of the ghosts giggled, even though they all knew that the only ghost there who could qualify as genuinely mature was Charlie. The rest of the ride progressed with the group making small talk here and there as Melody drove deeper into the forests of Jeju. After a few minutes, she turned into a parking lot that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

"… _are you sure you stopped at the right place?"_ Liz asked, unimpressed by her surroundings.

"Yep," Melody grinned, "just hold on tight for a bit, I promise we'll get to the good part soon."

" _It's gonna be hard to beat Ilchulbong, I can tell you that,"_ Susie commented as they got out of the car. They walked under a stone archway and past the ticket booth, where they could see a few buildings scattered about. Mike and Melody walked straight past them, at which point the paths started to ascend. There were three possible paths that led up the hill to wherever they were going, a stone staircase that led straight up and two regular paths that seemed to wind to the left and right.

"Interesting layout," Mike muttered. "Which way do we go?"

" _The stairs will probably lead us right to where we want to go,"_ Charlie pointed out. Nobody had anything to argue against that, so Mike and Melody started walking up the staircase with the ghosts following behind. As they did so, they noticed that the two other paths seemed to diverge more to the left and right, adding credence to what Charlie had said earlier. Apart from a pavilion to their left early in the climb, the only things worth noting were a few hills scattered about in the fields.

" _Real impressive so far,"_ Fritz drawled.

"Be patient, Fritz," Mike scolded. "We're almost there."

" _I think we're almost at the end,"_ Liz reported. _"I can see a fence up there."_

"Thank God," her father muttered as they completed the last few steps up the stairs. "I've already had enough of climbing from Ilchulbong earlier." He shook off his exhaustion and strode towards the fence, eager to see his reward for his second bout of exercise. Melody and the ghosts followed him, equally curious.

What they saw blew them away for the second time that day.

In front of them was a massive crater, one that was both far larger and deeper than the one at the peak of Ilchulbong. Unlike the one they had seen before, which had been mostly empty safe for grass and a couple of trees at the borders, the entirety of this particular crater was completely covered in dense forest, a representation of nature having gone rampant. Mountains stood tall and proudly behind the opposite edge of the crater, completing the image of a natural monument untouched by civilization.

"Damn," Melody whistled. "Ilchulbong might've had the exercise and the sunrise view, but when it comes to the crater itself Sangumburi wins hands-down."

" _I…don't think we're going to be able to play tag in this one,"_ Gabe commented as peered down into the massive crater.

" _Yeah, way too many trees in the way,"_ Susie agreed.

" _View's still awesome, though!"_ Jeremy praised.

"Ready to head back?" Melody asked, and everyone made varying noises of agreement. Since there wasn't anything beyond a general view to enjoy this time around, there wasn't much point in lingering.

" _I saw two other paths,"_ Cassidy pointed out. _"Does anybody want to race?"_

" _Heck yeah, I'm down!"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"Whoever makes it back to the start wins!"_

" _Ready! Set! Go!"_ Liz called down, and the ghosts sped off back the way they had come. Mike and Melody both glanced at each other, shrugged, and decided to take an alternate, longer route that circled around back to the beginning. When they arrived, they could see all the kids already there. Fritz's look of triumph on his face suggested that he had been the victor in their race.

With the adults both thoroughly tired and now hungry, Melody drove back to the Jeju Shilla as quickly as possible. Once they had arrived, Mike and Melody wasted no time showering and changing into more formal attire. Afterwards, they (and the kids through possessing Mike) enjoyed yet another delightful meal together at the Cheonjee, enjoying a more traditional Korean meal.

" _Kinda ironic how you guys are eating at the Korean restaurant LAST in a vacation on a Korean island, isn't it?"_ Charlie couldn't help but remark in a deadpan tone.

The two adults shrugged. "Whatever works," Mike replied as they finished their meal. Having solved their hunger but not their exhaustion, they decided to enjoy a refreshing nap which the ghosts joined in (since waking up at 3 AM in the morning wasn't any more conducive to their energy levels than it was to the adults'). When they woke up an hour later, all of them were feeling much better and were much readier to visit the last major tourist attraction that Mike and Melody had planned for their vacation.

" _Is it going to be the glass castle that you wanted to show us yesterday?"_ Cassidy asked as they got into the car.

"Yep!" Melody cheerfully confirmed as they drove off, this time in the opposite direction to where they had gone during most of their journeys. "If I remember correctly, this might be the first and only modern, man-made attraction that we're going to be visiting on this island."

" _Wasn't the Jeju Folk Village also one?"_ Susie interrupted, confused.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. _"You're really gonna call that place modern?"_ he muttered.

" _Fair enough."_

"Kind of fitting that this is the last thing we do on Jeju," Mike remarked, "since this is the last thing we're doing on Jeju before moving on to the few days we spend in Seoul, which is as city as it gets. Not a bad way to transition."

" _I'm gonna miss this island,"_ Liz remarked a bit sadly.

Charlie gave her a light hug. _"There's other cool places for us to see in the future,"_ she said comfortingly.

" _Disneyworld, maybe?"_ Cassidy asked hopefully.

Mike resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her daughter's fixation with Disneyworld. "That one I'm trying to work out with the Marshalls," he explained. "Since they have school to deal with, it probably won't be until either the winter or next summer. Probably for the best, since those are the best times to visit Disneyworld anyway."

"Couldn't you just visit Disneyland?" Melody asked. "It's in California, isn't it? That's a lot closer to where we live than Disneyworld."

"Because Disneyworld is a larger and better Disneyland and there's no reason to sell ourselves short," Mike countered. "Especially since we have all the time in the world and money isn't ever a problem. That and it's also near other cool places like the Universal Studios Theme Park."

"Oh right, that's also there, isn't it? Good point," Melody conceded as she drove onward. After a few more minutes, they arrived at a parking lot outside of a triangular gateway. The ghosts immediately noticed the colorful glass star that adorned the gateway and the gigantic colored wineglass near the entrance – out of all the places they had been to so far, this one certainly had the showiest entrance.

" _This looks like it's gonna be fun!"_ Gabe said happily as they got out of the car.

" _Certainly looks promising, doesn't it?"_ Charlie asked as they approached the gateway. They passed under it and maneuvered towards a large rectangular building that proudly stood at the forefront of the palace. Half of the building was colored with orange and green glass panels, while the other half was colored in different shades of blue. Remembering the pictures that she had seen on the Internet, Melody suggested that they first visit the beautiful glass garden before doing anything else. The ghosts happily agreed with her suggestion and walked around the museum. As they got a closer look at the garden, their jaws dropped in awe and wonder for the third time that day.

What lay before them could only be described as a harmonic blend of nature and glasswork. Natural trees and gardens had been combined with decorative and elegant glass structures to emphasize the beauty of both. Unrestricted by physical boundaries, Liz curiously approached a bed of colorful flowers, only to discover to her shock that the flowers made of glass rather than being natural. A large pink and white glass heart statue had been erected a few feet deeper into the garden, and when Mike and Melody took a picture in front of it. Susie and Cassidy couldn't help but giggle at the sight. There were other wonders to see as well, such as several trees whose color or shape singled them out from their natural counterparts, as well as ornate parlour table with seats, glassware, and even foods all made of differently colored and shaped glass. By far some of the most unique constructs was a mini-"garden" where glass pumpkins of various shapes and colors had been mixed in with glass leaves, as well as a "river" where carefully crafted salmon were given the appearance of "swimming" up a stream. The craftsmanship of it all was simply unbelievable, and proof to the family that not all the wonders of Jeju Island or the world had to be created by Mother Nature.

" _I'll never be able to look at glass the same way ever again,"_ Gabe commented once they had completed their tour of the glass castle gardens.

" _I know, right?"_ Cassidy agreed. _"Every time I see a glass anything I'll think about what I saw here and compared to this it'll look so boring!"_

"Then we better make the most of our time here," Mike replied as he looked up a map. His eyes widened and he whistled. "Damn, there's a lot to do here! A museum inside that big building where you can learn how to blow glass, a mirror maze and mirror room, a glass pyramid, a glass bridge, a jewelry tunnel, holy crap, there's just no end to it all!" He put away the map. "Since there's a lot to do here, how about you guys split up and explore whatever you want to do. That way, you won't have to wait for someone else before you see what you want. When you guys are ready to go, mentally contact me and we'll meet back in front of the museum. Sound good?"

" _Yeah, dad!"_ the ghosts all exclaimed. Immediately, the ghosts began breaking off into pairs in the same vein as they had done at the Grand Canyon and separated, eager to see one particular attraction or another. Within seconds, Mike and Melody were alone, Charlie having decided to visit a special exhibition that had apparently been imported straight from Italy.

"You seem almost relieved that the kids are gone," Melody noted.

"I love my kids to death, no pun intended, but sometimes I need my alone-time just like everyone else," Mike replied. "Parenting is hard."

"From what I've seen, I'd give you an A+," Melody complimented. "You seem to know the differences between your ghosts and regular kids and handled it like a champ."

Mike smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Mel," he answered gratefully. "It took a while for me to figure everything out, but it was completely worth it."

"The way they look up to you and seeing how close you guys are to each other, I'd say it is," Melody agreed as she took out her own map and looked it up. "So how do you want to spend your alone-time now that the kids are out doing whatever?"

"There's a magical forest in the back that's got its own set of wonders," Mike answered. "Want to check that out first?"

"I'm down," Melody cheerfully agreed. As the two adults set off towards the forest and the glass wonders that lay within, Mike reflected on all the fun that he, his close friend, and his kids had enjoyed over the past few days. Even though their vacation wasn't quite done yet and they still had the capital of South Korea to see, Mike knew that there couldn't have been a better way to wrap up their ventures in Jeju Island.

And if he knew his kids as well as he thought he did, he had a feeling they would agree.

/

A/N: And that's the final part of the kids' vacation in Jeju Island for you. The next chapter will be in Seoul itself, but funnily enough since I didn't really "explore" a lot of it there won't be as much for me to write about. It'll probably only be one chapter, MAYBE two. I don't want to keep this going on for too long, since there are other things that I need to write about (including that really big arc I mentioned that's up next).

My next few weeks are getting increasingly busy, so the chances that I may not be able to upload in at least a week are fairly high. Just so you guys are aware.

Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	67. Chapter 67 - Vacation to Korea Part 5

A/N: This is a pretty busy set of weeks coming up, so that's the reason why I'm not posting chapters weekly like I normally do. And with Boards coming up, I unfortunately don't see that changing any time soon.

I was originally going to end the Korea arc with this chapter, but then I stumbled upon a childhood memory from my own vacations to Korea. One that, although I didn't do it with this summer's vacation, has been a defining highlight of every vacation I went there when I was younger. And once you see what it is, I think you'll agree that to not include it in a fic focusing on happy kids on their first-ever vacation would be an APPALLING oversight. So I'll wrap up the Korea arc with that on the next chapter, because saving the best for last is a time-honored strategy that has succeeded time and again.

But I do want to wrap up the Korea arc soon, as if I leave it going for much longer it's going to end up being a drag and nobody wants that. If the fluffy and sugary nature of this long vacation arc is starting to feel like diabetes, then I can assure that the next major arc after that…well let's just say it's the "insulin"…heh heh heh heh heh…

Phillip: I honestly don't think I'll have the revelation dramatically affect the friendship between the living and dead kids. It certainly won't destroy their friendship, I can tell you that right now. The kids will need a break especially concerning what I have planned in the near future…Alex and Meghan are the LAST thing the ghosts need to worry about.

Also, thanks for noticing the error, I fixed it as soon as possible.

Guest: Glad you're enjoying the fic!

small: I did notice that some ghost kids got more attention than others, even though I try to give them all as equal focus as possible. While the discrepancy in attention is necessary in some cases, for example Liz and Charlie get more spotlight by necessity since they got a lot more attention in the canon FNAF verse, I will admit that I could give Gabe, Jeremy, and Susie more focus in the future.

JustMegaMothim: No, you're right. Any timeline that doesn't have a 30 year skip between FNAF1 and FNAF3 is objectively incorrect.

Jillygalaxy: There are two main theories for the identity of the Golden Freddy child: he is either the 5th MCI child (Cassidy) or Crying Child. I personally do not believe in the CC = Golden Freddy theory, since the evidence for that isn't nearly as strong as many people think it is (there is literally only one line to support it, when the first three games pointed to Cassidy as the Golden Freddy ghost and the theory actually has many more weaknesses than people seem to realize, one of the biggest being that there is no way for CC to become Golden Freddy in the first place since every single animatronic became possessed because a person's body was stuffed inside it (or next to it in the case of the Puppet), whereas CC died in a hospital far away from any animatronics to possess.

Chapter 67 – Vacation in Korea Part 5

For the kids, the days they spent in Seoul was almost like entering another world.

The sadness that they felt upon leaving the paradise and idyllic scenery of Jeju was quickly replaced with fascination at the lively, yet also crowded and almost chaotic nature of Seoul's capital. When they had arrived back at Incheon airport, they had immediately been greeted by Melody's cousin Ja-Kyung after Mike and Melody had picked up their baggage. The two women hugged upon seeing each other, and Melody promptly and enthusiastically introduced her cousin to Mike afterwards.

On the way into the city itself, the kids enjoyed the K-Pop coming from the speakers, some more than others, as they drove on the highway towards Seoul. As Ja-Kyung (who insisted on the name Jackie) drove into the city proper, they were immediately struck by how different Seoul seemed compared to Las Vegas, the only other city they had ever visited. The capital of South Korea was MUCH larger than Las Vegas, for starters. And unlike the City of Sin, which had been almost purely "modern" and merely incorporated different themes to bolster the appeal of casinos and gambling, Seoul was a diverse city with genuine history intermingled with the skyscrapers and tall buildings one would expect from a capital of a developed country. Jackie drove past a majestic, ancient structure that seemed entirely out of place in the middle of the city, which she described as the Namdaemun, or South Great Gate, upon prompting from Mike.

The family and the two cousins had taken up residence in Jackie's apartment at her insistence, which was surprisingly luxurious for a seemingly plain apartment building and was more than large enough to accommodate Melody and Mike (though it helped that most of the family were incorporeal and didn't actually take up space). Jackie had proven to be an invaluable guide to them, even going so far as to drive them to several tourist hotspots so that they didn't have to spend money on cab fare or puzzle out which destinations they wanted to go to.

Wanting to save the best for last, Melody had suggested doing activities that were more generalizable for a city visit, such as shopping. The ghost kids had happily agreed to this, even though many of them tried and failed to pry the surprise that Melody and Mike had planned for them. To their surprise, the activity of shopping in Korea was far more complex, intricate, and exciting than anything the family had done before in America, even Mike with his years of life. One of the highlights of their adventures in Seoul had been an exploration of the Shinsegae and Lotte department stores, towering behemoths that held the largest array of luxurious and high-quality merchandise that any of them had ever seen in one area, and enjoyed the basement markets filled with delicious desserts and snacks that they would only be able to savor while they were in Korea. They had wrapped up their visit to the department store with the discovery that the Lotte store doubled as a hotel with its own buffet restaurant, to the delight of the ghost kids (and the good-natured amusement and exasperation of Mike, who by now was wholly familiar with letting the kids possess him whenever they wanted to taste fine dining).

And scattered throughout the city were street markets that offered a wholly different experience to the high maintenance of Lotte and Shinsegae. The markets that lined the streets of Seoul, especially the renowned Namdaemun market right at the doorstep of Shinsegae, followed a much more traditional setting where countless vendors set up small booths and sold an incredibly diverse array off goods to prospective buyers everywhere. Some of the goods offered were items that were somewhat familiar to the ghosts, such as clothing and toys, while others were foreign items that nobody in the family, living or dead, had ever laid eyes upon in their entire life. Jackie and Melody pointed out carefully crafted and stunningly beautiful embroidery, jewel boxes, and fine china, all of which had been created with a unique style that only Korea could provide. The girl ghosts were especially enamored with the fine arts of the traditional Korean market, and Mike was more than happy to buy some both for his kids and for Melody.

The boy ghosts, on the other hand, were more interested in the…unconventional and sometimes even bizarre goods sold in the market. A few booths that were selling mountain gear of all things caught Jeremy's eye, while Gabe looked interested at the unfamiliar medicine bottles and a medicinal root that Melody called Ginseng, which apparently provided many health benefits. The only ones who weren't looking for anything specific were Fritz and Charlie, who instead opted to let their eyes wander over the selection of goods and decide if anything caught their fancy.

" _Really, dad?"_ Susie pouted as Mike walked away from a booth with a satisfied expression on his face. _"All these cool things that these guys are selling, and you buy a_ _ **back scratcher**_ _of all things?"_

Mike smirked and shrugged. "Hey, I'm not getting any younger. I have to deal with my aching and itching body SOMEHOW."

" _At least he bought other things along with that,"_ Jeremy argued in Mike's defense. _"If he ONLY bought a back scratcher in this market then that would be an embarrassment."_

" _It was nice of Dad to get Melody and Jackie each a jewel box,"_ Charlie smiled at the adults. _"They look absolutely beautiful."_

"Least I can do to pay them back for bringing us here," Mike replied.

"Well, I can see you owing Jackie for her help, but I honestly don't know which one of us owes the other more," Melody commented as she put her gift away in her purse.

"You guys are gonna be up all night debating that one if we don't stop you," Jackie playfully interrupted as they departed from Namdaemun Market.

" _What was that weird smell coming from one of the food stations?"_ Gabe wondered. _"It looked like nuts or something like that but it seemed rather…odd…"_

" _I smelled it too, actually…"_ Liz murmured. _"It had a really strong smell."_

"Oh, that?" Jackie fortunately knew what they were talking about, as there was only one thing she could recall in Namdaemun that fit their description. "Oh, those were roasted cocoons."

There was instant silence from everyone, both living and dead. _"I…I'm sorry, but did you say…cocoons?"_ Jeremy finally asked.

" _Like…caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly cocoon?"_ Susie nervously clarified.

"Yep!" Melody cheerfully replied.

There was another silence, and then…

" _Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!"_ Cassidy shrieked. _"That sounds AWFUL! Bleargh!"_

" _Ugggghhhh…"_ Fritz muttered, _"my stomach feels messed up after hearing that and I don't even have one anymore."_

" _Oh my God,"_ Gabe groaned, _"that smell suddenly seems so much worse now that I know about that."_

Mike smirked, seeing an opportunity to get back at his kids for their constant teasing of him and Melody. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad," he replied silkly. "It could be worse. It could be grasshoppers. I hear they're quite the delicacy in Mexico."

The ghosts gulped. _"Did you just say…grasshoppers?"_ Liz asked weakly.

"Yep!" Mike grinned. "One of my college friends took a trip to Mexico once and ate some grasshoppers on a dare, both with chili and without. He said it was quite…crunchy."

" _EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"_ the girl ghosts retched, this time even louder than before. Even the boys seemed deeply disturbed at the concept of eating insects. Amidst the haze of disgust, Charlie was glad that they had utilized the silencing spell, as even in the commotion of the crowd their expressions of horror would most certainly have been heard.

"How'd he describe it, out of curiosity?" Melody wondered.

"Said the ones with chili tasted like shit and the ones without chili tasted even worse," Mike blithely replied as they entered the Shinsegae parking garage to access Jackie's car.

Feeling pity for the poor ghosts, Melody decided to distract them as Jackie started driving. "You know, the Underground in Korea is a lot more advanced and intricate than anything in the United States."

" _You mean the subways?"_ Gabe ventured. Though Mike hadn't taken him and his fellow ghosts to another city outside of Vegas yet, they had asked him questions about what city life was like and Mike had given them a general overview of what they could expect in cities. Which, considering the diverse nature of cities, was incredibly bare-bones and barely functional as a description.

"That and more," Melody elaborated. "The subway systems are so much cleaner and nicer in Korea. The trains themselves are closed off behind sliding doors that only open when the train arrives, so you don't have to worry about falling onto the tracks. And the trains have air conditioning in them too!"

"Oh my God, why don't they do that in America," Mike groaned. "Subways would be so much less of a pain in the ass if they put in A/Cs, especially in the summer." He decided not to mention that the accident/suicide rate would also decrease thanks to the glass doors – no need to make the kids unnecessarily depressed.

"And there's other things set up, too!" Jackie continued where her cousin had left off. "The underground right outside of Shinsegae actually has an entire market set up, kinda like the Namdaemun market except on a smaller scale. And that market is connected to both the department store's basement grocery floor and the subway too!"

" _That sounds a hell of a lot cooler than anything we have back in America!"_ Liz exclaimed.

" _Not nearly as cool as some of the other things we've seen here,"_ Cassidy countered. _"Namdaemun Market blows everything we've seen so far out of the water!"_

" _I dunno…"_ Susie mused, _"I really liked that other market we visited earlier. What was it called…Ssamziegil or something like that?"_

" _You mean that four-floored market complex where you got to the top by a spiraling walkway?"_ Jeremy clarified. _"Oh yeah, that was cool too! Honestly, the market there wasn't even my most favorite part of the whole thing."_

"I still can't believe that the café at the top of that place was about **shit** of all things," Mike muttered, to the amusement of everyone else in Jackie's car. Mike's words weren't a mere joke…at the top of the Ssamziegil market complex had been a café that was literally themed around poop. Complete with poop-shaped plushies, toilet-themed mugs, and mini-gardens made out of squat toilets. The laughter that had ensued from the ghosts would have been enough to get the entire market evacuated and declared haunted if Charlie's silencing spell hadn't been in effect.

It had been one of the few times Mike had been completely stunned into silence. Or, as he later described it, "my brain fucking broke."

"I don't think I've ever seen Mike with that hard of a WTF expression on his face in my entire life," Melody joked, earning another bout of giggles.

"Har har," Mike deadpanned. Feeling bad for her dad, Charlie decided to change the topic.

" _I noticed that there were a lot of places that had PC…and then something in Korean that I don't know how to read,"_ Charlie asked the two Korean women. _"Do people sell computers a lot here?"_

"You mean the PC bangs?" Melody clarified, receiving a nod of confirmation from Charlie.

Since she had lived in Korea a lot longer than Melody, Jackie decided to explain it for her. "Those are actually gaming rooms, Charlie. Many of them are underground or higher up in buildings, and they're full of computers that are set up with a ton, and I mean a TON of different games. People pay money to play for a certain amount of time, for example an hour, and play whatever game they choose. I've visited a few in my spare time, and they're really decked out with Hi-Def computers, headphones, and everything!"

" _All that dedicated to GAMING?"_ Susie spluttered. _"Is it really that popular?"_

"Let me put it this way," Melody replied with a smirk. "Koreans are recognized as some of the top professional gamers in the world, and many people believe that Starcraft is South Korea's national sport."

The kids' jaws dropped as they realized just how integral video gaming was to South Korean culture. Then, Fritz turned to Mike. _"Hey, dad?"_ he asked. _"How come you haven't shown us online multiplayer gaming yet?"_

Mike groaned. "Because online multiplayer gaming is full of trolls, assholes, dumbasses, jackasses, all sorts of 'asses' that can easily make a gaming session a major pain in the ass," he replied. "Trust me, I know from experience."

" _We could make our own teams!"_ Jeremy argued back. _"That way, we could have fun with just us and work as a team."_

" _Yeah, with us working together, we'd be unstoppable!"_ Liz agreed wholeheartedly.

"That actually is a good point," Jackie commented. "When you're playing with people you know, a lot of the issues with multiplayer online gaming tend to go away. Granted, you might still suck every so often, but at least you don't have to worry about assholes ruining your games from minute 1."

"I'll think about it," Mike decided, and the kids gave each other smirks and grins. They knew Mike would cave eventually.

After a few minutes of driving, Jackie decided to ask the kids what they had enjoyed the most about their vacation in Seoul so far. The younger girls were split between the markets and the department stores - even as ghosts with almost next to no shopping experience, they enjoyed the activity of browsing and shopping almost as much as living females (although the fact that they were experiencing something much larger and much different from the American malls they were used to probably played a factor).

By contrast, the boys were more diverse in their interests. Fritz had instantly picked the Poop Café in Ssamziegil, much to the exasperated amusement of the others. Jeremy had really enjoyed visiting Gyeongbokgong Palace, the first and largest royal palace of Korea. Through careful maintenance and rebuilding, the palace had been recreated to almost exactly resemble the glory of the original palace before it had been ravaged by fire, and it served almost as a bubble of ancient civilization separated from the rest of modern Seoul. And Gabe identified the National Museum of Korea as his favorite, an interest shared with Charlie – both of them were intrigued with how Korean civilization and the relics associated with different eras and dynasties had evolved as the centuries passed.

" _What about you, dad?"_ Cassidy asked. _"What was your favorite thing?"_

Mike was silent for several seconds. "I wouldn't necessarily call it my…favorite, persay…he finally started to answer, "but I was very interested in the Story of Yi Sun-Sin."

" _You mean the underground museum about the sea admiral?"_ Liz asked, earning a nod of confirmation from Mike. The family had stumbled upon the museum entirely by accident, unaware of the fact that they were about to bear witness to the legacy of one of the most famous war leaders in all of history.

"Yeah," Mike answered. "Now there's a guy I can be proud to call a role model. I mean, he was a freaking strategic and tactical genius! When he was facing up against Japanese invaders, he used every resource and every single bit of information he could get his hands on to beat an enemy that should've been a hell of a lot stronger than he was. Any tool he could use to his advantage, he did." He let out a chuckle and shook his head. "And this wasn't just once, either. Once is lucky, and if he fucked up once then he could've kissed his navy and his ass good-bye. This is a guy who pulled it off EVERY SINGLE TIME. If he wasn't a mortal man I would've probably called him unbeatable."

He looked over at the kids, who had thoughtful expressions on their faces. "And he wasn't just a great commander. He was a great guy too. He fought alongside his men and tried his hardest to fulfill their dying wishes whenever he got the chance. This is a guy who kept his soldier's morale high even while the rest of the Korean army was getting fucked, and the people loved him so much that they went out of their way to get intelligence for him no matter how dangerous it was." Mike sighed. "This is a man I'd follow in a heartbeat, and something tells me that Oskar would say the same."

Everyone was silent for several moments. Even Jackie and Melody were surprised by the clear admiration and respect in Mike's voice for a man whose legend he had barely been exposed to. _"You know, dad…"_ Charlie finally spoke up, speaking through the mental link so that _only_ the family could hear. _"He kind of reminds me of you."_

"Wait, what?" Mike was caught off-guard.

" _Yeah, dad,"_ Gabe immediately agreed. _"You're a hell of a strategist too! You survived in the streets of the city for years AND you survived twenty days with us attacking you, all because you analyzed the information from how we acted and used it to come up with a strategy to block us off!"_

"No way," Mike denied fervently, "it's not like I led an entire army or anything. I only had to worry about myself."

" _And loyalty to the people he cared about?"_ Susie added with an appreciative smile. _"Doesn't that describe, oh I don't know…every single action you've done for us ever since you invited us into your family?"_

" _If telling a demon lord to fuck off doesn't count as loyalty and bravery, then I don't know what does,"_ Liz finished, the painful memories of Nightmare's attack and her father's verbal counter-offensive still clear in her mind.

" _As far as I'm concerned, you're our Yi Sun-sin right here!"_ Fritz finished what every ghost was thinking, and before Mike knew it he was being group-hugged by them all.

"I'm nowhere near arrogant enough to think that I can ever be as much of a genius or as great of a guy as Admiral Yi," Mike projected to them, "but hearing you compare me to him is probably one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. So thank you, even if you don't think I deserve it."

"Are you guys all right?" Melody's voice interrupted. The family jolted, realizing outside of their mental link their communication would have been interpreted as an awkward silence followed by a random hug.

" _We're comparing Dad to Yi Sunsin!"_ Cassidy cheerfully replied. Melody and Jackie glanced at each other and shrugged, deciding to chalk it up as the ghost kids' admiration for their father. It They soon arrived back at Jackie's apartment, where they immediately convened to discuss the rest of their day.

"We'd like to invite you guys to a funeral memorial service," Jackie began once they had all settled. "Once a year, Korean families visit the tombs of their deceased loved ones to pay their respect. It's an aspect of Korean culture that you guys won't ever get the chance to see again, and with how close you guys are to Melody we would be honored to consider you our guests even if you don't directly participate."

"That's a very generous offer," Mike replied, knowing that he was being offered an incredibly honor even if he didn't understand it, "and we would be honored to accept."

Melody smiled wistfully. "It's been so long since I've visited my grandparents' graves," she murmured, before sighing. "Better late than never, I suppose. We're going to leave in about thirty minutes, it'll be close to evening when we get there."

Cassidy gave her a confused look. _"Wait, that late? Isn't this still in Seoul?"_

Jackie shook her head. "Oh no, this is about a two hour drive," she answered. "We have to leave pretty soon if we want to get there before sundown."

"Should I get changed into my suit?" Mike asked.

"You can if you want, but I don't want to boil you in the Korean summer heat wave," Melody replied. I think a dress shirt and khakis will be good enough."

"If you say so," Mike replied. For the next thirty minutes, he, Melody, and Jackie all got prepared for the long trip to the graveyard where Melody's and Jackie's ancestors were buried. The ghosts spent their time looking up fancy dresses and attire for them to morph their clothes into, as they didn't want to appear disrespectful to Melody and Jackie after they had invited them into something deeply personal and solemn in nature. As they got ready to leave, the kids noticed the frankly bizarre assortment of items that the Korean cousins were bringing with them. Along with a reflective foil tarp, they were carrying along a few apples and clementines, orange juice, and what appeared to be an energy drink of some kind.

" _Uh…why are you bringing those?"_ Fritz asked in bewilderment. _"Are you planning on eating on the way there?"_

"Oh no," Melody responded, "this is for the memorial service."

" _O…kay…?"_ Neither Fritz nor the other ghosts knew how to interpret that, so they decided to roll with it. Just like Jackie had told them, they soon found themselves leaving the city of Seoul behind in its entirety, travelling on a highway surrounded by much more open countryside with only the faint appearance of apartment buildings in the distance. With nothing else to do, the family started dozing off one at a time, and before they knew it they had arrived at a service area close to their destination.

"Holy shit," Mike whistled as he took in the service area they had dropped off at. He was no stranger to service areas, having seen them on the side of highways in America. But the service area they were now at offered far more than just a few small restaurants and gas. There was an entire array of restaurants, offering far more meals than any rest stop in America ever would, both in terms of diversity and quality. There was a large café just like the countless ones scattered around the city of Seoul, selling drinks and Korean bread pastries that Mike and the ghost kids were so familiar with by now. In the distance, he thought he could hear music being played, and the sound of kids laughing and playing in an entertainment area set up for them.

In America, service areas offered only the bare-bones necessities and little else. In Korea, they weren't just a necessity, they were a _pleasure_ to visit.

"Wow," Mike repeated as he bought a refreshing smoothie for himself and Cassidy possessed him to taste it (the family had set up a schedule where a different ghost would possess him each time he bought a drink at a café, which in the summer heat wave was quite often). "Looking at this has made me realize just how much American service areas SUCK!"

This earned a bout of laughter from both the ghosts and Melody as Jackie walked back towards them from a place where she had disappeared to. "I got Hodu-Gwaja! Tons and tons of them!" she cheerfully declared. At the confused looks of the Americans, she clarified. "They're small walnut pastries. Around here, they're a local specialty. And trust me, they are _delicious!"_

" _I used to be allergic to walnuts,"_ Jeremy mused as they got back into the car. _"I used to break out into hives whenever I ate one."_

"Well, I don't think you're going to have that problem anymore, Jeremy," Mike remarked as he popped a Hodu-Gwaja into his mouth. They spent the remaining minutes of their trip eating some of the Hodu-Gwaja that Jackie had bought, with the ghosts possessing Mike to enjoy them. To Jeremy's relief, he no longer experienced allergies as a ghost, and so was able to enjoy them along with the rest of the family just fine.

As they completed the last leg of their journey, the kids noticed that the area they were now entering was arguably the most nature-attuned area they had seen in Korea so far outside of Jeju. The scenery was replaced with rolling hills, grassy meadows and trees, with only simple buildings scattered about that contrasted sharply with the crowded nature of the city. After several minutes of driving on a road that wound through the shallow and green mountains, Jackie turned to the side and drove past a wooden gate.

The kids gasped as they finally got a good look at the Korean cemetery. Even though they had barely seen a graveyard back in America (an irony which was not lost on them), they had a general idea of what a cemetery would look like. Like so many other things they had seen in Seoul, the burial ground they were now at blew their expectations out of the water once again.

The cemetery was spread throughout multiple hills and small mountains in front of them, with more of them likely hidden behind the hills they were currently at. The hills themselves had been divided into layered rows, with only a few roads intertwined to enable passage through and up the gentle slopes. And on each row were several stone sarcophagi spaced a few feet apart with either gray or black stone tombstones erected in front of each crypt.

This wasn't a graveyard. It was a grave _mountain_.

" _Whoa,"_ Fritz breathed as Jackie drove up the path leading to the mountain on the right. Everyone was now silent, as there was no room for any behavior other than quiet respect on these hallowed grounds. Jackie stopped the car at a row about three down from the top, and both she and Melody got out with Mike following close behind. The two Korean women took out the variety of food and drink they had brought with them, and it was only then that the ghosts realized that they had been brought as an offering to the deceased.

Now that they were right in front of the sarcophagi, everyone could see just how decorative and beautiful the tombs truly were. The sarcophagi themselves were ornately and intricately crafted, giving off a sense of nobility and honor. And while some of the lids were made out of pure stones, others had been hollowed out and filled with a small mound of soil and grass, like a miniature garden. The tombstones were just as decorative, carved in the shape of a large book with Korean letters sculpted into the "pages." Two stone vases stood next to the tombstone with flowers peeking out on top of them, completing the image of a carefully maintained and well cared-for tomb.

Melody guided the family over to the crypt where her ancestors were buried. This was a pair of "garden-top" graves with blue flowers in the vases and a cross inscribed on each tombstone. Some of the other tombstones had lacked this particular symbol, leading the family to believe that the deceased here had been Christian. Jackie laid out the foil tarp onto the ground in front of the sarcophagus and placed the fruit onto a small stone table in front of the tombstone that almost served as an altar of some kind. She and Melody spoke some words in Korean that, even though they were undecipherable to the Americans, clearly portrayed the deep respect they had for their grandparents and their sorrow at their passing. Once they had finished, both adults knelt onto the foil tarp and bowed, lowering their hands and heads to the ground.

Mike and the ghost kids observed silently as Jackie and Melody took out a bottle of energy drink, opened the bottle, and poured the contents onto the mini-garden on top of the sarcophagi. Charlie could only guess that it was a tribute so that their ancestors could enjoy the drink in the afterlife, and the look of understanding on Gabe's face showed that he recognized it immediately as well. Once they were finished, Jackie and Melody picked up the tarp and the food and drink that they had not already offered to their grandparents, and the group moved a few crypts further down to where the women's great-grandparents were located.

As they watched Melody and Jackie repeat the ceremony, the ghosts took the time to absorb in the atmosphere of the grave mountain. Unlike the living adults, they felt more than just the solemnity of the hallowed grounds. There was a mysterious feeling that permeated through their souls, a sensation unlike anything that they had ever sensed on Earth in the past. They felt almost…peaceful, a tranquility that was completely different from the happiness and contentment that had come to define their lives ever since they had joined Mike's family. As though they could rest their weary bodies here and call this place home.

The last time they had felt anything like this…had been in Heaven, after they had finally been freed. Before God had passed judgment on them and sent them back to the mortal world, to a father who would do everything in his power to create a different kind of Paradise for them.

The ghosts were so absorbed in their own thoughts that they failed to notice the thoughtful, almost troubled look on Mike's own face. Watching the two Korean women carry out their ceremony had reminded him of his own failings. If he was being completely honest with himself, he hadn't properly given the dead their due either, and unlike Melody he didn't have the excuse of being halfway across the world for most of the year. He couldn't remember the last time he had visited his parents' graves, and although that was understandable for his birth father (despite the fact that he hadn't hated the man for a while now, especially when William Afton made him look like a shining pinnacle of morality by comparison) he had no excuse for his mother or Oskar.

And it wasn't just his parents, either. In the back of his mind, Mike could see the broken bodies of Gabe, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz, and Cassidy, in the very place he had found them in the 1987 Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. He had called the police to the abandoned restaurant and handed the bodies over to them, but he had yet to actually complete or even follow-up on the process of preparing graves for them so that their bodies could rest. Granted, part of the reason why was because he was so focused on creating a new life for their souls (and the kids would probably prefer him to prioritize their fresh new life over their broken old ones) but it still didn't change the fact that he had been remiss in his duties.

"I've really been dropping the ball lately," he mused as Jackie and Melody finished up their second round of memorial ceremonies. "I've got some work to do when I get back to America."

" _Dad?"_ a timid voice interrupted his thoughts. Mike looked up to see Cassidy and the others looking at him with some concern. _"You all right?"_

Mike nodded. "Just doing a little thinking, is all," he replied. A faint smile formed on his face. "I honestly can't believe this vacation is putting me through this much of a thought exercise."

" _What were you thinking about?"_ Liz asked curiously as they made their way back to the car.

"Nothing you need to worry about," he answered with a smile as Jackie turned the car around and started driving back down to the entrance of the cemetery. The ghosts must have seen something his eyes or heard something in his tone, because they gave him unconvinced looks for several seconds.

Once they were back out onto the road, Jackie and Melody unintentionally saved him from any further awkwardness by playing music on the radio. The station that it was tuned on blared out an unfamiliar form of music that Jackie called "K-Pop," and Mike watched with amusement as some of the ghosts started dancing or even trying to sing along the music despite the fact that it was in Korean and they didn't understand a single word. Susie in particular seemed to enjoy it, and Mike resigned himself to the fact that once the kids were eventually exposed to anime she would probably be the one most likely to turn into a weeb.

"But that's a problem for another day," he thought as they sped along the highway back towards the bustling capital of Korea. "Right now, we're on vacation, and I'm so glad I came to Seoul."

He thought back to the many adventures he'd had in this country along with his kids and friends. "Who knew I could learn so much from a vacation that I never planned to happen in the first place?"

/

A/N: And I think there's a good place to stop this chapter. Some humor, heartwarming and seriousness mixed together, along with some cultural tidbits and famous hotspots that are a great place for tourists to visit in Korea.

Apart from my busy schedule, I actually had a minor case of writer's block when starting this chapter. I originally planned to have it be pretty much all shopping with more detail being given to the market visits, but I quickly scratched that idea once I realized I had no way of making it interesting for an entire chapter's length. I think the way I organized the chapter now is much better overall.

I did include some foreshadowing here. One case is fairly straightforward, but the other not so much. That's all I'll tell you 😉

There will NOT be a chapter next week. I have med school finals, and I'm actually in hot water for one of my classes so I just don't have the time. While I do sometimes say that there won't be a chapter in a week and then I post one anyway, this is most definitely NOT one of those times.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! The next chapter will be the final one of the Korea arc for real, and it features something that I'm sure the ghost kids in particular will enjoy. :P


	68. Chapter 68 - Vacation to Korea Part 6

A/N: I had an exhausting finals week, thank God it's over. And I think it's high time that we wrapped up this vacation arc. There was one place my family visited in Korea that always shone as the highlight of my childhood visits there, and it would be almost an embarrassment for me not to include it.

There will be maybe one or two "filler" chapters after the conclusion of the Korea vacation arc to give me some rest, and then we have the next major plot arc soon after. An arc which may very well be THE most important arc in the entire fic. FNAF lore and lore interpretations, which have admittedly fallen a bit to the wayside (though not completely, as I tried to incorporate some bits of it even during the vacation chapters), will be back in full force. Details and foreshadowing moments that I hinted at in earlier chapters, things that might have seemed so tiny and insignificant, may turn out to be MUCH more important than you guys might have originally believed. Many characters from the past tied in with FNAF will soon make a reappearance, possibly in ways that you did not expect.

I have noticed that there is some discontent with the length of Korea vacation arc; one reviewer explicitly addressed it and I can feel some of it stirring in a few of my reviewers. Although I don't regret the decision to send the kids to vacations around the world in and of itself (the fundamental premise of the fic IS to give them a new life, after all), I will concede that I have very likely carried on with this arc for longer than was necessary and I apologize to those who did not find it particularly interesting. I hope that the next arc will more than make up for my mistake in this regard.

I do have this to say in my defense, though. I wanted to let the ghost kids have as much fun as they could. Because in the next arc…well, let's just say… **THE GOOD TIMES WILL BE OVER SOON…**

Chapter 68 – Vacation to Korea Part 6

As Jackie's car navigated through the streets of Seoul, the ghost kids were literally flying through the cramped space with mounting excitement. It was the last full day of their vacation before they would return to America, and the day in which Melody would finally reveal the surprise she had kept hidden from days.

"I'm getting a headache from watching the kids fly around out of the corner of my eyes," Jackie muttered as she rubbed her head.

"Tone it down, guys, if you start giving Jackie vertigo she'll crash and that'll be a shitty way to end this vacation," Mike half-jokingly ordered. The ghosts did as they were ordered but still gave him and Melody expectant looks.

" _It's been long enough!"_ Fritz complained. _"Just tell us already!"_

"All right, guys," Melody took a breath. "So you remember when we visited the Lotte Department Store and Hotel?"

" _Yeah! We had a lot of fun and got Dad another step closer to obesity!"_ Charlie replied with a grin, to which Mike merely rolled his eyes. Thank God he hadn't been much of a big eater before all the buffets cause otherwise he was certain he would've had a heart attack by the end of the month.

"Well, that's not the only place where Lotte has something set up like that," Melody explained. "In fact, they've got another place set up like that which is even bigger and better."

" _So we're only going to another shopping place?"_ Susie asked, trying to hide disappointment that she could tell was being shared with the other ghost kids. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the shopping moments, but the way Melody had been hyping up the surprise as something specifically for them made this seem like such a letdown…

"Oh, heck no!" Melody answered quickly. "There's a lot more to it than that!" Before she could say anything more, Jackie suddenly slowed the car to a stop. The family had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed that they had arrived at the very location that was the source of so much anticipation.

"We're here!" Jackie announced. "I'll be joining you guys a little later after I've taken care of a few things. Enjoy yourselves!" she winked.

Melody waved at her cousin as she drove off before turning around to face their destination. There were three buildings that caught the ghosts' attention. One was a proud structure that reached into the sky much higher than any of the buildings around it. Another was a hotel that, while significantly smaller than the tower, was still a distinguished and proud structure separate from its peers with the words "HOTEL LOTTE WORLD" blazoned brightly at the top. And the final building was one defined not just by its height, but by the massive width and area that it covered. The only distinguishing feature of this structure, apart from its size, was the name that it flashed towards the rest of the city: "LOTTE WORLD."

As Melody guided them into the building, navigating through the department store and down escalators to reach some unknown location, the pieces of the puzzle began to click into Cassidy's mind. _"Lotte World,"_ she mused, _"…it kinda sounds like Disney World…WAIT A MINUTE!"_ her eyes widened in shock. _"Melody said this was something meant specifically for us. Does that mean…?"_

"And here we are, guys," Melody's voice interrupted her thoughts. "It's time to reveal the big surprise." She smiled widely. "I know Mike was planning on arranging a Disney World trip with some friends of yours, but I didn't want you guys to wait that long to enjoy your first amusement park. And that, kids, is the surprise that Mike and I had planned."

Everyone's jaw dropped. _"No way…"_ Gabe breathed. _"You guys actually…"_

"Yep," Mike grinned. "Once Melody told me about this place there was no way I couldn't bring you guys along here. Welcome to Lotte World, kids. The biggest indoor amusement park in the entire world!"

Neither he nor Melody had the chance to say anything more as they were both suddenly swarmed by hugs and rapid-fire expressions of thanks. Melody almost gave into the urge to return the hugs but managed to stop herself in time to avoid looking like a crazy person.

" _This is so cool!"_

" _I'm so glad we came here!"_

" _Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"_

" _You guys are the BEST!"_

" _I love you two so much!"_

The kids separated from the first adult figures in their afterlives that they trusted completely. _"We're going to have SO MUCH FUN!"_ Jeremy cheered, the rest of the kids just as enthusiastic as he was.

"When I was a kid, I used to come here all the time whenever I visited Korea," Melody's mind reflected on fond childhood memories. "Hopefully you'll enjoy your time here just as much as I did."

"And hopefully Cassidy can stop talking about Disney World so much now," Mike commented with a smirk towards his "youngest" daughter, eliciting an adorable pout from the former Golden Freddy inhabitant and giggles from everyone else.

"It's a good thing we're both here," Melody muttered. "I don't think we'd be able to join you guys otherwise."

Gabe tilted his head curiously. _"Why?"_ he asked.

"Because a lone man going into a place like this meant for kids is rather…creepy," Mike muttered, some of his good humor dissipating.

He didn't want to go into the details, but unfortunately the kids at least somewhat understood what he was trying to say. _"You mean…William Afton kind of creepy?"_ Fritz asked. Mike gave a terse nod which sobered the kids significantly. They weren't naïve enough to believe that William Afton wasn't the only person vile enough to take advantage of a child's innocence and naivety for horrible ends.

"An older woman going alone is less creepy but still weird," Melody added. "But if it's the two of us, then we're just a couple enjoying a cherished part of my childhood." She sighed in exasperation as some of the ghosts giggled at the word couple.

She walked over to the ticket booth and bought two tickets, one for herself and Mike. The group made their way past the turnstile and up a set of escalators. As they reached the top, the family could finally get its first view of Lotte World. And what they saw left them in awe to a degree that only Jeju's most beautiful natural sites could match.

The place they had arrived at could only be described as "magical." There were countless structures and rides spread throughout every corner of the massive chamber they had entered, all of which had been crafted to meet the expectations of a child's unrestrained imagination. From classic amusement park rides such as Ferris Wheels and Merry-go-rounds to castles and edifices straight from ancient civilizations, the kids were overwhelmed by the sheer array of opportunities that now lay before them. It didn't help that many of the buildings and ride entrances offered only a glimpse of the wonders inside while still concealing much of their true nature, frustrating the ghosts who wanted a peek before they started their final adventure.

" _THIS IS AWESOME!"_ Fritz whooped with delight.

" _I don't even know where to start!"_ Liz mumbled. _"There's just so much to do."_

"Well, that's what maps are for," Mike blithely replied as he picked one up from the side. He opened it up to show Melody and the ghosts. "Where do you want to go first?"

To his chagrin, an argument immediately broke out amongst the ghosts. _"I want to go on the Merry-Go-Round!"_ Cassidy declared. _"Everybody loves Merry-go-rounds!"_

" _Oh, please, that sounds so boring!"_ Fritz scoffed. _"The Sindbad ride sounds much cooler!"_

" _Screw that!"_ Gabe challenged. _"I want to go right to the good stuff! That French Revolution roller coaster sounds like a hell of a lot of fun!"_

Charlie quickly decided to step in before things got out of hand. _"Guys, CALM DOWN!"_ she shouted, waving her arms frantically. Once she had gotten their attention, she glared at them. _"Melody and Mike gave us an amazing opportunity and you're gonna ruin it by acting like THIS?"_

Her brothers and sisters had the decency to look ashamed. _"Sorry…"_ Fritz mumbled apologetically.

Charlie sighed. _"I get that we don't all have the same interests. So I think we should do what we did back at the Grand Canyon. Split up into pairs and visit whatever you want at your own pace. Then, after a few hours, Dad can call us back and we can wrap things up like that."_

"This is your first vacation outside of America and your first amusement park," Melody interjected. "You don't want to spend it together as a family?"

" _We can do a few rides together towards the end,"_ Gabe suggested. _"As a family."_

" _That works for me,"_ Liz readily agreed, as did the others.

Charlie smiled. _"Then let's enjoy our first amusement park, guys!"_ she declared. The kids cheered and split up into the same pairs that they had divided into at the Grand Canyon. After a few seconds of discussing which rides they wanted to tackle first, they dispersed throughout the amusement park; it was much easier to get two children to agree on something than seven.

She glanced over at Mike and Melody and smiled. _"See you guys later,"_ she said with a wink, and then she too departed.

Mike groaned as he watched her go. "Please don't tell me that CHARLIE is trying to pair us too," he muttered. "It's bad enough that Susie and Cassidy keep bringing it up."

Melody laughed. "They're just kids, Mike. Kids always do weird stuff like that."

"I thought kids were supposed to be grossed out by romance stuff, not trying to set it up," Mike countered dryly. He looked around the amusement park. "So…any rides you remember from back when you came here as a kid?"

Melody smiled and she took Mike's hand. "Oh, I don't even know where to begin…"

/

" _I've gotta say I'm impressed, Fritz,"_ Liz smirked at her brother. _"A few days ago you were walking backwards out of a maze but now you've managed to find your way over to Sinbad's Adventure without even trying!"_

" _Shut up!"_ Fritz playfully complained as he stopped in front of the attraction. _"I'm not THAT hopeless!"_

" _Whatever you say bro,"_ Liz giggled as she looked up at the entrance of the attraction. It was easily one of the more exotic ride entrances, featuring a pirate wielding two blades, a genie with his hands outstretched, and a dragon in front of an Arabian palace background. The whole thing gave her a distinct Aladdin-y feel.

Whatever else could be said about Fritz, he certainly had good taste.

" _I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am so happy I'm a ghost,"_ Fritz commented wryly as the two siblings floated past the gate and the lines crowded with people. _"Imagine having to actually WAIT in this crappy line."_

" _Lately, I've been a lot happier with being a ghost than I thought I'd ever be,"_ Liz replied. _"There's so many things we can do now that we wouldn't ever be able to do if we were still alive."_

Fritz nodded solemnly as the two navigated through the crowds. A pre-ride show had been prepared that offered a backstory for the ride – an evil sorcerer had captured a beautiful princess and it was now up to the brave pirate Sinbad to rescue her. _"Kinda standard,"_ Liz mused, _"but it does the job, I guess."_

They snuck through the last of the line and arrived at the edge of a small canal, just as a small boat with several seats was arriving at a leisurely place. Fritz and Liz quickly floated up to the boat and anchored themselves to it as new passengers replaced the old ones. The boat slowly churned forward and Fritz grabbed at Liz's shoulder as something caught his eye.

" _Hey, look!"_ he pointed to the right. _"It's a tiny island with two skeletons on it!"_

Liz grinned. _"Nice attention to detail there,"_ she remarked as they approached a tunnel that marked the true entrance to the ride. The two ghost kids stared in silence as they left the vibrance of Lotte World behind and entered the dark and ominous dungeons of a sorcerer's lair. All around them was darkness, broken only by colored spotlights and light from artificial torches that served to accentuate the dark and spine-chilling environment of the ride. Fritz and Liz watched as the sorcerer gloated over the prize of the kidnapped princess in a dungeon filled with skeletons, ancient treasures, savage beasts, and grotesque architecture.

" _This is creepy as hell,"_ Fritz muttered as they passed through a dark forest and several tortured, demonic faces carved in the artificial trees. _"And we're the experts on creepy!"_

Whatever Liz was going to say was interrupted as they floated into the next chamber and Sinbad's first appearance. The ghost girl gasped as her eyes fell on a three-headed dragon that towered over them, its yellow eyes glaring as it readied to do battle against the heroic pirate while lights flickered frantically all around them. The creature let out a "breath" of smoke as they passed it by, and Fritz couldn't help but feel regret at the fact that they wouldn't be able to see how the battle would actually play out.

But the dragon was only the first of the sorcerer's guardians. The kids focused on every detail as the boat crept forward on the artificial canal, whether it was an obstacle that Sinbad would face or one of many features of the dungeons that gave the ride so much life and atmosphere. A ship full of animated skeletons whose eyes glowed menacingly with red light as one swung its sword at Sinbad. A torture chamber where a man had been shackled to a table while an axe swung back and forth menacingly from the ceiling. A savage cyclops wielding a heavy club and a four-armed golden statue that carried a different weapon in each hand. The pirate within Fritz jumped for joy at witnessing such an adventure after years of being trapped in a shunned and abandoned animatronic, and Liz couldn't help but smile at her brother's enthusiasm as they watched Sinbad hold his sword towards the sorcerer face-to-face.

" _You can take the kid out of the pirate but you can't take the pirate out of the kid,"_ she thought as they breezed through the final stages of Sinbad's Adventure. They were much brighter and more cheerful than the rest, showing a triumphant ending in which Sinbad had managed to win the heart of and marriage to the princess of his dreams while the sorcerer was now trapped inside his own crystal ball. A happy fate for a worthy hero.

" _That was SO COOL!"_ Fritz cheered as they finally arrived back at the dock where they had started. _"Man, I wish Foxy could've done something like that when he was still doing his shows. Foxy the Pirate, savior of princesses and slayer of dragons! Forget Freddy Fazbear, I'd be the real star of the show!"_

Liz giggled as they left the ride and Fritz continued to boast about how he as Foxy would be an even better rescuer than Sinbad. Whether he intended it or not, Fritz was by far the funniest of his brothers and sisters. And she would never forget that aside from Charlie and Mike, he was the one who had welcomed her without question back in that first day, when she had been a lost and scared girl looking to put her tainted past behind.

As much as she loved all her new siblings, he would always be her favorite brother.

/

Cassidy and Susie laughed as they "rode" the Merry-Go-Round, having fine-tuned their anchoring to the point that they could move up and down alongside the horses. As the carousel spun faster and faster, Susie allowed her mind to drift off into a fantasy where she was a princess riding a beautiful pony, while Cassidy turned her gaze outward and happily watched all of Lotte World pass by her in a blur.

" _I love Lotte World!"_ Susie gleefully shouted as the ride finally slowed to a stop. She and Cassidy disconnected from their horses and left the carousel grounds. _"I'm having so much fun already!"_

" _I still can't believe Korea has its own version of Disneyland,"_ her sister murmured in wonder as they scouted the rest of the amusement park, eagerly looking for their next ride. _"Melody completely threw us for a loop!"_

" _Speaking of loops, do you want to go on a roller coaster?"_ Susie suggested. _"I think I saw one on the map earlier."_

Cassidy shook her head. _"Nah, I want to save that for later. I'm looking for something a little different, something that I don't think we'll be able to find in another amusement park."_ Her eyes looked upward and widened as she saw the many hot air balloons flying right underneath the ceiling of Lotte World. _"Ooh, ooh!"_ she pointed at the balloons. _"How about those?"_

" _Works for me!"_ Susie replied as she and Cassidy floated up a few floors higher to find the docking station for the balloon ride. They knew that they could technically just fly up to the ceiling and into one of the hot air balloons, but the sisters wanted to experience the ride the way the living did. The two girls followed a young couple into a green hot air balloon and peered over the edge of the balloon as it started rising towards the ceiling.

" _The view is even more beautiful from up here!"_ Cassidy gushed as she and Susie took in Lotte World from an aerial perspective. _"We can see everything!"_

Susie stared intently at the people far below, turning her head from side to side. _"I'm trying to find Mike and Melody,"_ she explained at Cassidy's confused expression. _"But I can't find them anywhere."_

Cassidy shook her head. _"With all these people around? Good luck."_ She followed Susie's gaze. _"What do you think Mike and Melody are doing right now?"_ she wondered. _"Maybe they're doing a log ride since they can actually feel the splash from the water?"_

Susie sighed a bit sadly. There would always be some things that they would forever miss out on, simple enjoyments forever denied to them. _"I guess all we can do is find new ones to replace them,"_ she thought.

" _It's so peaceful up here,"_ Cassidy murmured, oblivious to the moment of melancholy Susie had been experiencing. _"Down there it's all crowded and crazy and full of excitement, but up here is the one place where we can really kick back and relax."_

Susie wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulder. _"If there's one good thing about being trapped in the animatronics, apart from getting to know dad, it's that the rest of the world looks even more beautiful now that we're finally free,"_ she began, surprising both herself and her sister with the depth of her words. _"The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Jeju, Lotte World…I can find beauty and peace everywhere we visit. And I can almost forget all the horrible things that happened to us."_

Cassidy smiled and leaned into Susie's arm. _"The philosophers of the past would be proud, Sus,"_ she commented, and both ghosts giggled. _"And I agree with you. I don't know if our new life is worth all that suffering, but I want to appreciate what we have now just like you do."_

The girls fell silent, their minds divided between pondering what they had just discussed and admiring the view of Lotte World from above. As the balloon approached the halfway point on the other side of the chamber, Susie suddenly grabbed her sister's arm.

" _Look, over there!"_ she pointed towards the entrance to the Flume log ride, exactly where she had suggested they would be earlier. _"I see them! I see Dad and Melody! Hey! HEY!"_ she channeled her thoughts towards the two adults. _"Up here! We're up here!"_

And against all odds, Mike and Melody heard their message, looked upwards and saw the two ghostly girls waving excitedly at them. Breaking out into smiles, the two adults waved back, marveling at the sheer improbability of their communication. "How the heck did they find us?" Mike gaped. "The chances of that happening must've been like a million to one!"

"I have no idea," Melody answered with a shrug, "but I'm not complaining about happy coincidences."

Up in the air balloon, Susie was nearly dancing at her accomplishment. _"I knew we'd find them!"_ she whooped and cheered. _"I knew it!"_

" _That just made my day, Sus,"_ Cassidy laughed. _"I don't know how we can make it better than this."_

Susie smirked mischievously. _"Want to see if we can find our family while we're riding one of the roller coasters?"_

The former Golden Freddy inhabitant grinned at the challenge. _"You're on!"_

/

Unlike their sisters, Gabe and Jeremy had no intention of saving the best for last. The moment their eyes had fallen on the French Revolution roller coaster, they had made a beeline straight for it. Both boys took full advantage of their spectral nature to bypass the crowded line that was impatiently waiting for a chance to ride one of highest-intensity attractions in the park, and Jeremy couldn't resist making funny faces at the unsuspecting tourists.

" _Stop that,"_ Gabe chided as he lightly whacked the back of Jeremy's head. _"That's not very nice."_

" _Aww…but it's fun!"_ Jeremy whined. _"Besides, it's not like they can see me or anything!"_

The oldest of the MCI kids merely sighed in response. Sometimes Jeremy could be just as immature as Fritz. Feeling both amused and exasperated, he followed Jeremy over to the cars. Part of him couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Mike and Melody – because they were still alive, they wouldn't be able to enjoy the privilege of skipping the entire line.

" _Front seat?"_ Jeremy asked as he floated over to the front car and anchored himself to it.

" _Oh heck yes!"_ Gabe grinned. _"We're gonna have the best view!"_

The roller coaster started to move smoothly forward, eliciting excited grins from both brothers. As it turned to the right and started crawling upward, Gabe suddenly noticed something a bit odd. _"Hey, uh, Jeremy?"_ he asked as he took in his surroundings. _"Is it just me or are we a bit close to the wall?"_

" _What?"_

" _No, I'm not kidding,"_ Gabe pointed to his right. _"We are LITERALLY right next to the wall!"_

He didn't time to say anything more as the roller coaster reached the top of its arc and suddenly careened forward. Jeremy and Gabe yelled with delight as they felt the same rush they had experienced back in the New York NY coaster. Almost immediately, the track dived into an artificial cavern created in one of the buildings, plunging the ride into darkness and leaving only the excited screams of the passengers and the roar of the coaster itself. Jeremy and Gabe barely had time to try and adjust their vision to see within the darkness before the coaster soared out into the light and towards another dark cavern, this one made of rock and stone.

" _Ack!"_ Jeremy gasped as the ceiling to this second cavern approached a little _too_ closely to his head. He ducked down just as the coaster dove into the darkness, breathing out an instinctive sigh of relief. This time, however, they were not merely sent back into the open space of Lotte World. Bright lights from an unseen camera flashed twice as the roller coaster sped through a tunnel filled with circles of light that pulsed all around them, creating a spectacular light show of red, blue, and green.

" _THIS IS SO COOL!"_ Gabe and Jeremy screamed ecstatically as the tunnel of light ended and they found themselves back in the light. But the thrills were far from done, as they soon found themselves racing towards the loop-dee-loop and their favorite hallmark of all roller coasters.

" _WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ both of them shouted as they felt their bodies pulled alongside the cars for a 360 degree spin far faster and more energizing than anything they could pull off by themselves. Jeremy and Gabe gasped as they felt the car zoom past the loop-dee-loop and slow on a stretch of track in front of a building designed like a European castle.

" _Aww…"_ Jeremy groaned, _"I was hoping for a bit more…"_

" _I don't think we're done yet,"_ Gabe pointed at how the track curved downward a few feet away. On a whim, he looked up towards the hot air balloons flying high above them and his eyes widened. _"Hold on, did I just see…"_

Whatever thought was going through his mind was dashed aside as the roller coaster began another fast-paced descent and he was caught up in the thrill of the ride. As the car circled twice around a large circular fountain, Jeremy instinctively tried to reach out towards the geysers of water but his spectral hand failed to reach anywhere near them.

" _OH GOD!"_ Gabe exclaimed in sudden horror. Jeremy jerked his head back and looked up in time to see a pillar and part of the track approach _dangerously_ close to their heads. With a yelp, both boys (and some of the other passengers) ducked down as the cars cleanly sailed past them and slowed under an archway. This time, it was the end of the ride for real.

" _Holy crap, I feel PUMPED!"_ Jeremy shouted as they left the French Revolution, feeling the closest thing that a ghost could to an adrenaline rush. _"Maybe it can't beat seeing all of Las Vegas from a roller coaster, but that light tunnel! And that loop dee loop! HECK YES!"_

" _Man, I thought we were going to hit our heads a couple of times,"_ Gabe commented as they made their way back to the open space of Lotte World. _"That was scary, how closely they made parts of the track to each other."_

" _True,"_ Jeremy nodded in agreement as they scouted around looking for another ride. After a few moments, Gabe suddenly grabbed his brother's shoulder.

" _You know I just realized something,"_ the former Freddy inhabitant noticed. _"Why were we so worried about crashing into the walls or banging our heads against parts of the roller coaster when we don't even have physical bodies that can get hurt to begin with?"_

Jeremy stared silently as his brother for several seconds. Then, the two of them burst out laughing. _"Man,"_ Jeremy wiped a spectral tear from his eye, _"we are so stupid sometimes, aren't we?"_

Gabe chuckled. _"Meh, it's not like most people use their brains at amusement parks to begin with,"_ he replied. A thoughtful look suddenly appeared on his face. _"Say, Jer…did you notice some doors over at the opposite side of the park?"_ he pointed to several sets of double doors in the far distance leading to some unknown location. _"Want to go see what's out there?"_

Jeremy shrugged. _"It probably just leads to an exit or something…"_

" _I dunno…"_ Gabe shook his head, _"if that's the case, why are there people coming back in?"_

" _Good point…"_ the two boys fell silent for several seconds. _"Wanna go check it out?"_ Jeremy finally asked. _"After we go on a few more rides?"_

" _I'm down,"_ Gabe readily agreed. _"Who knows? Maybe we'll find something cool to show the rest of the family!"_

==One Hour and Thirty Minutes Later==

The kids chatted to each other happily and shared their experiences as they, Mike, and Melody waited patiently to go on the last ride of their adventure in Lotte World. Jeremy and Gabe's exploration had yielded the revelation of an _outdoor_ amusement park as well as an indoor one (a detail which they had all missed during their brief initial scan of the map), which everyone naturally set off to explore the moment the two brothers shared the news. Even with this unexpected development and several repeats of favorite rides, it had only between one and two hours for the kids to enjoy all the rides they were interested in – the kids had taken advantage of their ability to bypass the lines as thoroughly as possible.

Still, there had been one ride that none of them had so much as approached. When Mike suggested that they take the "Pharaoh's Fury" ride together as a family, all of them had immediately agreed without a single complaint. None of them had forgotten the two adults who had made this entire trip possible, and all of them wanted the nature of the ride to be a complete surprise.

" _Wow,"_ Fritz whistled appreciatively as they passed through the corridors leading up to the ride. _"They REALLY went all-out on this one."_

" _Look at all these Egyptian artifacts!"_ Liz exclaimed as she floated up to one for closer inspection. _"Do you think they could be real?"_

Charlie shook her head. _"I doubt it,"_ she replied. _"If they were real, they'd be in a museum, not a kid's amusement park."_ A small smile graced her lips. _"Still easily one of the most impressive things I've seen in Lotte World, though."_

" _Speaking of which, where were you?"_ Jeremy asked. _"You went off by yourself when everyone else was going around in pairs. Heck, even Mike and Melody were in pairs too!"_

Charlie stroked her chin thoughtfully. _"I guess I just like being by myself sometimes,"_ she answered after several seconds. _"Sometimes I just like to do my own thing."_ She didn't pass on her suspicion that the reason why she had such an independent streak was because she had been forced into a life of solitude for a large part of her life as the Marionette. Even though she had been opening herself more to the family ever since the ride to her old home with Mike, there was still a part of her that felt the need to be by herself at times.

Any thoughts that the ghosts might've had on Charlie's solitary preferences were interrupted as Mike called for them to follow him and Melody past the last stages of the line. The family arrived just in time to see an old desert jeep lumber forward and stop in front of them.

"Wow," Melody commented, "I think that's the most realistic thing I've seen in the entire amusement park!"

" _If they put that much effort into a detail like that, then you KNOW this is gonna be good!"_ Susie exclaimed as Mike and Melody shuffled into the front row. The ghost kids all anchored themselves and let out cries of delight and anticipation as the jeep began to move forward. Ancient Egyptian music blared out from their surroundings as they beheld the face of a dignified, noble Egyptian pharaoh on a wall above a ramp leading downward.

"I feel like Indiana Jones!" Melody cheered.

" _Who's Indiana Jones?"_ Cassidy asked, her head tilted in confusion.

Melody whirled around to face Mike. "You haven't shown them Indiana Jones yet?" she asked incredulously. When Mike shook his head sheepishly, her eyes narrowed. "We're gonna have a talk later," she muttered as the ride began.

To everyone's confusion, they found themselves not inside an Ancient Egyptian tomb, but rather in a subterranean cave. A large lizard snarled at them with beady red eyes and razor-sharp fangs and a bright red pool clearly meant to be lava bubbled and frothed a few feet away, surrounded by jaw-like stalagmites and stalactites. The only connection to Ancient Egypt was the ambient music, which had softened to a mystical and ethereal tune.

" _Are we exploring an Egyptian tomb or under a volcano?"_ Fritz questioned.

" _Kind of creepy…"_ Jeremy muttered as the jeep drove out of the cave onto a small bridge connecting to another building. A few of the kids waved towards the rest of the park as the jeep made a sharp right turn and the doors opened to the next segment of Pharaoh's Fury. Even before the doors closed behind them, a red light suddenly flashed on the wall in front of them, illuminating the same pharaoh's face from before. Only this time, the face was that of a hideous skull spewing smoke onto them from a gaping, decayed mouth.

" _EEEEEEK!"_ Susie shrieked, flinching and retreating towards her father. Mike gave her a half-concerned, half-amused look as he rubbed her ghostly hair to calm her. The music playing from before had steadily become darker and deeper, adding to the ominous atmosphere as the jeep drove forward. They passed by several obstacles and guardians, some of which should have been far beyond the power of a pharaoh. Shadowy demons that clawed at the walls. A decayed skeleton with eyes glowing malevolently in the darkness. As they passed into a dark chamber with dim red light that provided minimal illumination, a giant crocodile snarled at them from a high ledge. In the background, the kids could see Egyptian pillars and statues that one would expect to see in a museum, but in the darkness of the tomb even they seemed sinister and malevolent.

" _Was this pharaoh a Satanist or something?"_ Gabe muttered as they progressed into another chamber. This one seemed to detail the history of the pharaoh's life through hieroglyphics and paintings on stone walls, though the red light that illuminated the slabs and the growing intensity of the ambient music did nothing to comfort the kids.

"Oh, chillax, guys," Mike couldn't resist a smirk at how frightened his younger children seemed to be. "Nightmare was a hell of a lot scarier than this bozo. Heck, YOU guys are scarier than this bozo. And unlike him, neither of you stuffed your room with a ton of shit trying to compensate for something."

Melody burst out into laughter as the kids relaxed at the familiar confidence and amusement in Mike's voice. "Who's Nightmare?" she asked as they found themselves back out into the open and climbing up a ramp to the third and final stage of the ride. This time, they were much higher up, almost reaching the ceiling of Lotte World's massive chamber and they were flanked on the left side by several Egyptian pillars, all of which were decorated with intricate carvings and details.

Mike cursed himself for accidentally revealing the existence of the demon lord to her, even if it was only through a vague name. "Don't worry about it," he replied curtly, all amusement gone as they entered the final part of the pharaoh's tomb. Melody only had a second to wonder why Mike suddenly seemed on edge before she was distracted by the décor of the hallway they were now in. Unlike the other chambers, this one seemed almost normal for an Egyptian tomb, showcasing several paintings depicting a pharaoh's burial.

" _Is that how Ancient Egyptians actually buried their kings?"_ Liz asked as they left the decorations behind them.

" _I think so,"_ was all Charlie had time to say before a purple light shined agitatedly to their right, revealing an Ancient Egyptian burial chamber with two skeletons presiding over a corpse laying on a table. Cassidy and Susie both shrieked as the shadows of spiders climbed on the wall opposite them, before the jeep drove into a chamber filled with chaotic lighting that barely illuminated the cobra-headed columns in the four corners of the room.

" _I hate spiders…"_ Susie muttered as they approached by a moving image of flames taking on the form of a snarling demon's face while spirits floated upward from the ceiling to the floor. The kids shuddered as they passed it by, dearly hoping that it wasn't an image of Hell that they had just witnessed – Nightmare had been bad enough.

Fortunately for them, the next room took their minds off all things related to the Inferno. To the left they could see two small craters, out of which rose mystical blue and purple steam. To the right was a large stone face carved into the wall with eyes glowing faintly orange as it stared contemptuously down upon trespassers. Scattered throughout the room near the ceiling were more cobra statues, though this time their eyes glowed red and seemed to stare right into them. The most interesting feature was the bridge in the middle, that provided the only crossing over a space covered in darkness. As the jeep began to pass over it, the two torch stands to either side suddenly burst into flame. Jeremy, who had been unfortunate enough to be on the edge of the car, instinctively yelped and dived towards the center of the car.

" _Wait, what am I doing?"_ he thought as he calmed down. _"I can't get burned!"_

"You know, I haven't really seen anything to justify the use of these seat belts," Mike commented. He would soon eat those words, for the Pharaoh's Fury ride had saved one last surprise up its sleeve. Unbeknownst to anyone, the jeep had been approaching a steep descent with slightly lower angle than that of a roller coaster, and all of them were taken completely by surprise when the car suddenly plunged downward into darkness.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_ the kids cried out as they found themselves being yanked alongside the car thanks to their anchoring. Their ghostly, nonexistent lungs gasped for breath as the jeep abruptly stopped, slowed back to its leisurely pace, and advanced into the final chamber of the Pharaoh's tomb.

And it was this chamber that held any treasure hunter's ultimate prize. After spending almost the entirety of the ride in complete or near-complete darkness, the ghost kids were stunned when bright light suddenly illuminated the room and revealed the pharaoh's precious treasure. All around them were priceless golden Egyptian treasures and artifacts that would make any archaeologist's mouth water, along with another giant face stature of the pharaoh who had gone through great lengths to keep his tomb protected. But the family didn't have time to admire the work that had gone into recreating these ancient Egyptian artifacts, as the light filling in the treasure chamber faded to red and the pharaoh's eyes began to glow sinisterly in the darkness. Wasting no time, the jeep departed out of the treasure chamber as the tomb began to "collapse" behind them and thunder flashed in the background. The ghost kids held their breath until they were back into the antechamber of Pharaoh's Fury, out into the open with the intensity of the ride behind them.

" _THAT WAS SO COOL!"_ Liz cheered as they climbed out of the jeep and made their way to the exit. _"I really felt like I was exploring a cursed tomb!"_

" _My favorite ride in the entire park!"_ Cassidy praised. _"It really creeped me out sometimes, but I can't really complain since that was the whole point."_

" _I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the roller coasters,"_ Gabe added his own thoughts, _"but outside of those this was for sure the best ride in the entire park!"_

" _The park put so much love and effort into it, even more than the others,"_ Susie looked fondly back towards the ride's exit. _"All those details, the replicas, the lighting, the monsters, it was all done so beautifully!"_

" _Now part of me wants to look up Egyptian Mythology,"_ Jeremy commented. _"To see if they really did do funerals like that for pharaohs."_

"There's a book series called the Kane Chronicles that might interest you, Jeremy," Melody advised. "It's kind of like the Percy Jackson series except for Egyptian mythology."

" _Thanks, Melody, I'll be sure to check it out,"_ Jeremy promised.

Melody smiled and looked at her watch. "I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last ride so much, because unfortunately all the time we have for Lotte World. Jackie made a reservation at the Grand Hilton for dinner and she wants to hear all about Lotte World and what you guys enjoyed most about Korea. If we're lucky, you guys might be able to enjoy some high-quality Kalbi through Mike!"

"It's your last dinner in Korea and we want to make it something special," Mike added. The family departed from Lotte World in high spirits, content with all they had enjoyed in the amusement park and eagerly awaiting the prospect of enjoying yet another high-class meal and sharing their experiences with Melody's cousin. As they gave the Lotte recreational complex one last, adoring look, Charlie sent a message to Melody's mind and Melody's mind alone. A single sentence that conveyed all her gratitude and appreciation for one of the first adults that she and her siblings had grown to trust after William Afton's violent deception and betrayal.

" _Thank you for everything you did to make our first out-of-country vacation the best that it could possibly be."_

And with the silent, knowing smile that she received in return, Charlie knew that Melody had received her message and all its significance both in letter and in spirit.

 _/_

A/N: And I think that's a good place to stop. I was originally going to write in a visit to Lotte Tower, which is easily one of the tallest buildings in South Korea, but I figured I would do something else like One World Trade Center or Willis Tower for something like that. There was already enough going on with Lotte World as it is.

To be honest, I'm glad I reached the conclusion of this arc. It went on longer than I intended and I knew that if I kept it going for much longer people were going to get burned out (including myself), especially since its ties to FNAF were minimal at best.

But I've said it before and I will say it again, the next arc will bring us right back into the past of FNAF. If you were worried about this fic straying from its FNAF roots with the Korea arc, I'd say "have no fear"…but I can't really say that, can I? Not when I'm talking about what may very be THE DARKEST arc in the entire fic. And considering what I've already written, I do not make this claim lightly…

To those of you who wish to figure it out before I make it clear in a chapter yet to be written, I leave you with these two clues.

 **There are darker things than demons that lurk inside the hearts of men.**

 **When I apply this truth to the arc soon to come, I will do so with more than one interpretation.**

One of these is fairly transparent once you think about it, but I'll be surprised if anyone figures out the meaning of the second before the time comes.

Until then, hope you guys enjoyed!


	69. Chapter 69 - One Night at Mike's 2

A/N: So I just got shit on HARD this week when my main computer's hard drive suddenly fucked up and all the stuff on it is gone. I can't justify backing up the information on it before getting it replaced since there's almost nothing on it that's useful for me in terms of real-life utility that I can't easily replace on the Internet.

And funnily enough, most of the gaming stuff on my computer is either saved elsewhere (emulators) or online (League). The biggest loss of data from my hard drive? All my FNAF accomplishments. All the hard work I put into FNAF1-4 and UCN, all gone for good. And while some of it can be restored easily, mainly FNAF1-FNAF2, I am NOT putting in the effort for FNAF 3, 4, or UCN again considering how many hours I wasted trying to beat the hardest challenges, especially not with Boards looming around the corner. RIP all my FNAF work, you will be sadly missed.

It also ended up destroying the original version of this chapter that I had written, and unfortunately I can't regurgitate everything that I wrote up originally. Hopefully you still enjoy the chapter regardless.

Ari-Dexel13: I don't plan on doing more Epic Fantasy Adventure chapters since the reception to them was relatively lukewarm compared to some of the other chapters. The One Night at Mike's chapters have pretty much replaced them. As for D&D, that's actually an interesting idea I haven't thought of that definitely merits further consideration.

FedoraCritic: The hot air balloons weren't really flying, they were on a track. Though I don't think a ghost kid who's never seen a hot air balloon or an amusement park before would either notice or care. MCI means Missing Children Incident. And as for the minor characters, you'll just have to wait and see 😊

Josh: This fic's afterlife is based on Christianity, so almost all ghosts pass on to the afterlife after death. The ghost kids are very much the exception to the norm, and while other ghosts from Heaven CAN visit them these are special circumstances and temporary.

Jillybean: I can't give you a long answer, so the short answer will be "yes."

Guest: I have no idea, when I run out of ideas maybe. I do already have an ending for the fic in mind when I finally decide to wrap it up, but I still have a couple of good ideas left.

Fnaffan418: Perhaps. I'm not sure when she will, though.

A lot of you guys have put guesses as to what the nature of the Darkest Arc will be, but you're either (a) wrong, (b) don't have the full picture, or (c) both. Which makes me very, very happy. Heh heh heh heh heh…

Chapter 69 – One Night at Mike's 2

"So what's the plan for today?" Mike asked as he put the remote for the TV aside. After they had returned to America, Melody had insisted that Mike show the kids the _Indiana Jones_ films. Mike had initially been hesitant to do so, since unlike other film series he had shown the kids _Indiana Jones_ had some quite…graphic scenes, until Cassidy of all people had pointed out rather bluntly that they had been witness to their own grisly death scenes and that a mere movie couldn't compare to the horrors they had experienced. Mike had conceded after that and shown them the first movie, which the kids had taken in remarkably well…up until the iconic ark opening scene.

" _What the FUCK did I just watch?"_ Gabe exclaimed as he stared at the ark that had single-handedly annihilated the Nazis in increasingly brutal and horrific ways.

" _You were right, dad..."_ Susie admitted, looking more than a little queasy. _"That WAS worse than our own deaths. The way that guy's skin melted off his face…EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"_

" _I don't know if I should feel sorry for those guys or be satisfied they got what they deserved,"_ Fritz looked conflicted more than anything. _"Cause you know…Nazis."_

"If you thought that was a bit much, you REALLY aren't going to like _Temple of Doom_ …" Mike muttered. His eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, I know what I want to do!" he declared. "Let's play a round of One Night at Mike's, it's been a while since we played it."

The ghosts looked at each other uncertainly. _"Out of all the things we could be doing, that's the first thing that comes to your mind?"_ Susie asked incredulously

"It's a good way to test the reflexes and make sure I don't get slow in my old age," her father explained. "I actually do get some practical utility out of this. That and it gives me a hell of an adrenaline rush that I can't get doing anything else."

Liz shrugged. _"Whatever works for you, dad."_

" _I guess I could use this time to get used to walking around in an animatronic again,"_ Gabe commented. _"It's been a while since I've been in Rockstar Freddy."_

"Great!" he grinned. "Let's cut through the bullshit and go straight to Night 6 conditions. I'm in a bit of a masochistic mood and I'm curious to see just how badly trying this at high difficulty without weeks of practice is going to bite me in the ass."

 **Round 1, 12 AM**

"Shit, I forgot how creepy those bots are when we're playing this game," Mike muttered as he scanned the bedroom, all three of the animatronics in his bedroom staring right back at him through the camera. Remembering the fundamental strategy that had served him so well in his other attempts, he quickly switched over to the bathroom to keep Rockstar Foxy at bay and then to the basement to start winding up the music box.

As he put down the tablet and checked Scrap Baby, who fortunately had not moved from her dormant state, he heard footsteps above him. "Oh, that's just great," Mike muttered. "Barely 10 seconds into the game and they're already gunning for my ass." His irritation only increased when he heard the tell-tale sign of footsteps on the stairs while doing a quick sweep of Rockstar Foxy and the Security Puppet.

He managed to get through two rounds of checking Rockstar Foxy, Security Puppet, and Scrap Baby without incident, but his luck ran out on the third. As he pressed the button on the tablet screen to wind the music box, he felt the tablet being forced downward. Rockstar Bonnie stared soullessly at him with black eyes and white pinpricks as the already dim light in the living room began to flicker erratically.

Mike lifted up the Fuckstick to block him off…and it slipped out of his hand, clattering onto the ground. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He growled. "The first attack of the night and I already manage to fuck it up. Fan-FUCKING-tastic." He glared up at Rockstar Bonnie. "Yeah yeah yeah, hurry up and kick my ass already. I NEVER dropped the Fuckstick before today, what an absolute goddamn embarrassme…"

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Rockstar Bonnie let out an earsplitting screech as he got up into Mike's face, flailing his arms about wildly. Mike merely sighed as he heard the other animatronics leave their positions and converge in the living room.

"You got him already?" Rockstar Freddy asked incredulously. "That was fast!"

"I butterfingered the fucking Fuckstick," Mike groaned. "Thank God you can't make that kind of mistake with the Freddy mask in FNAF2 or that game really WOULD be impossible."

"Aww, it's okay, dad…" Rockstar Chica patted Mike's head comfortingly. Then, somehow, a smug look appeared on her face. "Maybe you're just getting old."

Mike gave her an unimpressed glance as the other animatronics started giggling. "Har har," he retorted, "let's do another round, then. I'll kick your asses this time!"

"You will try, dad…" the Security Puppet smirked. "You will try…"

 **Round 2, 1 AM**

"Aww fuck, you're here already?" Mike groaned as he held off the Fuckstick to block off Rockstar Freddy. "I was hoping you wouldn't show up until a little later. Damn…" he muttered as he flipped up the tablet to check on the Security Puppet. "Freddy's gonna be such a major pain in the ass now that he's already in the Hallway…"

 **2:00 AM**

"Ah, shit!" Mike snarled as he realized that Rockstar Foxy was gone from the bathroom. He threw down the tablet, forgetting to lift up the Fuckstick to deflect any potential animatronics (although fortunately there weren't any around this time), listened carefully for the sound of Foxy's footsteps, then flashed the light immediately at the right entrance. The pirate animatronic was there, hand raised and ready to strike at any moment. "Not today, bitch!" Mike taunted. "Sit the fuck down!"

He grinned as he saw Rockstar Foxy leave the hallway and then went to check his light on Scrap Baby. To his dismay, the clown animatronic had taken full advantage of the distraction caused by Rockstar Foxy, and was now twitching agitatedly on the sofa, her green eyes flashing dangerously. Without missing a beat, Mike lifted up the flashlight and shined it repeatedly into her face. "You need to cease and fucking desist right now!"

 **3 AM**

"Can you actually just FUCK OFF?" Mike almost shouted as he lifted up the Fuckstick to block off Rockstar Freddy for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "Jesus Christ…" he muttered as Rockstar Freddy left the living room. "When I designed his game mechanics, I didn't imagine that he'd end up being this fucking annoying!"

 **3:30 AM**

"Great, if it's not the brown jackass it's his piss-colored brother," Mike muttered as he watched Rockstar Golden Freddy disappear upon seeing the Fuckstick flipped up at him. "Where does he even fuck off to when he disappears? And how the hell do I not know the answer to this question when I'm the one who came up with these rules in the first place?"

 **4:15 AM**

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" Mike hissed as he watched Rockstar Chica leave the living room. By sheer catastrophic misfortune, he had just experienced the supreme displeasure of having Rockstar Freddy, Rockstar Bonnie, AND Rockstar Chica attack the living room one after the other. This by itself wouldn't have been a huge issue in and of itself, if it weren't for the fact that none of them had given him any more than a second or two to wind up the music box before they had left. Now the music box was down to less than a quarter of its time, Rockstar Foxy had stepped out of the shower curtain ready to strike, and Scrap Baby was twitching on the sofa with her eyes glowing.

In other words, he was almost certainly fucked.

"Okay, first things first…" he muttered as he flashed his light on Scrap Baby's face. After a seeming eternity, she deactivated back down into her dormant state. Mike immediately whipped the tablet up and cursed when he saw that the music box was almost out of time. Winding it up as much as he dared, he switched over to the bathroom….and cursed when he saw that it was empty.

Rockstar Foxy was coming.

"God, not now, please…" Mike pleaded as he paid close attention to where Rockstar Foxy's footsteps were running. He flashed his light into the left entryway where the animatronic was waiting, knowing with a sinking feeling that it would take much longer to deflect him this time compared to before. After a seeming eternity, Rockstar Foxy _finally_ left, and Mike dared to take a breath in relief.

And then the sound of "Pop Goes the Weasel" began to echo throughout the house.

"Oh, God fucking dammit!" Mike threw down the tablet in frustration, knowing that there was no point in checking any further. It was only the equivalent of 4:30 AM – trying to outlast the Security Puppet would be impossible. "I got fucked over so hard! The three stooges outside didn't give me any time at all! How the hell am I supposed to be able to win when…

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Security Puppet leapt out of the shadows of the basement doorway, crashing into Mike with a tackle-hug. "Aww…you ruined my rant!" Mike complained even as he resisted the urge to chuckle at his daughter's antics.

The Security Puppet giggled as the rest of the animatronics came in. "Well, then I'm even happier that I interrupted you then!"

"You say some really weird shit, dad," Rockstar Freddy commented dryly.

Mike had the grace to look a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I tend to be like that when I play competitive games. I can't help it though, I get really caught up in what I'm doing and dropping F-Bombs help me focus when things start going to shit. Such as during Night 6 when everyone here is trying their hardest to kick my ass. Don't take anything I say personally."

" _Eh,"_ Scrap Baby giggled. _"I find it funny more than anything else. It's taking a lot of effort not to laugh when I see you go off on a rant."_

"We're not even trying our hardest yet," Rockstar Bonnie pointed out before he widened the animatronic's mouth into a grin. The effect would've been a tad creepy if Mike wasn't used to it. "We could always do 7/20 mode!"

"Oh hell no," Mike retorted. "Not until I can actually beat Night 6 first. So, let's have another go at it, shall we? Wonder who'll kick my ass this time?"

 **Three rounds later, 5:30 AM**

"Thank Christ…" Mike muttered as he scanned through the two important cameras. "No bullshit so far compared to the last few rounds. Just need to last a couple more seconds and I can finally beat this night after weeks of losing my touch!"

He wound up the music box as much as possible before it got pulled down by Rockstar Bonnie. The man wasted no time in lifting up the Fuckstick in front of the obnoxiously familiar animatronic's face, smirking in satisfaction as he watched the animatronic leave.

"I wonder how the hell Balloon Boy would work in this setting?" he wondered absentmindedly as he deactivated Scrap Baby. The clown animatronic ghost had only advanced to her first stage of movement so she had only lifted her head, but Mike wasn't going to take any chances with her now that he was so close to the end. He raised the tablet to wind up the music box and checked the bathroom, cursing when he realized that the animatronic was gone.

"You are not taking this away from me when I'm so close to the end!" Mike vowed. He listened carefully to the sounds Rockstar Foxy was making and, once he had tracked them down, immediately shined his flashlight on the right hallway. The pirate animatronic was there in his familiar threatening pose, but Mike only smiled as he neutralized the threat and sent him packing.

"I'm almost there, I'm so close!" the man murmured. After going through another round of checks, he felt the tablet being pulled down by, to his complete lack of surprise, Rockstar Freddy.

"God, you are so irritating!" Mike exclaimed as flipped up the Fuckstick. "If I didn't need this to protect myself, I'd give this thing to you just so you could shove it up your…"

DING! DONG!

Both animatronic and human slowly turned their heads to look at the cell phone that marked the countdown for the game. The numbers 0:00 flashed on the screen as it let out the Westminster Chimes, signaling the end of the round…and victory for Mike.

"YES! Finally!" Mike crowed triumphantly, sticking up two _actual_ middle fingers at Rockstar Freddy. "Up yours!"

Rockstar Freddy returned his eyes to normal and rolled them as the others joined them at the living room. "Took you long enough," Rockstar Bonnie deadpanned as he absentmindedly strummed his guitar.

"Hey, half of those losses were because of bullshit moments where all of you kept ganging up on me," Mike countered. "I'd like to see you try and juggle all this shit at once." Suddenly, his eyes widened and the kids within the animatronics could see the makings of an idea form in his mind. "Actually…why don't you guys try this?"

"What?" Rockstar Golden Freddy asked.

"Why don't you guys try taking my place?" Mike clarified, now genuinely excited at the idea. "So far I've been the only one blocking off animatronics in the living room. Why don't we have somebody else play the game instead and see how well they do?"

The animatronics looked at each other, and after a few seconds they smiled as they warmed up to the idea. "That actually sounds like it could be a lot of fun!" Rockstar Chica exclaimed.

"I have to admit, I always wondered what it was like to be in your shoes, dad," Rockstar Freddy added.

"I bet I could beat all of you on my first try!" Rockstar Foxy boasted.

"More like you'll be the one to fuck up the hardest," Rockstar Bonnie snarked, earning a dirty look from his brother.

"I think you guys are forgetting something," the Security Puppet interrupted. "What's Dad going to do while we're doing all this? Whoever takes his place has one less animatronic to deal with. Is he just going to twiddle his thumbs for the next several minutes while sitting flat on his ass?"

Everyone stared at her, and then Mike burst out laughing. "Man, I have corrupted you and I have absolutely zero shame in that whatsoever," he chortled, before adopting a thoughtful expression. "All joking aside, you do have a point."

" _Knowing you, dad, I have a hard time believing that you don't already have a plan for this,"_ Scrap Baby pointed out dryly.

Mike grinned. "You know me so well, Liz, but in this case the solution is pretty simple. I'LL be taking the place of whichever animatronic is defending in the living room. I'll be one of the attackers."

The animatronics exchanged looks that clearly conveyed their interest and curiosity even through the robotic faces. What would their dad be like as an "attacker" rather than the Night Guard? Would he be more or less scary than they were? "Of course," the man added, "I won't be able to take over Golden Freddy's role since, you know, I can't teleport. We'll have to figure something out for him a little later. So…who wants to go first?"

The Security Puppet facepalmed the moment he asked his question. For all that he was a wonderful father, especially given his complete lack of an appropriate father figure for most of the early years of his life, Mike always forgot that asking the question "who wants to go first?" is never a good idea when you're dealing with a group of kids who all wanted to do the same thing. Needless to say, he soon had to quickly dissolve the arguments that broke out amongst the animatronics over who wanted to be the Night Guard first. To keep things fair, he decided to write each kid's name on a slip of paper and picked one randomly from a cap. As luck would have it, Rockstar Chica would be the one to go first.

"Ooh, I get to go first!" the animatronic bird declared excitedly. "Hopefully I've gotten better at FNAF that I can actually win on my first try here."

"We're going to be doing this under Night 3 conditions since it's your first try," Mike told her. "Nothing too horrible, but it's not going to be a complete walk in the park either. And before we begin…" he turned to look at Rockstar Golden Freddy. "Can I talk to you privately for a second?"

"Sure thing, dad!" the animatronic happily agreed, and the two left the living room for a couple of seconds. When they returned, a faint smile was on Mike's face and Rockstar Golden Freddy was looking like he was trying not to giggle. Both of which immediately sent the rest of the animatronics on high alert.

" _What are you guys planning?"_ Scrap Baby asked suspiciously.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Mike replied blithely. The looks that they gave him made it clear they didn't really believe him, but it was clear that neither of the two would spill the beans and the animatronics decided there was no point in trying to pry.

"I'll be watching you," Rockstar Chica warned with her eyes narrowed. She sat down on the couch and picked up the tablet. "But for now, let's see how well I do!"

 **12 AM**

"Okay," Rockstar Chica took a breath. "I can do this. I just need to remember Dad's strategy." She picked up the tablet and opened it up to the bedroom camera. Mike was standing in front on the bed to the left of Rockstar Freddy, just like she would be under normal circumstances. The man was staring straight in front of him with the same blank stare that the other animatronics had. If she was honest with herself, it was more than a little creepy.

Deciding not to waste any time, she switched over to the basement and began winding up the Security Puppet's music box. After a few seconds, she switched over to the bathroom where Rockstar Foxy was hiding behind his curtain and put away the tablet…

…only to stare right into the face of Rockstar Golden Freddy.

"Oh, come on!" Rockstar Chica complained as she lifted up the Fuckstick to make him disappear. "That's so BS, Cass!" She heard a giggle as the animatronic disappeared and sighed. Fortunately, Liz apparently had more mercy than Cass did, as Scrap Baby had not moved from her dormant state.

Rockstar Chica opened the tablet again, deciding that since it was only Night 3 conditions she had the time to try and stall Rockstar Freddy as well as Rockstar Foxy. When she opened up the bedroom, this time the three characters in the bedroom were staring straight into the camera. The expressions on Rockstar Bonnie's and Rockstar Freddy's faces hadn't changed…but Mike's had.

Mike was now smiling, but it wasn't the kind or good-humored smile that she had grown to attach to her father. The upward twist of his lips was contemptuous, even mocking. And the light that now gleamed in his eyes could only be described as predatory. "I am coming for you," the smile seemed to say. "You cannot escape me."

Rockstar Chica shuddered. "Eek!" she gasped out as she quickly changed the camera away from the bedroom. It was almost comforting to look at the familiar cameras of the bathroom and basement, even though she was fully aware that these two could pose the biggest threat.

Remembering that she had to check on Scrap Baby, Rockstar Chica put down the tablet and instinctively raised to Fuckstick to block off a second potential cheap attack from Rockstar Golden Freddy, although this time there wasn't any. Scrap Baby had taken advantage of her time on the tablet to raise her head, and Rockstar Chica quickly shined her flashlight on her face repeatedly until she was pacified.

Hearing footsteps above her, the animatronic quickly opened the tablet to check on the bedroom. Rockstar Freddy was still in the bedroom, but Rockstar Bonnie and Mike was gone. Even though she knew that checking on Mike was a waste of time since he was acting in her role, Rockstar Chica couldn't resist checking the upper hallway to see where he was.

The man was standing in the very back of the hallway, toward the shadows. Rockstar Chica felt a spike of fear when she saw that Mike was no longer just smiling, but flat-out grinning. And just like the dark smile in the bedroom, Mike's grin was utterly menacing and utterly devoid of any warmth or kindness, an expression worthy of a fantasy villain that highlighted the danger that he posed to whoever he was hunting down in the living room. The shadows seemed to be covering most of the upper part of his face, and…

…Rockstar Chica blinked. Was that a gleam of _red_ in Mike's eyes?

"OH GOD THE PUPPET!" she shrieked, suddenly realizing that she had completely forgotten about the other threats that she needed to thwart. Thankfully, Rockstar Foxy hadn't changed from his position behind the curtain, but the Security Puppet's music box was almost down to half because of her distraction. Rockstar Chica frantically pressed her finger down onto the wind-up button, her anxiety easing slightly as she saw the meter go back to full. But even with both of them now taken care of, Rockstar Chica didn't feel any more at ease.

"Out of everyone that's coming after me in this house," she thought worriedly, "why is _dad_ the one that scares me the most?"

 **1:30 AM**

"Oh, crap, you're already coming after me!" Rockstar Chica squealed as she saw that Rockstar Foxy had already climbed out of the bathtub and was ready to attack. She switched over to the basement and wound up the music box for a few seconds, when suddenly she felt the tablet being forced down.

Mike was standing in front of her, staring down right into her eyes with a gaze that seemed to pierce right into the depth of her soul. The grin that he had been wearing in the upper hallway was still on his face, and now that the man was up close and personal in the living room the expression seemed to be even darker and more terrifying than it had been in the safety of a room far away. To her horror and confusion, the lights in the living room began to flicker on and off frantically, just like they did every time a possessed animatronic entered. But how the hell was _Mike_ doing the exact same thing that they did?

"Eep!" Rockstar Chica squealed as she lifted up the Fuckstick to block her father off. For a terrible second, she thought that she had been too slow and that Mike was about to attack, but eventually the man turned around and left, the lights returning back to normal as he departed. Rockstar Chica breathed a huge sigh of relief as her eyes moved over to Scrap Baby, who had remained dormant the entire time. If Liz had been just as disturbed as she was over what they had just witnessed, she hid it excellently behind Scrap Baby's grotesque visage.

"What the hell?" she asked frantically. "How was dad able to DO that? WHAT IS GOING ON?"

 **4:30 AM**

As the round progressed, Rockstar Chica's anxiety slowly began to fade away. True to Mike's words, the round itself wasn't _too_ difficult since it was only Night 3, and she had enough experience with FNAF2 to settle into the routine. Even Mike's attacks, as disturbing as they were, weren't all that difficult for her to block off on a functional level. Rockstar Chica slowly let herself sink into some level of comfort, secure in the knowledge that her strategy was working and that, despite Rockstar Freddy joining in on the fun at around the start of 4 AM, victory was not too far away.

And then she made the mistake of checking on Mike's location. Rockstar Foxy had already attacked once and was back to being behind the curtain, and the Security Puppet's music box had been raised up to full. So Rockstar Chica decided that she had the time to satisfy her curiosity and check on Mike. She scanned through the cameras until she found Mike on the stairs…

…and screamed in horror at what she saw.

Mike was staring directly at her, his face inches away from the camera…and what she saw could not possibly be human anymore.

His entire face was covered in the blackest shadows, the top of his head wreathed in unnatural purple flames as though it had taken the place of his hair. The teeth in his already menacing grin had transformed from human teeth to razor-sharp fangs, and his eyes… _dear God, his eyes…_

They were a demon's eyes, blood-red and without pupils, burning with a scarlet glow that seemed to emanate with an unspeakable malice and ruthlessness.

It was Mike's fantasy character from his drawing all those months ago come to life…in a way that struck terror into her very soul.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rockstar Chica screamed as she dropped the tablet, reeling from what she had seen on the camera. And to make matters worse, Rockstar Freddy had chosen to attack at that moment, right when she was vulnerable and confused.

"NO!" Rockstar Chica shouted in horror as she fumbled for the Fuckstick, but in her confusion and terror she was much too slow. She was only able to get the Fuckstick up to deflect Rockstar Freddy's attack when he was already several seconds into his attack, and by then it was much too late.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the animatronic screamed as he did his jumpscare motions in front of Rockstar Chica, signaling the end of the round and her defeat. The moment he was done, however, Rockstar Freddy dropped the act and approached his sister, sensing that something was wrong.

"Are you all right?" he asked in concern.

"I…I saw…" Rockstar Chica stuttered, trying to verbalize the horrifying vision she had just witnessed.

"Shit…" all eyes turned to Mike, who had arrived at the living room entrance even as the rest of the animatronics filed in. To everyone's surprise, he had a guilty and remorseful expression on his face that only increased when Rockstar Chica gave him a look of genuine fear. "I think we over did it, Cass. I'm so sorry, Susie. I didn't mean to scare you that badly."

Rockstar Chica forced herself to calm down, reminding herself that this was her loving father in front of her, when her mind clicked on something he had said. "Wait a minute…" she muttered, her eyes narrowed, "…what do you mean by overdoing it?"

A faint smile appeared on Mike's face. "Well, I wasn't sure if I was going to be scary enough for this since I'm a human amongst animatronics, so I had Cassidy use her magic to…up the scare factor a bit. We all know how good she is with illusions, after all…"

A look of outrage somehow managed to appear even through Rockstar Chica's metallic face. "Wait, Cass, that was YOU?" she all but shrieked.

Rockstar Golden Freddy appeared and let out a nervous giggle. "Yeeaaaaaahhhhhh…" she admitted. "But it was Dad's idea. He suggested that I make a couple of…adjustments…whenever he showed up on the camera to make him look a little bit…darker. He also suggested that towards the end of the round, I use my powers to make him look like his dark fantasy hero character that he showed us all those months ago. I thought it would be a funny prank to pull off."

"I noticed that we didn't really have anything going on in terms of hallucinations compared to both the actual night shift and the FNAF games," Mike continued the explanation. "So I figured now was as good of a time as any to try and experiment a bit." He sat down next to Rockstar Chica. "I really am sorry, though, Susie. I didn't think it would be that scary."

Rockstar Chica was silent for several moments. Then, suddenly a low chuckle began to emerge in her metal throat. The chuckle began to increase in volume and intensity with every second, until suddenly it emerged into full-blown laughter and hilarity. "You got me!" she exclaimed, her fear finally gone and replaced completely with both awe and amusement. "You got me good! That illusion was perfect! I can't wait to see the looks on the others' faces when they see it!"

"Wait, what illusion?" Rockstar Bonnie asked curiously. "I want to see this!"

"Oh no no no no no," Rockstar Chica interrupted him, "you'll have to wait until you actually try a round before you get to see the illusion. Otherwise you'll completely ruin the experience!"

Rockstar Freddy nodded. "I can definitely wait, then. No need to ruin a good surprise."

"We are cool, right, Sus?" Mike asked, some lingering concern still in his voice. In response, Rockstar Chica sidled up to her father and leaned next to him.

"We're cool, dad," she answered happily, content in the knowledge that the terror she had just witnessed was nothing more than an excellent prank.

"Just had to make sure," Mike smiled and got up. "I'm beat for now. Gonna get some food and then I'll decide whether I want to do something else or go to bed early for the night. See you guys later."

"Bye!" the animatronics waved after their father as he left towards the kitchen. When he was gone, Rockstar Chica turned to Rockstar Golden Freddy. "By the way, Cass, that whole effect you did with the lights whenever Dad did one of his attacks was a great idea! You made the whole thing feel real and everything!"

Rockstar Golden Freddy frowned. "That…wasn't me…"

"The prank's over, Cass…" Rockstar Chica grumbled, irritation clear in her voice. "You don't have to pretend anymore."

"I'm serious, Susie!" Rockstar Golden Freddy insisted. "That wasn't me!"

The way he said it made it clear that he was telling the truth. Rockstar Chica frowned and turned to Liz, the only other animatronic who had been in the living room the entire time. "Liz, was that you?"

Liz shook Scrap Baby's massive head. _"No, I didn't have anything to do with that. I did think it was weird when it happened, but I couldn't say or do anything about it without breaking character during the game."_

"You're saying that the lights went haywire every time Dad attacked?" the Security Puppet asked. When Rockstar Chica and Scrap Baby nodded, a look of confusion flickered in her eyes. "But if none of us was doing any special effects for Mike…then how was he able to manipulate the lights whenever he attacked?" The animatronics looked at each other silently, confused and even slightly nervous.

None of them had an answer to her question.

/

A/N: Ooh, spooky…

Does this count as a resurgence of Dark!Mike? I don't even know. I guess in one way it does, and the other way it doesn't really…who the heck even knows? I'll let you make the call.

Wow, I actually made this filler chapter darker than any filler chapter had any right to be, even if most of it did turn out to be a massive prank in the end. Though maybe this isn't really much of a surprise, considering that if the next arc is the potentially darkest arc then even the things that come before it might be influenced by darkness. I said before that seemingly unimportant details from an earlier chapter might have greater significance than you might think, and I stand by my word.

I wonder what explanations you guys'll come up with for how Mike was able to manipulate the lights to go crazy just like many of the animatronics in FNAF2 do whenever they attack. Maybe one of the ghosts was lying and actually did influence the lights? Or maybe the solution really is tied down to Mike in some way? I'll let you guys figure that one out.

There are so many things I can do with the ONAM chapters, and after an entire arc that had minimal involvement with FNAF-related stuff I figured this would be a welcome change of pace for you guys.

Finally, shoutout to the guy who found "Rockstar Susie" as a typo, that was admittedly hilarious. I corrected it but I'll leave a reference here just to give you guys a laugh.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	70. Chapter 70 - Misc Family Moments 4

A/N: I've got a bit of a confession to make. The reason why "Fun with Video Games" chapters have not been appearing more frequently is because I'm honestly drawing a bit off a blank when it comes to these particular chapters.

The thing about me is that I actually don't have a lot of exposure to "popular" video games. Of course, I am fully aware of some things like Pokémon and Mario obviously, but most of my favorite and/or primary games are ones that I'm not sure that you guys would either be interested in or are even aware of. This is the main reason why I've held off on writing chapters focusing on video games, as these chapters are harder to write than I thought they would be and I don't want to write a chapter on what turns out to be some obscure video game that nobody is aware of and would bore you guys out of your mind.

With that in mind, I would welcome any suggestions you have for me for the kids and Mike playing video games. I know I asked this once a long time ago, but this time I'll make sure I note down what you guys are interested in. Multiplayer games would work a little better but I can do things with single player games too.

That being said, enjoy the chapter! It's another "Misc. Family Moments" chapter, though one that might be a little…different…than what you guys expect. You'll find out why soon enough.

TheFedoraCritic: I'm not sure if I'll bring in the fanbase or fangames into the fic, and if I do it will be in a chapter with little bearing on the overall plot. Cassidy can't teleport others yet and Charlie's teleportation abilities are MUCH more limited than Cassidy's. You can compare Dark!Mike's appearance in the camera to a FNAF1 hallucination (such as the one where the posters in the East Hall are replaced by the crying kids), if that helps. And speaking of Dark!Mike…you have no idea…heh heh heh heh heh…

Rockstar Ballora: Circus Baby will appear after this arc. And you'll just have to wait and see for Plushtrap…

Fnaffan: Who even knows where she goes to lol. And I'm not sure when Melody will figure out about Liz's past.

Chapter 70 – Misc. Family Moments 4

The Newest Addition to the Family

Mike let out a sigh of relief as he collapsed onto his workshop's chair, the tools he was holding in his hand falling lifelessly onto the floor. He had finally done it. It had taken him months to work on the project that he had found in Henry's computer, but all the hard work had finally paid off. Somehow, he had managed to keep the existence of his project a complete secret, in no small part thanks to the fact that the children avoided disturbing him whenever he worked in his workshop. And now that the small animatronic that he had created was finally complete, it was time to introduce him to the rest of the family.

"It's amazing how much work and time went into creating something so small," Mike pondered as he stared at the animatronic that stood on the table in front of him, eyes closed as if sleeping. He briefly wondered how much faster the work would have gone if he had sent the plans over to Eisensteel for it to be built instead, but it was too late to worry about such things.

He smiled and picked up the white and purple bear. "Come on, little buddy," he spoke gently, "let's go meet the rest of the family."

/

"Hey, guys?"

The moment they heard their father call out to him, the ghosts (or the animatronics they were possessing) stopped what they were doing and rushed over to him. "Need something, dad?" Rockstar Bonnie asked as he put aside his guitar.

"I've got something to show you guys. Let's head over to the dining room." He walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, his children following close behind. "So, back when Charlie and I visited her old home, we found some plans and blueprints for a couple of animatronics and the Scooper."

" _You told us this, I think,"_ Susie mused. _"That's how you found out about Remnant, right?"_

"Yeah," Mike confirmed, "and Henry also had blueprints for some of the Circus Baby animatronics and also the Rockstars, though the ones for the Circus Baby stuff had less details than the ones for the Rockstars since Henry hadn't been the one that made them. But what I didn't tell you guys was that I found the details for a completely different animatronic. One that was designed to have a mind of its own and act like a personal assistance and friend to whoever was in charge of it."

" _Oh my God, I remember him!"_ Charlie exclaimed, her eyes lit up with excitement. _"Dad included him in many of the fake programs he designed for the trap pizzeria and also tried to create one for me to play around with and also to help Michael."_ A trickle of disappoint entered her eyes and she deflated slightly. _"But because we were so busy making sure our plan succeeded and because we didn't want to create an intelligent animatronic only for it to die in a fire, Dad didn't actually create an intelligent version of Helpy, only the base shell."_

"That was probably a good call," Mike replied. "One look at that programming and it was some of the most complex shit I've ever seen in my entire life. Took me a hell of a long time to figure it all out."

Charlie turned to her face her father, a hopeful brimming on her face. _"Wait, dad…did you actually…?"_

Mike grinned. "I don't really do anything major in my workshop nowadays, but I have two projects that I've been working on. One of them is way too big for me to do by myself and I'm going to have to outsource some help for it to work out, but the other one was something I could and did do by myself all these months. Guys, say hello to Helpy!"

He took his hand out of the toolbag he had been hiding the small animatronic in. The kids' eyes widened as they beheld the innocent and adorable bear. _"Oh my God, he is soooooooo cute!"_ Cassidy gushed.

" _He is absolutely adorable!"_ Susie crowed.

" _So that's what you've been working on all this time!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"I can't believe we didn't figure this out earlier!"_

"I was trying to keep it hidden for a surprise," Mike winked.

Liz stared at the silent form of Helpy with a contemplative glance. _"You know…I vaguely remember seeing him back in the trap pizzeria…but from what I remember he didn't ever do anything."_ A smile broke out on her face. _"He's so cute though!"_

"Well, looks like we'll finally find out what Henry intended when he created him," Mike mused. "Charlie, want to do the honors?"

" _I'd love to!"_ Charlie exclaimed as she reached down and opened up a panel on Helpy's head. With a deft movement of her fingers, she flicked the power switch from off to on and placed the panel back. The moment she slid the panel back into place, Helpy's eyes flickered and opened and the small animatronic straightened its back, staring at his new owners with an innocent and endearing smile on his face.

"Hi!" the white and purple bear declared as it waved cheerfully at Mike, the first person he had seen when his life began. "I'm Helpy! Your personal helper, buddy, and friend! It's so great to meet you!"

Mike laughed in delight. "Great to meet you too, Helpy! Why don't you say hi to the rest of your new family?"

Helpy turned around in a circle, his eyes falling on all the ghost children one at a time. The ones in the animatronics flew out of them so that they could show their true appearances to the adorable little bear in their midst. "So many new friends!" he exclaimed, either unaware or uncaring of the fact that they were ghosts and not living children. "I can't wait to help you with whatever you need! Or maybe we can play some games and have a good time. We're going to have so much fun together!"

" _Awwwwwww…"_ the ghosts moaned, even some of the male ones. _"I am not a man anymore!"_ Fritz declared.

" _You were a man to begin with?"_ Gabe asked dryly. At this, everyone burst out laughing. Helpy looked around in confusion, not really understanding what everyone was finding so funny, but he started giggling anyway. After all, if everyone was finding something funny, it'd be rude not to laugh, right?

"Why don't you guys show him some of the things we've been doing?" Mike asked. "Video games, movies, books, whatever you want. From what I've read on Helpy's AI, it's really advanced and he can learn things quickly. Maybe he might be able to play some video games after a few shots?"

" _Heck yes, I can't wait to try this out!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. He flew back into Rockstar Bonnie, who immediately activated similarly to how Helpy did. "Come on, Helpy!" he coaxed. "Let's go to the living room and I'll show you the wonderful world of Mario!"

"Okay!" Helpy cheerfully replied. He didn't really understand how the pale child had suddenly become a Freddy Fazbear animatronic, or what Mario was, but if his friend was so happy about it then it could only be a good thing. Rockstar Bonnie picked up Helpy and departed from the dining room, followed by all the ghost kids who were just as eager to play with Helpy as Jeremy was. Privately, Mike was impressed that they didn't start fighting over who got to play with their new animatronic buddy first. Either they were all on the same page with what they wanted to do for the time being or they had learned to take turns with minimal arguments.

All except Charlie. As Mike got up from the dining room table, the older girl wrapped her father in a big hug. _"Thank you,"_ she breathed out, barely stifling a sob. _"Out of all the gifts you've given us, this might be one of the best ever."_

Mike smiled kindly and stroked the back of his daughter's spectral hair. "There's nothing that makes me happy more than seeing you guys happy, Charlie. And if Henry and I are right about Helpy, then bringing him into the family will be worth every second of work I put into him."

Rotting the Brain with Bad Grammar

"Oh, God, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" a robotic voice echoed semi-shrilly throughout the upper floors of the house.

Jeremy instantly rushed to the room he shared with Gabe, floating past the door as he did so. Looking around frantically, he was confused to only see Rockstar Freddy sitting at his desk with his laptop in front of, looking as though he were torn between wanting to laugh or cry. Which, was impressive in and of itself, considering how poorly animatronics normally conveyed emotion.

" _Uh…bro?"_ Jeremy asked nervously. _"Are you all right?"_

"I don't know why I thought this was a good idea," Rockstar Freddy mumbled. "I was browsing through random shit on Reddit when I discovered this subreddit called BoneAppleTea. And I was like, hey, I've never heard of this before and it sounds interesting, I should check it out!" He buried his head in one hand and shook it in disgust. "Dear God, what the fuck was I thinking…"

" _Maybe you're just overexaggerating?"_ Jeremy suggested a bit weakly.

In response, Rockstar Freddy turned the laptop towards Jeremy. On the screen was a picture showing a crudely drawn triangle, square, circle, diamond, star, and rectangle. The drawings themselves weren't the problem.

The problem was that they had been labeled with **"Chriego". "SgR", "Srko", "Dimn", "Sdr", and "Ritigo"** respectively. Jeremy stared at the abominably spelled words for several seconds. Then, he collapsed onto the floor with hysterical laughter, hitting the floor with his ghostly fists.

"This has got to be some of the worst misspellings I have ever seen in my entire life," Rockstar Freddy groaned as Jeremy tried to collect himself with questionable success. After staring at the words again, he sighed. "At least this guy was self-aware, he even calls himself the dumbest preschooler ever."

" _I don't think even Fritz was that dumb as a preschooler,"_ Jeremy pointed out dryly.

"Yeah, well, he's probably smarter than the rest of the complete and utter morons that are being showcased here. Because as dumb as Fritz can be sometimes, at least he knows when he makes a mistake."

" _How bad can it be?"_ Jeremy asked. One of the many lessons he had learned from Mike was that tempting fate was a hilariously bad idea, but since this was a subreddit he couldn't resist the temptation.

Rockstar Freddy opened up another entry. **"Oreo's Secret Ingredient – after that fans cool the wafers to the desired Chris penis."**

Jeremy's face immediately scrunched up in disgust. _"Chris Penis? CHRIS PENIS? WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUUUU…!"_

"I don't know if this makes it better, but at least this one was caused by Youtube's Closed Captioning shitshow," Rockstar Freddy replied. "After spending a year on Youtube, we all know just how much of a clusterfuck it is."

" _You'd think a world-famous video website would have a better closed captioning system, but noooooo…"_ Jeremy muttered as Rockstar Freddy opened another link.

" **I love when I can smell a guy's colon as he walks by. When you hug a guy and you smell his colon. When you can still smell his colon on your pillows even though he's not there. After you hug a boy and you smell like his colon. I smell like his colon now."**

"Wow…" Rockstar Freddy muttered. "This many people made the same mistake? I mean, I get that cologne isn't the easiest word to spell, but still!"

" _What's a colon?"_ Jeremy wondered. Rockstar Freddy opened up a new tab and typed the word colon in Google Images. _"Oh God, it's the fucking large intestine!"_ the black-haired boy exclaimed in disbelief.

"Thank God it was just a diagram and not the actual image, cause that would be fucking disgusting," Rockstar Freddy muttered.

" **I just deleted a very good friend for posting "Jobs should higher you weather you have a fella knee or mister meaner."**

"Your friend should be thanking you," Rockstar Freddy retorted dryly. "By leaving him you probably raised his IQ by a couple of points since he no longer has to deal with your stupidity."

" **I can never pay attention when I do my homework smh I must have 80HD."**

" _80HD?"_ Jeremy tilted his head in confusion. _"What the fuck is 80HD?"_

Rockstar Freddy, however, merely palmed his face in exasperation. "That's ADHD," he explained with a sigh. "A psychiatric disorder where…fuck it you don't care, do you?"

Jeremy shrugged. _"Not particularly."_

"Figures."

" **Alexa: remind me to feed the baby. (On Alexa screen) DEFEAT THE BABY – 1 reminder, 2 AM."**

" _Unless that baby is some fucked up alien horror or some shit, that probably wouldn't be very hard,"_ Jeremy drawled.

"Isn't Alexa supposed to be some type of newer technology?" Rockstar Freddy wondered.

" _Yep, and as amazing as technology can be, I always forget that it can still be fucking garbage!"_ Jeremy replied cheerfully.

" **What's that Spanish Christmas song? It goes like The Least Knobby Dot!"**

This time, both brothers collapsed into uncontrollable laughter as the horribly misspelled Christmas song stared blankly back at them. "That has got to be the best worst misspelling I have ever seen!" Rockstar Freddy chortled as Jeremy slowly got back to his feet, still wiping tears from his eyes.

" **How does a brain anus rhythm instantly kill you? Do you mean brain aneurysm? Yes?"**

" _The fuck is an anus rhythm?"_ Jeremy asked incredulously. _"How frequently you take a shit?"_

"I don't think I want to know," Rockstar Freddy muttered

" _If you have a fast anus rhythm it's diarrhea, and if you have a slow anus rhythm it's constipation? Is that how it works?"_ Jeremy pressed forward.

"Just…fucking…stop,"his brother growled.

" _Okay, okay, geez…"_

" **Soup Mang Cua – Bamboo Shoot Crap Soup"**

"Fan-fucking-tastic, we go from anus rhythm to crap soup,"Rockstar Freddy groaned.

" _Ah, the glories of fucked up foreign language to English translations,"_ Jeremy sighed dramatically. _"Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."_

" **If you're happy and you know it…"**

Animatronic and ghost stared at the picture underneath it, featuring several slices of ham clamped together. _"Whoa…"_ Jeremy breathed, _"…this is like a reverse Bone Apple Tea shit right here. This is fucking genius!"_

"I think that might be the best thing I've seen so far on this subreddit," Rockstar Freddy agreed. "Whoever came up with this, you get an A+."

" **Ahhaha my parents are prob gunna buy flaming young and a cake. Wat the fuck is flaming young? Please don't tell me u mean filet mignon."**

The two stared at the words "flaming young." "Flaming young?" Rockstar Freddy asked incredulously. "FLAMING YOUNG? It's not bad enough that you're killing a bunch of kids, but you're setting them on fire too?"

" _Jesus, not even William Afton was that fucked up…"_ Jeremy muttered.

"Not that it matters much," Rockstar Freddy ranted. "Oh, you have the tiniest sliver of moral standards not to set kids on fire and burn them to death? Congratulations, if you can listen closely you can hear the sound of absolutely nobody giving the slightest shit because you still killed a bunch of kids, you fuck!"

" _Amen to that,"_ Jeremy agreed fervently. _"At least the fucker's rotting in Hell, where he'll never bother anyone again! Thank fuck for that!"_

Jeremy had no idea that days later, he would come to dearly regret those words…

I Always Come Back

Pain.

His entire existence was defined by pain.

From the moment that he had fallen into the unholy Abyss and into the Nightmares' claws, he knew that unspeakable agony and horror would be all that awaited him for the rest of eternity.

The judge of the damned had read his sins in front of him, acts of wickedness that he felt no remorse for even now. Cowardice, violence and treachery were already crimes that were punished severely, but the fact that he had sought to ensnare souls after death with Remnant ensured him a place in the deepest, darkest pits and realms of Hell. Nightmare had claimed his soul as his eternal toy, and the fact that he had "failed" to turn the brats he had slaughtered and their new father against each other meant that even the miniscule mercy that had been granted to him by Heaven's mandates on the Inferno were lost to him.

Mike Schmidt…the man clenched his teeth in rage at the mere thought of his name. The man who carried the same name as his worthless, traitorous son. In those fleeting moments, when his mind wasn't dominated by agony and suffering, he remembered that name with all the cruelty, hatred, and malice he could muster in his spirit. It was because of him that the brats had found their happy ending, and because of him that he now endured torments even worse than those inflicted on to others in the same circle. How he longed to break out of this pit, to rise up to Earth and teach that arrogant weakling and fool just what it meant to go up against a monster… but there was nothing he could do now. Even if he did manage to break free from the clutches of the Nightmares, the endless suffering and torture had weakened him to nothing but a frail, broken shade. If only there was a way for him to seek vengeance against the one responsible for ruining him after death!

" **THERE IS A WAY…"** a voice, softer but no less malicious than Nightmare's own, whispered into his mind.

The man jerked his head up. _"Who…are you…"_ he rasped.

" **ONE WHO HOLDS NO ALLEGIANCE OR FRIENDSHIP TO THE ONE YOU ARE ENSLAVED TO."**

The damned soul tilted his head in curiosity. An enemy of Nightmare's had a very good chance of being an ally of his. _"What…do you want…from me…"_ he ground through teeth clenched from his neverending pain.

" **I HAVE…PLANS…FOR THE INFERNO,"** the voice explained with all the chill of an abandoned grave. **"PLANS TO OVERTHROW LUCIFER AND REPLACE HIM WITH…SOMEONE FAR MORE SUITED TO THE LEADERSHIP OF HELL. NIGHTMARE WOULD NEVER JOIN ME, SO I MUST MAKE SURE TO KEEP HIM…SUFFICIENTLY DISTRACTED…"**

" _And how…do you seek…to accomplish this?"_

" **I WILL NOT EXPLAIN THAT TO YOU NOW, BUT KNOW THIS. I CAN GIVE YOU THE MEANS TO ESCAPE FROM THE CHAINS THAT YOU ARE SHACKLED TO. AND I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER WITH WHICH TO SEEK YOUR REVENGE ON THE MORTAL YOU SO DESPISE. ALL I ASK IN RETURN IS THAT WHEN I COME FOR YOU, YOU AGREE TO ESCAPE INTO THE MORTAL WORLD IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT A SECOND'S HESITATION."**

The shade's eyes narrowed. This was incredibly promising. Almost _too_ promising, especially considering the seeming lack of a downside. _"And why…are you helping me?"_ he asked, his voice laden with suspicion.

" **SIMPLE,"** the voice explained with a note of cruel amusement in his voice. **"BETWEEN THE METHOD WITH WHICH I WILL GRANT YOU POWER, AND YOUR ESCAPE INTO THE MORTAL WORLD, NIGHTMARE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS, OR AT LEAST NOT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. LUCIFER WILL SUFFER NO DAMNED TO ESCAPE THE INFERNO, WILL TOLERATE NO SUCH INSULT. AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, I AM NO FRIEND OF NIGHTMARE'S, AND HE WILL NEVER JOIN MY SIDE IN THE WAR THAT IS TO COME. SO I WILL MAKE DO WITH THIS, AND CONSIDERING THE MALICE THAT NIGHTMARE BEARS FOR YOU, YOU ARE THE PERFECT SOUL TO CHOOSE AMONG THE MANY THAT ARE UNDER HIS IRON GRIP. THE ONLY QUESTION IS…ARE YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT?"**

There wasn't even a split second of hesitation. Anything was better than what he was going through now, especially with the opportunity that was being dangled in front of him.

After all, what was there to lose?

" _I accept,"_ the wretched spirit answered firmly, and all that he heard in response was howling laughter that faded from his mind as the demon's presence severed the connection, seemingly satisfied with his answer. The man looked around his cell in the dungeons of Nightmare's palace, making sure that nobody could hear him.

Then, a sinister chuckle began to escape from his lips, and for the first time since he had been destroyed in Henry's trap, William Afton felt the fires of savage joy that had burned in him when he had slaughtered the brats and hunted the Night Guards as Springtrap. And he uttered the words that had been truth once before, and would now be truth again.

" **I always come back!"**

/

A/N: It is time. The darkness rises from the depths of Hell. One of the few things that the family could truly fear is about to come to pass, and they have no idea…

I promised you the "darkest arc", and I don't think there can be many things darker than the return of William Afton from the depths of Hell. Especially since his focus of vengeance and hatred is all directed towards the one living man who has done everything he could to undo the evil that William has caused.

You are probably worried about what this means in the next few chapters, and you have every right to be. I will also say this, and you can interpret this as you will: there is more than one source of darkness in the upcoming arc, and it will take form in a way that I do not think any of you will see coming.

For those of you who wanted to see Lucifer and the Nightmares again, you're about to get your wish. But the role they will play may be different than what you might expect…

I tried to balance happy fun times and "oh fuck bad shit is about to happen" times, but I have a feeling that the only thing people are going to care about is the last part. Not that I should be surprised, considering what it's about, after all.

One last thing – these chapters will NOT come every week. Hell, they might not come out every two or even three weeks. I intend to give each of the chapters in this arc the full respect and attention they deserve, especially since I have a non-negligible amount of lore and lore interpretation to juggle around in the midst of all this. If that means slowing down my schedule to a monthly release (if even that) because of all the Med School and Boards shit that I have to worry about, then that's what I'll have to do. I think the arc will be all the better for it.

Hope you guys enjoyed, because some intense shit is coming soon…


	71. Chapter 71 - Blood and Vengeance

A/N: Well, the last short I wrote in the last chapter didn't sound promising in the slightest. And, at least for the time being, it ain't gonna get any better. And I think you guys are simultaneously dreading it and looking forward to it in equal measure, considering the sheer volume of reviews I got from the last chapter.

Thank you guys for the many suggestions! While I don't play or even know about many of the games you've suggested, I'll do some research on them and will keep them on record for when I eventually get to them. Though I won't get to them until much later, for reasons that should be obvious.

Guest: In this universe, Scott didn't make any games beyond FNAF3.

Screamylatte: Lolbit probably doesn't exist, to be honest, since in the main story of _SL_ he isn't anything more than a hallucination and he doesn't appear outside of the (non-canon) Custom Night. Even if he did, he got blown up along with the rest of CBEAR.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: You'll just have to wait and see.

Guest: As far as this fic goes, the animatronics were just animatronics. Neither the Toys nor the Funtimes apart from Baby were possessed.

Some weirdo/FedoraCritic: You mostly got it all done pat lol. And neither Henry nor Mike would touch Remnant, let alone make an animatronic out of it, considering how badly that shit went south last time. In this fic, neither the Funtimes (besides Baby) nor the Toys were possessed.

Guest: I guess that's technically true regarding Ballora, but I don't think Mike or Henry would take the chance regardless. Especially since no ordinary animatronic should go spider-mode like that.

Chapter 71 – Blood and Vengeance

Nightmare stared contemptuously at the army that had dared to invade his kingdom. For centuries, his dominion in the lowest circles had been uncontested, the rest of the kin too fearful of his wrath to even consider trespassing into his domain.

So he could not understand why an army of demons had chosen to invade into his realm, shrieking and howling for blood and violence without even pretending to hide their intentions. One look at the enemy army told him all that he needed to know: it was large enough to unleash devastation to his domain if he allowed it to roam unchecked, but it would fall easily enough to him and his Nightmares.

Had they thought he had grown soft throughout the centuries? That just because he and his kin had chosen their current forms that it had made them weak?

He would take great pleasure in _correcting_ that idiotic misconception. And he knew that his brothers and sister would feel the same.

" **TEAR THESE FOOLS TO PIECES!"** Nightmare roared, and his brothers and sisters let out shrieks and howls of immoral delight at the opportunity to spill the blood of other demons. The Nightmares charged the invading army head-on, claws outstretched and jaws open in feral snarls. Nightmare Foxy was the first to reach the invaders, cackling as he sliced open the throat of an unfortunate enemy with his hook and disemboweled it with his free hand at the same time, even as the scent of splattered blood reached his nostrils and drove him into a frenzy. Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica sliced their claws left and right, laughing maniacally as they tore their enemies apart with each strike. Nightmare Freddy was perhaps the cruelest and most methodical out of all the lesser Nightmares, occasionally taking the time to rip the limbs off a still living foe one at a time, relishing in the victim's screams before finally granting the merciful release of death. Though they were only 4 against hundreds, the Nightmares were far older, crueler, and more powerful than their foes could ever hope to be even in the forms they had currently assumed, and it wasn't long before the battle turned into a slaughter. The Nightmares didn't completely dominate the battle – they were still battling against a much larger force and occasionally suffered wounds of their own – but the piles of broken corpses and ashes that surrounded them testified to the superiority of quality over quantity.

Despite this, Nightmare felt no satisfaction in watching the slaughter unfold. He still hadn't figured out why a clearly inferior force was even daring to attack in such an obvious frontal attack, and this lack of understanding made him uneasy more than anything. Deciding that he could solve this conundrum as soon as the invaders were wiped out, he turned to the greater Nightmares at his side.

" **CRUSH THEM,"** he ordered, and both Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne nodded in recognition of his command. Nightmare Fredbear charged towards the battle with his red eyes blazing while Nightmarionne simply vanished, preferring more _unconventional_ means with which to initiate his attacks. The invading army tried desperately to strike at the four Nightmares, but they were already starting to become disheartened with the heavy losses they were taking.

Nightmare Fredbear let out a bloodcurdling roar as he lunged at the nearest group of demons, emitting an aura of black terror that crippled the spirit of his enemies in a way that one of his lesser brethren could not. With claws lit aflame, he slashed down and ripped the face off one an unfortunate soldier who screamed as he experienced the twin agonies of mutilation and immolation simultaneously. Not bothering to glance at his suffering victim, Nightmare Fredbear reached out and grabbed another soldier by the neck, ignoring his useless attempts with his sword. The demon's eyes widened in panic as Nightmare Fredbear's stomach-mouth began to open, revealing a furnace of malicious, scarlet flames. With a cruel laugh, Nightmare Fredbear shoved the demon into his stomach, causing the entire army to flinch in horror as the wretch's screams echoed from within his stomach…and even after the wails finally died down, something told them that whatever torments Nightmare Fredbear had put his victim through hadn't ended with his death. The braver fighters tried to strike at Nightmare Fredbear with claws and blades, but unlike with the regular Nightmares (who _could_ be wounded, albeit minimally and insignificantly), their attacks were entirely worthless against the horror that was now unleashed against them. Laughing cruelly at the weakness of his foes, Nightmare Fredbear began to slaughter them with a ferocity and brutality beyond even his lesser kin, the other Nightmares inspired to even greater heights of savagery and violence with their brother's arrival.

And as the demons looked about uncertainly, trying to decide whether they feared their superiors or their enemies more, Nightmarionne chose to make his move. Identifying a taller and more heavily armored demon as the leader, the other Greater Nightmare phased into reality behind him. The demon barely had time to register a chill gripping in his soul before Nightmarionne plunged his claws straight through the demon's back, ignoring his armor and impaling his claws deep into his heart before shoving it through his chest. The demon captain stared at his heart in incomprehension before Nightmarionne clutched his shoulder and, with a howl of triumph, ripped the demon into bloody halves.

That was enough to destroy the invaders' morale completely. With the massacre in front of them and their brutalized leader behind, the demons that had dared to invade the Nightmares' realm routed completely. Smelling blood and victory, the Nightmares lunged forward to slaughter as many of their worthless adversaries as possible, with Nightmarionne doing his best to block off their escape. Of course, they couldn't kill everyone; for all their power, the Nightmares were only 5 against a force far numerically larger, and some escapes were inevitable. But by the time the last demon had either fled or been killed, they had slaughtered more than half of the attacking force.

The only reason why it hadn't been total annihilation was because Nightmare had decided to let his siblings have their fun instead of getting directly involved.

And yet, despite what most would consider a complete and total victory, Nightmare did not feel any sense of triumph. In contrast, even as the other Nightmares reveled in their victory and the satiety of their bloodlust, Nightmare's unease had only grown. There was something missing here, some piece of the picture that he had not yet comprehended.

" **MY LORD!"** a high-pitched voice suddenly broke through his thoughts. Nightmare turned to see a small figure running towards him. His eyes flickered with amusement; it was one of the younger Nightmares, one of five who comprised the next generation of their noble heritage. The yellow figure and tall ears identified him as Plushtrap, a prankster by nature whose antics either amused or irritated those around him depending on the day.

But Nightmare's amusement vanished when he saw the frantic look on the young demon's face as he dashed closer. **"HELP, LORD UNCLE!"** Plushtrap shouted desperately. By now, the other Nightmares had noticed his arrival, and all of them were immediately on guard when they saw the uncharacteristic fear in the young demon's head. **"WE NEED HELP! SOMETHING…SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED!"**

" **WHAT IS IT?"** Nightmare demanded.

" **THE PALACE…OUR PALACE WAS INVADED!"** Plushtrap shouted. He broke off coughing, and the Nightmares' eyes widened in shock and disbelief when they saw the deep gash that had been carved into Plushtrap's side. **"IT WAS VUCARIK, LORD UNCLE. HE…HE…"**

Before he could say anything more, he collapsed onto the ground unconscious, his energy spent. **"I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"** Nightmare snarled venomously. **"I KNEW THAT SOMETHING SEEMED OFF ABOUT THIS ATTACK. IT WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A DIVERSION THE ENTIRE TIME!"** He turned to the other Nightmares. **"NIGHTMARIONNE, PICK PLUSHTRAP UP AND TAKE HIM BACK TO THE PALACE,"** he commanded. **"WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED NOW!"**

Nightmarionne picked up Plushtrap with a gentleness that belied the savagery he had displayed only minutes ago, and the Nightmares either raced or teleported back to the palace depending on the extent of their powers. To their rage and fear (though they would never admit the latter), the gates to the palace had been forced open, a gaping hole blasted through the middle. Nightmare and Nightmarionne were already in the palace, and the Nightmares who had arrived through physical movement stopped when they saw that Nightmare's eyes were blazing with fury. One sniff of the air in the throne room, and the other Nightmares quickly realized why.

They could smell the blood and essence of the younger Nightmares, a sign that they had all been terribly wounded. The Nightmares followed their master and the scent down the steps to the dungeons. And when they finally arrived at the bottom, what they saw was one of the very few scenes that could inspire fear and horror in even their darkling hearts.

The 4 other Nightmare children, Nightmare Balloon Boy and the three Freddles, had been thrown into dungeon cells, all of them with horrific wounds inflicted on their bodies. Worse than that, the Nightmares could tell that some of their demonic essence had been ripped from their bodies, and now they flickered on the edge of life and death. Plushtrap's wounds were far less severe in comparison, implying that he had only been superficially wounded and had managed to escape to get help.

And the cell that had been holding William Afton ever since he had first descended into the grasp of the Nightmares…was empty.

" **MY SONS!"** Nightmare Freddy roared, his eyes burning with both fury and concern for his children. **"WHO DID THIS TO YOU? I WILL TEAR HIS BODY TO SHREDS AND FEAST ON HIS REMAINS!"**

" **WE KNOW WHO DID THIS,"** Nightmare Fredbear growled as Nightmare Freddy and Bonnie threw the doors open and Nightmare Chica rushed into the cells to start healing the Nightmare children. **"VUCARIK…THAT SNIVELLING COWARD! TO ATTACK THE YOUNGEST AMONG US WHILE OUR BACK WAS TURNED…"**

Nightmarionne glared viciously at William Afton's empty cell. **"AND TO COOPERATE WITH THE SLIME OF HUMANITY…"** he snarled, his words dripping with searing hatred for both collaborators.

" **WHAT IS GOING ON?"** Nightmare Foxy shouted. **"I DON'T UNDERSTAND! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"**

" **THEN ALLOW ME TO ENLIGHTEN YOU, AND LISTEN WELL. FOR IF I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF THEN I MAY JUST KILL YOU INSTEAD TO SPARE ME THE TROUBLE!"** Nightmare snarled, making it very clear that he was not in the mood for any nonsense. **"VUCARIK HAS ALWAYS BEEN…DISSATISFIED…WITH LUCIFER'S DOMINION OVER HELL. AND HE HAS GATHERED ARMIES AND ALLIES TO INCITE A CIVIL WAR AND CLAIM THE INFERNO AS HIS OWN. I WAS ONE OF THE ONES HE APPROACHED, AND I REFUSED HIS OFFER OF ALLIANCE."**

 _Several Days Ago…_

" **I DO NOT APPRECIATE HAVING MY TIME WASTED, VUCARIK,"** Nightmare spat at the demon lord standing in front of him. **"STATE YOUR POINT OR BE GONE FROM MY SIGHT!"**

" **YOU DO NOT REALIZE THE FULL OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE HERE, NIGHTMARE…"** Vucarik coaxed, his soft voice echoing malevolently, able to be heard even over the screams of the damned in the distance. He held out a skeletal hand and tilted his horned skull towards Nightmare. **"LUCIFER'S HOLD HAS GROWN WEAK. HE HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVE IN THE AFFAIRS OF HELL FOR CENTURIES. WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO BOW TO HIM WHEN HIS PRESENCE AMOUNTS TO NOTHING? JOIN US, AND WE CAN FREE OURSELVES FROM THE SHACKLES OF HIS SO-CALLED RULE. WE DESERVE TO BE THE LORDS OF HELL, NOT SOME DODDERING FOOL WHO IS LONG PAST HIS PRIME!"**

" **ARE YOU TRULY SO FOOLISH AS TO THINK THAT LUCIFER IS A WEAKLING WHO HAS SIMPLY ABANDONED HELL?"** Nightmare countered mockingly. **"HE IS AN ARCHANGEL, YOU FOOL! ONLY GOD'S GREATEST SERVANTS CAN MATCH HIM IN POWER, AND HE HAS LOST NONE OF HIS STRENGTH EVEN AFTER HIS FALL AND THE MILLENNIA THAT HAVE PASSED. AND EVEN IF LUCIFER IS WEAK, AS YOU SO IDIOTICALLY BELIEVE HE IS, HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT IT IS HEAVEN THAT IS ULTIMATELY IN CONTROL? THAT THE ONLY REASON WHY THE ARMIES OF GOD DO NOT INVADE US IS BECAUSE THE PRESENT ORDER IS SATISFACTORY TO THEM? TO OPPOSE THE HIGH POWERS OF BOTH LIGHT AND DARKNESS IS SUICIDE!"**

Vucarik's eyes narrowed spitefully. **"SO YOU ARE A COWARD THEN, NIGHTMARE…"** he hissed.

The demon lord bared his teeth at the insult. **"I AM A PRAGMATIST, YOU FOOL,"** Nightmare retorted. **"I HAVE LITTLE TO GAIN AND EVERYTHING TO LOSE BY PLAYING ALONG WITH YOUR AMBITIONS. I AM ALREADY LORD AND MASTER OF MY REALM, WHETHER A GREATER MASTER RULES OVER HELL OR NO. PERHAPS THE TRUE REASON WHY YOU INSIST ON YOUR IMBECILIC REBELLION IS BECAUSE YOUR CREDIT WITH THE GREATER POWERS IS NOT AS GOOD AS MINE, VUCARIK? MY ANSWER REMAINS THE SAME: I. WILL. NOT. HELP YOU."**

Rage burned in Vucarik, surrounding him like an unholy aura of flame. **"YOU WILL REGRET THIS, NIGHTMARE…"** he hissed. **"YOU WILL REGRET THE DAY YOU TURNED MY OFFER OF FRIENDSHIP."**

Nightmare sneered. **"THE ONLY ONE YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOURSELF, VUCARIK. YOU SPEAK OF FREEDOM WHEN YOU INTEND TO ELEVATE YOURSELF AS LORD AND MASTER IN LUCIFER'S PLACE. NOW BE GONE FROM MY SIGHT, LEST I CRUSH YOUR SKULL IN MY FANGS AND END YOUR AMBITIONS BEFORE THEY CAN EVEN BEGIN!"**

 _Present Day…_

" **YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST SLAUGHTERED HIM WHERE HE STOOD, MY LORD,"** Nightmare Freddy growled.

" **HE WOULD TRY TO REBEL AGAINST LUCIFER?"** Nightmare Bonnie sneered. **"HE IS A FOOL."**

" **AN IMBECILE,"** Nightmare agreed. **"BUT HE IS AN IMBECILE WITH AMBITIONS INFLAMED AND ENOUGH POWER TO ACT ON THOSE AMBITIONS. IF HE WERE INTELLIGENT, HE WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED MY REFUSAL WITHOUT ANY FURTHER INCIDENT AND I WOULD HAVE REMAINED NEUTRAL IN THE CIVIL WAR THAT IS NOW RAGING OUTSIDE OUR DOMAIN."**

The demon lord's eyes narrowed and his voice started dripping with loathing. **"BUT INSTEAD, VUCARIK HAS DECIDED TO RETALIATE AGAINST US FOR NOT FALLING IN LINE WITH HIS IDIOTIC PLOYS. HE MUST HAVE SENT THAT ARMY TO INVADE OUR DOMAIN AS A DIVERSION, KNOWING THAT WE WOULD NOT TOLERATE SUCH DISRESPECT, AND USED THAT TIME TO INVADE OUR PALACE."**

His gaze fell upon the Nightmare children, who thankfully had been stabilized by Nightmare Chica while he had been speaking. The female demon was muttering healing incantations that Nightmare himself had designed, coating the children in a red light that started to close their wounds. But they had still been devastated by the atrocities Vucarik had inflicted on them, and the essence that had been stolen would leave them crippled and weak for more than a century if it could not be quickly regained. **"HE MUST HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH WILLIAM AFTON AT SOME POINT BEFORE LAUNCHING HIS ATTACK, FREED HIM, AND INFUSED THE WRETCHED SHADE WITH THE ESSENCE STOLEN FROM OUR YOUNGLINGS."**

" **BUT THIS STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY VUCARIK WOULD BOTHER WITH ALL THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!"** Nightmare Foxy exclaimed in frustration. **"EVEN IF HE IS INFUSED WITH DEMONIC ESSENCE, WILLIAM AFTON IS NOTHING COMPARED TO ANY OF US, OR EVEN A REGULAR DEMON WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE ARTS OF WAR."** The other Nightmares growled in agreement, but they soon stopped when they saw that Nightmarionne's eyes had faded to black.

" **I KNOW WHAT HE HAS DONE…"** Nightmarionne lifted a finger into the air and pointed towards William Afton's empty cage. A rip in space seemed to flash in front of them for a few seconds before it flickered away. **"CAN YOU NOT SENSE IT? A PORTAL HAS BEEN OPENED BETWEEN DOMINIONS, A MOMENTARY TEAR IN REALITY THAT HAS ONLY RECENTLY BEEN SEALED SHUT. VUCARIK HAS FREED WILLIAM AFTON…AND SENT HIM TO THE MORTAL WORLD."**

Roars of outrage and disbelief met his claim, and Nightmare Fredbear bared his teeth in disgust. **"HE WOULD BE SO ARROGANT AS TO DEFY ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THE INFERNO?"** he snarled. **"THE DAMNED SUFFER ETERNALLY, AND DO NOT EVER RETURN!"**

" **I UNDERSTAND NOW…"** Nightmare Freddy growled. **"APART FROM HIS PETTY AND PATHETIC REVENGE, VUCARIK WANTED TO KEEP OUR LORD AWAY FROM JOINING THE WAR AGAINST HIM BY KEEPING HIM DISTRACTED WITH BOTH OUR WOUNDED YOUNGLINGS AND THE ESCAPE OF A DAMNED SOUL INFUSED WITH DEMONIC POWER."**

" **IF HE TRULY BELIEVED THAT THIS PLOY OF HIS WOULD SUCCEED, THEN HE IS EVEN MORE OF A FOOL THAN I BELIEVED,"** Nightmare hissed. The others silenced themselves as they turned to gaze upon their lord. He had passed beyond fury and rage, and had descended into a chilling wrath that seemed to smother the very air with darkness and malice. **"THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT MEANS TO FEAR US,"** the demon lord began to speak, and all fell silent as they felt his words empower their very souls. **"THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY** _ **OUR**_ **CLAN WAS CHOSEN TO RULE IN THE DARKEST PITS OF HELL, AND WHY OUR DOMINION HAS REMAINED UNCONTESTED FOR MILLENNIA EVEN WITH ONLY SEVEN IN OUR NUMBER. WE BEAR THESE FORMS AS A MOCKERY TO THE WEAKLINGS WHO SURROUND US, TO DEMONSTRATE OUR SUPERIORITY EVEN IN A FORM THAT WOULD EARN NOTHING BUT RIDICULE WERE IT TO BE ASSUMED BY ANY OTHER. ALL OF HELL FEARED OUR NAME ONCE BEFORE, AND BY THE TIME VUCARIK'S LITTLE INSURRECTION IS CRUSHED AND I THROW HIS BROKEN CORPSE AT LUCIFER'S FEET, ALL OF HELL WILL FEAR OUR NAME ONCE AGAIN!"**

The moment he finished his speech, Nightmare raised his arms and let out a thundering roar so infused with malice and the bloody promise of vengeance that the very palace shook at its foundations with the sheer force of his fury and the other damned souls in his domain clutched their heads and wailed in terror of his wrath. As one, the Nightmares roared in affirmation and approval of their lord's words, with even Plushtrap joining in despite his junior status and his wounds. **"WE WILL CLAIM OUR PAYMENT FOR THIS INSULT IN FIRE AND BLOOD!"** Nightmare swore. **"SHED THE FORMS YOU HAVE WORN SINCE WE TORMENTED THAT PATHETIC BRAT LONG AGO, AND ASSUME YOUR TRUE MANTLE OF POWER ONCE AGAIN! VENGEANCE WILL BE OURS, AND OUR ENEMIES WILL CURSE THE DAY THEY DARED TO MAKE AN ENEMY OF US!"**

All around him, the Nightmares began to transform. They cast aside the twisted visages of the Freddy Fazbear animatronics that they had assumed, and began to assume their true demonic forms: abominations of horror and despair whose very presence drove the weak-minded into insanity and struck soul-crushing terror into even the most stalwart of demonic warriors. Only Nightmare, Nightmare Chica, and the young ones remained in their current forms. Nightmare Chica was still taking care of the children, and as for Nightmare…

" **WHY DO YOU NOT TRANSFORM, MY LORD?"** the creature that had once been Nightmare Bonnie asked. **"WILL YOU NOT JOIN US IN THE GLORIOUS SLAUGHTER THAT IS TO COME?"**

" **I WILL ABSOLUTELY JOIN YOU, BROTHER, FOR I WOULD HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL MYSELF YOUR LORD IF I DID NOT. HOWEVER, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I MUST DO FIRST,"** Nightmare explained. **"I MUST ADDRESS BOTH OF VUCARIK'S ATTEMPTS TO DISTRACT US. OUR SISTER IS TAKING CARE OF THE YOUNGLINGS, BUT THERE IS STILL THE MATTER OF WILLIAM AFTON'S ESCAPE."**

The demon that had been Nightmarionne studied the portal. **"WE CANNOT OPEN IT,"** he reported. **"VUCARIK'S POWER SIGNATURE IS DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN. FORTUNATELY, VUCARIK WAS FORCED TO USE HIS MAGIC HAPHAZARDLY IN ORDER TO QUICKLY REMOVE WILLIAM AFTON FROM HELL, SO IT WILL TAKE TIME FOR THE MONGREL TO MAKE IT TO EARTH. BUT IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT THERE WILL SOON BE A DEMONICALLY EMPOWERED DAMNED SOUL LOOSE ON EARTH, AND NIGHTMARE MAY BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT OCCURS."**

" **IT WILL BE EASY ENOUGH TO DIVERT ANY BLAME TOWARDS THE ONE TRULY RESPONSIBLE,"** Nightmare replied, **"BUT I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THAT WILLIAM AFTON IS JUST AS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS COWARDICE AS VUCARIK IS. I HAVE HEARD WILLIAM AFTON'S RAMBLINGS DURING THE THROES OF HIS AGONY, AND I KNOW WHAT HE INTENDS. I HAVE EVERY INTENTION OF MAKING SURE HIS SCHEMES CRUMBLE TO ASHES AND DUST, AS THEY DID ONCE BEFORE."**

" **AND HOW DO YOU INTEND TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, IF YOU PLAN ON FIGHTING AT OUR SIDE TO BRING VUCARIK TO HEEL?"** the former Nightmare Fredbear asked.

To their surprise, an unholy grin spread across Nightmare's face despite the situation, and he let out an inhuman laugh. **"WE ARE NOT WITHOUT ALLIES, BROTHER, EVEN IF THE ONE OF WHOM I SPEAK DOES NOT KNOW ABOUT OUR COMMON INTERESTS JUST YET. AND I CANNOT PRESENT MY TRUE FORM TO AN ALLY WHO WOULD BE DRIVEN INSANE MERELY BY STANDING IN THE PRESENCE OF MY FULL GLORY."**

His brother's eyes widened. **"YOU INTEND TO…"**

" **INDEED…"** Nightmare confirmed. **"IT IS TIME FOR ME TO CONTACT AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE OF MINE, ONE WHOSE HATRED FOR WILLIAM AFTON BURNS WITH AN EVEN GREATER STRENGTH THAN THAT OF OUR OWN…"**

/

The moment Mike opened his eyes in his dream, he knew that something was wrong.

He was no stranger to nightmares and tormented dreams, but this was different. He could feel a malevolent, oppressive presence near him, a presence that seemed to snuff out hope and drown the very atmosphere in malice and darkness.

One that he recognized all too well.

"Nightmare…" the man growled. "I know you're here."

The black demon bear materialized in front of him. **"AH, SCHMIDT…"** the demon lord smirked. **"IT HAS BEEN QUITE A WHILE SINCE WE LAST CROSSED PATHS, HASN'T IT? THOUGH ONE OF MY BROTHERS SEEMS TO RECALL ENCOUNTERING YOU IN VEGAS A FEW MONTHS AGO…QUITE THE INTERESTING EVENING THAT MUST HAVE BEEN."**

"I don't have time for bullshit," Mike snapped. "Why are you here?"

" **STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, I SEE. GOOD. MY TOLERANCE FOR WASTING TIME IS NO HIGHER THAN YOURS."** Nightmare agreed. **"I HAVE NOT ENTERED YOUR MIND TO ATTACK YOU, SCHMIDT. I DO NOT HAVE ANY HOSTILE INTENTIONS TOWARDS YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST. ON THE CONTRARY, WHAT I MUST INFORM YOU NOW IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE CONTINUED WELL-BEING AND HAPPINESS OF YOUR FAMILY, AND YOU WOULD DO WELL TO HEED MY WORDS."**

Mike immediately snapped to attention, studying Nightmare carefully. He looked first for any signs of malice and hostility, but to his surprise he could find none (or at the very least, not any directed towards him or even his kids). And instead of the sinister grin or snarling rage that he had come to associate with Nightmare in their last encounter, there was only a serious, grim expression of one who was about to deliver terrible news. And that, more than anything, put Mike on edge.

"And what's so terrible that a demon lord from the depths of Hell would have to warn me about it?" Mike asked. Even before he finished the question, a horrible feeling began to grow within him. A terrible suspicion that one of the few things that could gravely threaten his family had just come to pass.

Nightmare looked right into Mike's eyes and spoke one of the few sentences that could possibly cause the man to feel true fear for the first time in decades. **"SIMPLY THIS. WILLIAM AFTON HAS ESCAPED…AND HE IS COMING FOR YOU."**

/

A/N: And so it begins. Those of you who expected the Nightmares to be in the darkest arc were absolutely correct to make that assumption. But I wonder how many of you expected Nightmare to be Mike's ALLY this time around?

If you're wondering why I didn't actually SHOW Vucarik attacking the child Nightmares and fusing their essence to William Afton, I don't feel comfortable writing about violence against kids, even if the kids in this context are Nightmares.

A surprising amount of you thought that the demon lord behind William's escape was either Shadow Bonnie or Nightmarionne. Shadow Bonnie doesn't speak in the way a Nightmare does (lowercase bold), so he was out to begin with. And I do have to admit that Nightmarionne being a traitor would have made for quite the interesting twist and some might even say that there was a missed opportunity, but there was a reason I decided not to go through that path. So, the demon lord who freed William Afton was an outsider who is basically, for all intents and purposes, a plot device XD. Don't look at me like that, Scott's done it more than once in the FNAF games.

In all seriousness, though, the reason why I didn't have a traitor within the Nightmares was because I wanted to establish the Nightmares as a foil and a contrast to the Afton family. The Nightmares are absolutely, definitively evil. They are incredibly cruel, vicious beings who revel in hideously torturing the damned souls in their care, and their treatment of their enemies is arguably even worse.

But for all their evil, the Nightmares are a _family_. They cooperate with each other without any problems, as shown when they tormented Michael's dreams during the FNAF4 chapters, and Nightmare is incredibly generous when it comes to letting his siblings have fun with victims first before he moves in to finish the job. They treat each other with respect (or at the very least don't do anything negative to each other beyond insults, which for high-tier demons is practically saint-like behavior), they have fun and enjoy themselves a way a normal family would (only with a lot more sadism thrown into the mix), and though they would never admit it under torture, they do care about each other. You fuck with one Nightmare, you fuck with all of them.

You can say as many things as you want about how evil the Nightmares are. But in my opinion at least, the fact that the Nightmares treat each other as a family should puts them on a higher moral pedestal and makes them infinitely more respectable than William Afton.

And speaking of William Afton, you guessed it. The fact that he was infused with the stolen essence of the child Nightmares means that he is indeed a demonically empowered damned soul loose on Earth. He may not be anywhere near as powerful as an actual Nightmare (the essence was stolen from kids who were stuck in their weaker Freddy Fazbear animatronic form), but what he has now is still a hell of a lot more than what Mike or his kids have at the moment. Nightmare Springtrap is on the hunt now…

One final thing: did you guys enjoy the battle scene? This is my first time actually writing one out in years, and I wanted to experiment a bit with it. I hope you enjoyed it, for I have this to say:

 **This will not be the last battle scene I write before the arc concludes.**

Hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry for longer wait between chapters, I have a lot of shit to take care of.


	72. Chapter 72 - Preparing for the Storm

A/N: Three exams last week, fuck life amirite? Though maybe I shouldn't be complaining, considering what the family is now facing…

You should probably expect the 2-week gaps to continue, with how busy my life has become. Just FYI.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: Thanks for finding the typo, it has been fixed!

SleepDeprivedIntrovert: I feel like if I tried to describe the Nightmares' true forms I would fail completely (or worse, end up detracting from their horror) so I'll leave it to your imagination.

Ponymonfan: I unfortunately don't have the tech to play it but I'm definitely interested!

A couple of people: I haven't forgotten Nightmare Mangle, I just haven't chosen to introduce him/her (at least, not yet). Also, the Nightmares and Jack-o's are one and the same (whenever they burst into flame I call them Infernals).

Greenden: No, Nightmare Springtrap will look more like a Nightmare version of FNAF3 Springtrap (at least on a foundational level).

Guest: I should have clarified that _major_ characters relevant to this arc would be from FNAF. Vucarik doesn't really have much role to play outside of giving me an excuse to get William on the loose.

Chapter 72 – Preparing for the Storm

Mike stared blankly at Nightmare, his mouth hanging open slightly. "I…I'm sorry," he shook his head. "Did I hear you right? Did you just say that William Afton escaped Hell and is making his way to Earth?"

" **TO MY DISPLEASURE, THAT IS INDEED THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS,"** Nightmare confirmed, the images of the wounded Nightmare children still in the back of his mind.

"Okay…asking as courteously as I possibly can given what I've just learned, would you mind please telling me how in the FLYING FUCK that happened?" Mike exclaimed.

Nightmare gritted his teeth, though since he shared Mike's frustration he decided to let the moment of insolence slide. **"THE COWARD COOPERATED WITH AN ENEMY OF MINE AND HAS STOLEN SOME POWER FROM ONE OF OUR OWN. THOUGH HIS POWER IS A MERE TRIFLE COMPARED TO A TRUE NIGHTMARE, IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT A DAMNED SOUL EMPOWERED WITH DEMONIC ESSENCE WILL SOON BE ARRIVING ON EARTH, WITH FREEDOM HE MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT DESERVE."**

Mike's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck…" he gasped out. "Who knows what that bastard can do now that he's free? He could slaughter everyone he comes across, try to make more killer robots, throw the entire town into chaos! Holy fuck, what if he possesses an innocent person and forces them to kill just like he did?"

Nightmare shook his head. **"I DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT ON THAT SCORE,"** he replied, **"FOR I BELIEVE THAT WILLIAM AFTON WILL HAVE A VERY** _ **DIFFERENT**_ **GOAL IN MIND."**

"What…kind of goal?" Mike asked carefully.

Nightmare's eyes narrowed on the mortal. **"MY KIN AND I HAVE SPENT MANY YEARS TORTURING WILLIAM AFTON IN THE DEEPS, AND OUR TORTURES ONLY INTENSIFIED AFTER HE LOST THE WAGER THAT GRANTED HIM HIS PROTECTIONS. AND AS WE TORMENTED HIM DAY AND NIGHT, WE HAVE HEARD HIM MUTTER OATHS AND CRIES FOR VENGEANCE AGAINST YOU** _ **SPECIFICALLY**_ **, MIKE SCHMIDT,"** he explained. **"HE KNOWS THAT** _ **YOU**_ **ARE THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS INCREASED AGONY, BOTH THROUGH CAUSING HIM TO FAIL HIS WAGER AND THE LIST OF TORMENTS YOU GAVE ME AFTER I REVEALED MY TRUE PURPOSE ALL THOSE NIGHTS AGO. HIS HATRED FOR YOU IS MATCHED ONLY BY HIS HATRED OF US, TO THE POINT THAT THE CHILDREN HE MURDERED HAVE BEEN ALL BUT FORGOTTEN BY HIM IN COMPARISON."**

"That feeling is more than fucking mutual," Mike snarled, "but I'm having a hard time believing that he only really cares about me and not fucking around with my kids even more than he already has."

Despite the mood, Nightmare couldn't help but smirk. **"IT'S AMAZING WHAT A YEAR OF NEVERENDING, HORRIFIC TORTURE CAN DO TO THE MIND,"** he replied smoothly.

"I see your point," Mike admitted. "So the fucker wants to kill me? _Let him_. I've lived a good life and I don't have any regrets. And the moment I die, the kids get set free. So let's see what good ending my life does for that piece of shit."

" **IF ONLY IT WERE THAT SIMPLE,"** Nightmare interrupted warningly. **"BUT HE KNOWS THAT KILLING YOU WILL RELEASE YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN'S SOULS TO HEAVEN. HE KNOWS THAT THIS WILL NOT ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE WANTS. HE WANTS TO MAKE YOU** _ **SUFFER**_ **, AND TORMENT YOUR CHILDREN THROUGH YOU."**

Something about the way Nightmares said that immediately put Mike on edge. "What do you mean by that?" he asked warily.

" **THERE ARE WAYS FOR WILLIAM AFTON TO GET HIS REVENGE ON YOU WITHOUT KILLING YOU AND SETTING THE CHILDREN FREE IN THE PROCESS,"** Nightmare explained. **"I HAVE HEARD HIM UTTER HIS PLANS IN THE MIDST OF HIS AGONIZED SCREAMS, FOR IT WAS THE ONLY COMFORT THAT HE COULD FIND FOR HIMSELF, WRETCH THAT HE IS. THE FIRST IS FOR HIM TO CRIPPLE YOUR BODY, TO TORTURE YOUR FLESH AS HORRIFICALLY AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT BRINGING YOU PAST THE THRESHOLD OF DEATH. YOU WOULD REMAIN A CRIPPLED SHELL OF A MAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS, AND YOUR CHILDREN WOULD HAVE TO SPEND EVERY REMAINING MOMENT ON EARTH CARING FOR THE BROKEN MAN IN CONSTANT AGONY WHO WOULD BE ALL THAT IS LEFT OF THEIR FATHER."**

Mike instantly felt nauseous at what Nightmare was describing. "And the other?" he was almost afraid to ask.

Nightmare stared straight into Mike's soul. **"HIS OTHER PLAN IS TO INVADE YOUR MIND IN A MANNER SIMILAR TO POSSESSION AND ATTACK YOUR SOUL."**

A horrific chill descended on Mike as he realized the implications. "He can…he can destroy…destroy my…"

" **NOT…PERMANENTLY…"** Nightmare explained. **"GOD CREATED THE SOUL TO BE WHOLE AND FUNDAMENTALLY INDESTRUCTIBLE. IT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE CONCEPT OF ETERNAL SUFFERING AND DAMNATION WORKS, AFTER ALL. NOT EVEN HELL'S MOST POWERFUL DEMONS CAN PERMANENTLY DESTROY A SOUL, AND A WEAKLING LIKE WILLIAM AFTON MOST CERTAINLY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IT. YOUR SOUL WILL EVENTUALLY HEAL THE WOUNDS ON IT AND REGENERATE, BUT THAT WILL BE OF LITTLE COMFORT TO YOUR CHILDREN."**

Mike pieced the reasons together. "If he attacks my soul, I'll be a vegetable until he regenerates, won't I?"

Nightmare nodded. **"I AM PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION, SCHMIDT. YES. UNTIL YOUR SOUL REGENERATES, YOU WOULD BE A MINDLESS VEGETABLE, UNABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE CHILDREN YOU HAVE GROWN TO LOVE IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY. AND THEY WOULD SPEND THAT TIME TAKING CARE OF A MINDLESS SHELL, BEGGING FOR THEIR FATHER TO RETURN. IT MIGHT TAKE MONTHS, YEARS, EVEN DECADES FOR YOU TO REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WOULD EVEN RETAIN YOUR MEMORIES OF THE ONES YOU LOVE IF THE DAMAGE THAT WILLIAM AFTON INFLICTED WAS GREAT ENOUGH."**

Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Yes, he could almost certainly imagine William Afton, a man with absolutely no morals to speak of, inflicting that kind of hideous fate on him and his children. He didn't want to imagine how his children would have to endure such a life; Liz especially would be devastated. "So what do I do?" he asked quietly. "I will fight to the bitter end, but I'm just a mortal man against a demonically empowered damned soul. I'm not going to bullshit myself; this is not a fight that I can win. And there's no way in Hell I'm going to make or even let the kids fight this battle for me, I'm not a coward like he is."

" **NO, SCHMIDT, YOU ARE NOT,"** Nightmare agreed. **"AND YOU ARE CORRECT. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DEFEAT WILLIAM AFTON…** _ **BUT ONLY IN THE REAL WORLD**_ **."**

Mike instantly jerked his head up to stare at Nightmare. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.

" **YOU DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO DEFEAT WILLIAM AFTON IF HE CHOOSES TO MERELY ATTACK YOUR BODY,"** Nightmare explained, **"BUT IF HE DOES WHAT I BELIEVE HE WILL, AND CHOOSES TO ATTACK YOUR SOUL, THEN THAT CHANGES THE ENTIRE GAME. BY INVADING YOUR MIND, HE WILL ENTER A MENTAL LANDSCAPE WHERE YOUR SOUL RESIDES, AND INTERACT WITH YOU IN A WAY QUITE SIMILAR TO HOW YOU AND I ARE COMMUNICATING NOW. AND UNLIKE THE REAL WORLD, THE POWER YOU POSSESS IN THE MENTAL WORLD IS DETERMINED ENTIRELY BY YOUR STRENGTH OF WILL AND THE DEPTHS OF YOUR CREATIVITY."**

Mike's eyes widened. "I get it…" he gasped out. "In the world of my mind and dreams, I have power and strength that I wouldn't have in the real world."

" **AND YOU ARE NOT ONLY A LUCID DREAMER, BUT ALSO A LUCID DREAMER WHO IS ABLE TO ACTIVELY INFLUENCE AND CONTROL THE FABRIC OF REALITY IN YOUR MIND, WHICH IS AN ADVANTAGE THAT CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED."** Nightmare gazed straight into Mike's eyes. **"THERE IS POWER WITHIN YOU, MIKE SCHMIDT. A MIGHT AND STRENGTH OF WILL THAT, IN A WORLD OF THE MIND WHERE THE LAWS OF REALITY DO NOT APPLY, WOULD BE VERY FORMIDABLE INDEED. IF I WERE TO INVADE YOUR DREAMS AS I HAD DONE TO OTHERS, INCLUDING YOUR CHILDREN, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO RESIST WHEN OTHERS WOULD BE ENTIRELY HELPLESS. IF YOU GOAD WILLIAM AFTON INTO ATTEMPTING TO ATTACK YOUR SOUL INSTEAD OF YOUR BODY, THEN I TRULY BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE A VERY REAL CHANCE OF EMERGING VICTORIOUS, OR AT THE VERY LEAST HOLDING HIM OFF UNTIL I ARRIVE TO DRAG HIS SCREAMING CARCASS BACK INTO THE ABYSS WHERE HE BELONGS."**

"Why are you telling me this?" Mike asked, his brow furrowed with confusion. "Why are you helping me? And if you want William Afton back in Hell so badly, then why haven't you come up here already to stop him before he can even do anything?'

" **BECAUSE WILLIAM AFTON DARED TO COMMIT A GRIEVOUS INSULT AGAINST ME AND MY KIN, AND I WILL SEE HIM AND HIS PLANS BURNED TO ASHES AND RUIN AS THEY WERE ONCE BEFORE,"** Nightmare growled, his scarlet eyes burning with an unholy rage. In the depths of that malice, Mike could see the barest trace of well-concealed grief and justified fury, and he realized that William Afton had attacked someone that Nightmare had cared about to get his demonic power.

And though he wouldn't ever trust Nightmare to give him the full story, Mike realized that every word that Nightmare _had_ spoken so far had been the absolute, unadulterated truth. Both in letter, and in spirit.

" **AS FOR WHY I AM NOT PROVIDING ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE TO YOU, THE DEMON LORD WHO WILLIAM AFTON COLLABORATED WITH HAS LAUNCHED A CIVIL WAR THAT IS RAGING THROUGHOUT THE LOWER CIRCLES OF HELL,"** Nightmare continued, seemingly oblivious to Mike's thoughts, **"AND I MUST FIRST CRUSH THE FOOL WHO DARED TO INSULT MY FAMILY'S HONOR,"** his eyes narrowed menacingly, **"UNLESS THAT IS A PROBLEM FOR YOU?"** he added with a hiss.

Mike shook his head. "Nope, not at all," he replied. He wasn't sure how he felt about that excuse, but he wasn't about to risk losing the goodwill that the demon lord seemed to have for him currently, even if that goodwill was based entirely on the loathing that both of them shared for William Afton and anyone who associated with him.

" **TO ASSURE YOU THAT I AM SPEAKING THE TRUTH, I SWEAR TO YOU, ON MY HONOR AS A DEMON LORD AND NIGHTMARE, THAT IF YOU OR YOUR FAMILY ARE STILL FIGHTING AGAINST WILLIAM AFTON WHEN I ARRIVE ON EARTH, I WILL COME TO DELIVER YOU FROM DEFEAT BY HIS HANDS AT YOUR MOMENT OF NEED."** Mike's eyes widened at the oath being spoken by the demon lord and the gravity that emanated in his words, but before he could comment Nightmare continued. **"THOUGH I INTEND TO SILENCE VUCARIK'S HISTRIONICS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, I CANNOT INTERVENE BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR IN HELL ENDS, SO IT FALLS ONTO YOU TO WITHSTAND HIS ASSAULT UNTIL I ARRIVE. YOU HAVE ONE OR TWO DAYS AT MOST TO PREPARE FOR WILLIAM AFTON'S ARRIVAL. I ADVISE THAT YOU SPEND THAT TIME WELL."**

Mike nodded. "I will, Nightmare. And thank you. If what you're saying is true, and if you've just helped us avert a massive catastrophe, then I forgive you for attacking my family last year."

Nightmare sneered. **"I DO NOT NEED YOUR GRATITUDE, MORTAL. I AM WORKING TO SERVE MY OWN INTERESTS, AS I ALWAYS DO. BUT BEFORE I DEPART, I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW JUST HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE CURRENTLY. GO AHEAD AND GIVE ME YOUR BEST…"**

The demon lord didn't have time to even finish his sentence before a lightning bolt, tinged with a dark purple hue, blasted out of the fog surrounding them and struck him straight in the end. Nightmare snarled in surprise, as he had not only been completely flatfooted by the surprise attack, but had also felt _actual pain_ from the lightning strike. He glared at Mike, only to see a smirk on the mortal's face.

"You asked me for my best shot," Mike replied. "But number 1, what I just did right now isn't even close to my best shot, and number 2, do you really think I'd let my enemies see my best shot coming?"

Nightmare stared at the mortal for a second, then grinned. In that one move, Mike had already proved himself to be both a strategist and a fighter at his core. If William Afton thought that Mike Schmidt would keel over and die like all his other victims, he would be in for a _very_ nasty surprise.

/

" _Dad! Dad! Wake up, dad!"_ Charlie frantically shook Mike's slumbering form.

" _What's wrong with him?"_ Liz asked worriedly. He was still sleeping when it was 10 am, which was admittedly a bit odd. But that didn't explain why Charlie was so scared.

" _I felt…a presence…in the house, for a split second,"_ Charlie explained nervously. _"But I could have sworn I felt Nightmare's aura in dad's room."_

Liz's eyes widened in horror and she joined her sister in shaking Mike. _"Dad!"_ she all but shouted. _"WAKE UP!"_

"Urrrrggghhhhh…" Mike's eyes flickered open and he groaned. "I'm up, I'm up…"

Both ghost girls breathed a massive sigh of relief. _"Maybe I was just imagining things, then,"_ Charlie muttered. _"I could have sworn I sensed Nightmare in your room, but maybe I was just panicking…"_

"Well, you weren't wrong," Mike muttered. As his daughters stared at him in renewed horror, he got up from the bed. "Charlie, Liz, get the rest of the kids and meet me in the dining hall. I have something very important to talk to you guys about, and it's very, _very_ bad news."

/

Mike sat down heavily onto a chair at the dining table, the ghostly children next to him or across from him. _"Charlie said that there was bad news, dad…"_ Jeremy was the first to speak, and he was clearly worried. _"What's up? What's wrong?"_

Mike sighed and rubbed his head. "There's no good way for me to say this, so I'm just going to say it," he declared. "I was visited by Nightmare in a dream last night." The ghosts all immediately tensed up at the mention of the demon lord. "He wasn't there to attack me, though. He was there to warn me. Somehow, William Afton cooperated with another demon lord to get demonic power and escape Hell."

Pandemonium erupted at the news. _"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"_ Gabe shouted in horror.

" _HE ESCAPED HELL?"_ Susie shrieked.

" _HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?"_ Jeremy demanded. _"I THOUGHT HE WAS GONE FOR GOOD!"_

" _CAN'T THAT FUCKER JUST GIVE UP AND DIE ALREADY?"_ Fritz yelled.

Liz floated silently, her very essence overwhelmed by sheer horror and nausea. She remembered how she had once idolized the father and the evil he embodied…and the idea of encountering him again, now that she knew the difference between right and wrong, made her feel sick to the core. Charlie noticed her sister's terror and tried to comfort her by bringing her close in a side hug…but even she felt a black dread at what was to come.

" _WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"_ Cassidy screamed. _"WHAT CAN WE POSSIBLY DO?"_

"We?" Mike's voice somehow managed to be heard amidst the chaos, and his voice silenced everyone else. "There won't be any we here. Nightmare told me that William Afton will be coming for me specifically. I'm sending you guys over to either the Marshalls or Melody until this shitshow blows over."

" _ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?"_ Jeremy exclaimed, and the nods from the rest of the ghosts made it clear that they all shared his mentality. _"No! FUCK no! We're staying, and we're fighting!"_

Mike's eyes widened. "Are YOU out of your mind?" he shouted, one of the few times he had ever raised his voice against his kids. "You actually think I'm going to let him anywhere near you so that he can hurt you guys again? Even being around him is probably going to be enough to remind you about the pain you suffered all over again, and that's assuming that William doesn't decide to just flat out attack you! What the hell would that say about me as a parent if I let that happen?"

" _And what does it say about US if we let our murderer attack someone who isn't just our father, but also one of the innocents that we tried to attack and murder?"_ Gabe retorted. Mike opened his mouth to speak, and Gabe cut him off. _"For years, we attacked innocents just so we could get our revenge on the bastard who killed us, never realizing that we were murdering the wrong people all this time. This is our chance to redeem ourselves, and to prove that we really do deserve to be forgiven by standing against the true evil and protecting you the best we can."_

"You guys HAVE been forgiven, though!" Mike wasn't done arguing. "I forgave you guys the moment I accepted you into my house!"

" _YOU forgave us,"_ Gabe corrected. _"But how do we know that Heaven has? How do we know that Heaven isn't testing us right now? What if, by running from William Afton and leaving you here alone, we fail the test and are forced to roam the Earth again or just get flat-out sent to Hell for not even trying to protect you?"_

"Heaven wouldn't do that…"

" _How do you know?"_ Gabe challenged, floating up to his father and glaring intently in his eyes. _"How do you know?"_ he repeated more quietly. _"Maybe William Afton will attack or even hurt us. But any pain that he causes us will be nothing compared to either eternal damnation, or the knowledge that we fled like cowards when we could have at least tried to stop him from getting to you."_

Mike tried desperately to come up with a counterargument, but to his utter frustration he _couldn't come up with one_. For all he knew, maybe Gabe was right and this was the ultimate test for the ghost kids. He couldn't bear to see the kids get hurt _again_ by William Afton, but it was clear that not allowing them to try and defend them could have consequences that, at least in their minds, were just as devastating.

And that was assuming that the ghost kids obeyed his command not to interfere. Considering how close they had become, it was more than likely that they would try to stop William Afton anyway without his permission, and he wouldn't have any control at all over how to stop them from getting hurt if that happened.

If he couldn't stop them from trying to protect him, he could at the very least control the circumstances to minimize the possible harm William Afton could cause them.

"…here's how we're going to handle this then, if you ABSOLUTELY INSIST on fighting William Afton and there's not a damn thing I can do to stop you," Mike decided after several seconds of tense, thoughtful silence. "You will fight him in the Rockstars and ONLY in the Rockstars. In theory, they'll act as a kind of armor to protect your souls from William Afton's attacks. I don't know what he looks like, but I imagine it'll be a nightmarish form of Springtrap or whatever the hell he's called. If Afton destroys the animatronic you're in, then you get the hell to safety. You stop fighting, you are DONE **.** This is going to be one of the few times that I DEMAND your obedience, and I want your word that you obey this command. Otherwise, I'm going to forcibly banish you from the house until this whole shitshow blows over. And if that isn't good enough for Heaven, I'm going to go up to God's face and tell Him and His entire court to **go fuck themselves**."

The ghosts looked at each other uncertainly, some of them looking like they wanted to keep on fighting.

"Your word. NOW."

" _We promise,"_ each and every ghost reluctantly conceded.

"Okay," Mike let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Now then, Nightmare and I came up with a plan for me to actually _beat_ Afton, and he promised to bail us out after he took care of some shit down in Hell."

" _Wait…he's helping us? And you actually trust him?"_ Cassidy asked incredulously.

"As strange as it might be for you to believe, yes, I do trust him," Mike affirmed. The ghosts clearly looked uneasy at the idea of depending on Nightmare especially after what he had done to them last time, but they trusted their father, and so they would follow his word. "And even if he was lying, from a purely practical standpoint, the consequences of preparing for an attack that won't ever happen are nothing compared to the consequences of not preparing for an attack that actually DOES happen."

" _That's a good point,"_ Charlie admitted.

He got up from his chair. "Let's get you guys suited up in the Rockstars. You might know how to move around in them by now thanks to our little game, but actually fighting in them is going to be a whole 'nother matter entirely. The sociopathic dipshit will be knocking down our door soon, and the more preparation we get in, the better."

As the 5 MCI kids left the dining room, Mike asked Liz and Charlie to stay behind. "Liz," Mike spoke to the orange-haired girl first, "I know you have your Scrap Baby form, and I know I've worked with you a bit on improving how to fight and defend."

Liz clenched her fists and stared into her dad's eyes. _"I'm ready, dad."_

Mike shook his head. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not fucking happening. ONLY use your Scrap Baby form in the event of emergency. Do NOT seek out a fight against your old dad in that form. Don't even fucking think about it."

" _But…"_ she started to protest.

"Do I make myself clear?"

" _Yes, dad…_ " Liz muttered. Mike could tell that she wasn't happy about not fighting against her former father and betrayer with everything she had, but he would've been more suspicious if Liz had simply agreed without expressing any discontent at all.

He dismissed Liz and turned to face Charlie. "Hope you've gotten some practice with your magic in, because we're going to put it to the test now. I need you to set up some wards around the house to keep William Afton out as long as possible. I don't think they'll keep him out for too long, but the longer we delay, the more time Nightmare has to deal with whatever shit is happening _down in the basement_ , if you get what I'm saying."

Charlie grimly nodded. _"I'm ready to do my best, dad."_

Despite the dangerous situation they were in, Mike smiled. "That's all I'll ever ask of you, Charlie." His eyes narrowed. "Let's show that asinine douchebag that we're not going to go down without a fight this time around."

/

In an old, abandoned restaurant, a shadowy bear and a ghostly man met in an office that had once been a hunting ground for animatronics and vengeful spirits. _"This is a rather…interesting place for us to meet,"_ the man commented dryly.

" **You and I both know that neither of us can let ourselves be seen by mortals. The dead do not mingle with the living, barring an exception that both of us are very familiar with,"** the bear replied. **"This place has long since been abandoned; nobody will find us here."**

" _True enough,"_ the man agreed. The amusement in his eyes faded away and his smile disappeared. _"We've both sensed it, haven't we? He is coming. The one responsible for so much despair and death in a sanctuary where kids should've been safe."_

" **We both know what he plans to do,"** the bear answered, **"and though we might have failed to stop him in the past, I won't sit back and let him taint the happiness of his victims again. Especially her. Not this time."**

" _And neither will I,"_ the man extended a hand. _"We might not have the power to outright defeat him, but we can and will do everything possible to make sure Nightmare drags him back to Hell where he belongs before he can do any real damage. Together."_

The bear nodded and shook the man's hand. " **Together."**

/

A/N: A small hint for what is to come in the future 😉

Some of you may be wondering why Nightmare and Mike seem so willing to get along with each other when their last encounter was mostly hostile. Here's the thing: the relationship between Nightmare and Mike is far from ideal. The last time they crossed paths, Nightmare was tormenting Mike's children with the guilt from their past sins. Though they might have cooperated briefly with coming up with ideas for William Afton's torments, Mike has good reason to still hold a grudge against Nightmare, and demons by their nature tend to sneer upon humans as inferior beings.

But whatever ill will might linger between them, it is nothing, NOTHING, compared to the sheer overwhelming HATRED that both of them have for William Afton. And both of them will happily ally with the other to see that fucker taken down without even the slightest hesitation. There's also the fact that Mike knows that (a) Nightmare is a hell of a lot more powerful than he is and (b) is being unexpectedly generous, so he knows full well that it's in his best interests to be polite regardless of his personal opinion of the demon lord. Nightmare gave Mike the knowledge he needed to turn the tables on William. Now, it falls to Mike to use that knowledge the best he can.

I was originally going to have the last segment of this chapter be the battle in Hell with Nightmare "taking care" of Vucarik and the Civil War, but I figured that that would be a bit to sudden after Nightmare _just_ spent the better part of this chapter warning Mike and telling him that he can't interfere too early. So instead, a sneak peek in two _other_ characters whose histories are VERY much intertwined with the dark past of the Fazbear franchise. You've seen them before 😉

For those of you who are still waiting for William Afton to make his appearance, don't you worry. He'll be showing up next chapter, and he is every bit the sociopathic, irredeemable monster you'll expect him to be.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!


	73. Chapter 73 - The War in Hell

A/N: So I have a confession to make to you guys. I said that William Afton would show up in this chapter, but that turned out to be false. He'll be showing up in the next one, when shit REALLY hits the fan.

Before you guys pick up the torches and pitchforks, allow me to explain. I tried to write up what William Afton's arrival on Earth would be like, along with his personality and initial invasion of Mike's house, but the details kept eluding me. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue and I would dwell on ironing everything out throughout the course of this week and the next…except for the fact that next week is finals week. And med school finals are exactly as painful and attention-consuming as they sound. If I kept going through with my initial plan, I'd either have a rushed and crappy introduction to William Afton's arrival by the end of this week or I'd have to make you wait THREE weeks before the next chapter, and neither solution was acceptable for me.

So instead of trying to force my way through my temporary Writer's Block, I decided to try and circumvent it through a different approach – the Civil War in Hell - and buy myself more time to _properly_ write out William Afton's arc once finals were out of the way while keeping with my update schedule as best as possible. And once I started writing on that plot point instead, the details and story just kept flowing out through my fingers, and before I knew it I had a full chapter dedicated to the war and Nightmare's vengeance written out before me.

Even though I couldn't deliver on my promise to feature William Afton in this chapter, I hope that what I have written instead will satisfy you instead. And I promise that the next chapter won't beat around the bullshit anymore. William Afton WILL come, and the long-awaited confrontation will finally come to pass…along with so much more that I have planned.

Chapter 73 – The War in Hell

Under a burning, blood-red sky, legions of shrieking demons clashed against each other as hapless damned souls desperately tried to flee from the battle that raged in the lower deeps of Hell. Vucarik and his allies had unleashed their army moments after Vucarik had attacked the Nightmare children and set William Afton loose. The demon lords who had not supported him, whether they were loyalists to Lucifer or neutrals who had seen Vucarik's power grab for what it was, were at first taken completely off guard and were too slow to mobilize their forces to prevent Vucarik's coalition from seizing many of their territories. But they had quickly gotten over their surprise and joined forces to counteract Vucarik's onslaught in turn, and the would-be usurper's advance had slowed to a standstill. For the next few hours, neither side was able to break the stalemate, even though the warriors of both sides slaughtered each other without even the slightest restraint.

And then the lesser Nightmares had arrived, unleashing their full power and dark glory upon their foes. They had spent years cloaked in lesser forms, an expression of self-assured supremacy and mockery that they could crush their enemies even in a weakened state. The other demon lords of Hell had almost forgotten that in their true forms, the Nightmares were powers and horrors in their own right, the weakest of their fully-fledged warriors able to match a demon lord of the upper levels of Hell in raw power.

Today, they would remember _why_ the Nightmares could securely rule a domain in the lower deeps with only seven in the number, when other demon lords needed entire armies to accomplish the same.

The Nightmares charged past the rest of the demons allied against Vucarik, and unleashed utter havoc and mayhem upon those who would dare to serve the one who had insulted their family's honor. Having been refreshed in the art of battle, the Nightmares wasted little time in slaughtering their foes in a similar manner to their earlier "practice session" on a much larger scale. In the form of a twisted Freddy Fazbear animatronic, any one of them could kill a hundred demons in mere seconds. With their full power unleashed, they could massacre a thousand in the same amount of time.

With their timely arrival, the Nightmares had completely destroyed any momentum that Vucarik had won for himself with the element of surprise. The demon lords who had opposed Vucarik had been just as surprised as those who supported him at the reinforcements provided by the Nightmares given their overall neutrality in the affairs of Hell, but they quickly took full advantage of the opportunity presented by their unexpected allies. They mentally sent commands to their subjects with a mere thought, ordering them to fully support the Nightmares in seizing the tide of the battle back in their favor. The lesser Nightmares were by no means invincible, and by themselves they would have eventually been overwhelmed and defeated due to sheer numbers. But they had an entire army at their back to support them, and even through their savage nature their allies understood that keeping the Nightmares healthy and uninjured was in their best interest. The legions of the Lucifer loyalists and status-quo supporters advanced alongside the Nightmares, butchering all in their path. They positioned themselves to make sure that none of the Nightmares could be flanked and attacked from anywhere except for the front, allowing the unstoppable juggernauts to easily identify and destroy any foe that crossed their path.

As the corpses of Vucarik's armies began to pile onto the ground and dissolve into ash and the usurper's forces were slowly forced to give back the ground they had stolen, the demons that had until recently been Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne arrived amongst the demon lords who had joined forces to put the usurper in his place. **"WELL MET, FRIENDS AND ALLIES,"** Nightmarionne greeted them cheerfully. **"WAR RAGES THROUGHOUT ALL HELL, THE GREATEST BATTLE IN THE INFERNO SINCE THE HARROWING ALL THOSE CENTURIES AGO. THERE ARE FEW THINGS TRULY AS JOYOUS AS THE THRILL OF BATTLE AND BLOODTHIRST, ARE THERE NOT?"**

" **WELL MET, NIGHTMARES,"** Malacoda, tormenter of deceivers, welcomed them. **"I MUST ADMIT, I WAS NOT EXPECTING YOU TO JOIN US IN THIS CONFLICT. IF I RECALL, THE NIGHTMARES HAVE LONG STAYED OUT OF THE DAILY AFFAIRS OF THE INFERNO AS A WHOLE."**

" **VUCARIK HAS COMMITTED A GRIEVOUS INSULT AGAINST US THAT WE WILL NOT ALLOW TO REMAIN UNANSWERED,"** Nightmare Fredbear explained with a snarl. **"THERE IS NOTHING THAT I WOULD LOVE MORE THAN TO SEE HIM CRUSHED AND BROKEN AT THIS MOMENT."**

" **IF I MAY ASK,"** another demon lord spoke up, making sure to phrase his question as politely as possible – it would be beyond foolish to insult the demon lords who had swung the battle in their favor, after all. **"WHERE IS NIGHTMARE? I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT HE WOULD BE THE FIRST AMONG YOU TO ARRIVE, IF THE INSULT IS AS GRIEVOUS AS YOU CLAIM. AND DO YOU NOT HAVE A FOURTH MEMBER, A FEMALE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY?"**

To the silent relief of the other demon lords, neither Nightmare seemed at all insulted by the question. **"BOTH OF THEM ARE DEALING WITH BUSINESS RELATED TO THE…OFFENSE…THAT VUCARIK COMMITTED AGAINST US,"** Nightmare Fredbear replied curtly. **"AND WHILE OUR SISTER WILL BE UNLIKELY TO JOIN US, OUR LORD WILL BE HERE SOON."**

Malacoda stroked his chin thoughtfully with a claw covered in a black metal gauntlet. **"WITH HOW MUCH YOUR BRETHREN HAVE TURNED THE TIDE OF THIS BATTLE, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE DEMON LORDS SUPPORTING VUCARIK JOIN THIS BATTLE PERSONALLY TO EVEN THE ODDS. ASSUMING, OF COURSE, THAT THEY DO NOT FLEE THE FIELD ENTIRELY LIKE THE COWARDS THEY ARE. YOU WILL, I ASSUME, BE JOINING US WHEN WE RESPOND IN KIND?"**

" **BUT OF COURSE, MALACODA, BUT…"** Nightmarionne suddenly stopped and tilted his head. All around them, the demon lords could suddenly feel a black oppressive, presence that seemed to crush the atmosphere around them, affecting even them if only faintly. Nightmarionne suddenly threw back his head and howled with laughter. **"WELL, WELL, WELL…IT APPEARS THAT OUR INTERVENTION MAY NOT BE NECESSARY AFTER ALL. THIS WAR IS ABOUT TO REACH ITS CONCLUSION."** Both he and Nightmare Fredbear's mouths twisted into unholy grins. **"HE COMES…"**

/

Outside, the effects became much more prominent. As Malacoda had predicted, the demon lords supporting Vucarik had arrived behind their armies, and had been advancing to counteract the threat posed by the lesser Nightmares. They had made it halfway through their hordes of demons when all of them suddenly felt the same presence that the demon lords opposing Vucarik had sensed inside their command base. Both allies and enemies slowed their fight to a halt and watched with incomprehension and growing nervousness as the skies suddenly darkened, the raging fire of the sky suddenly transformed into the blackest night as the battlefield became covered with shadow. But although entire battlefield had been consumed by this darkness, it affected the two sides _very_ differently. Those fighting against Vucarik suddenly felt their fear vanish into nothing, replaced instead with a feeling of vicious triumph and a dark inspiration to crush their enemies more brutally and thoroughly then ever before. But those fighting for Vucarik instead felt a crushing despair begin to weigh on their hearts, malicious whispers echoing in their hearts and minds about the hopelessness of their situation and the promise of a cruel and violent death that awaited them.

And as the battlefield became shrouded in night, the Nightmares began to laugh as one, their howls of triumphant mockery echoing through every corner of the war-torn ground.

" **OUR LORD IS HERE!"** Nightmare Bonnie roared.

" **YOUR DOOM HAS COME!"** Nightmare Freddy growled.

" **NOTHING CAN YOU SAVE NOW!"** Nightmare Foxy taunted.

And as both armies watched, they felt just as much as they saw Nightmare enter the battlefield. His entire body was shrouded in darkness, with only the faintest outlines of his true form. But even those traces were enough to reveal a hideous abomination wearing pitch black armor, the connections between its various segments shaped in the form of mouths with razor-sharp fangs, two black wings that seemed large enough to envelop entire mountains, and two titanic arms that ended with hands that could raze entire buildings with but a single sweep. The only features that could be clearly seen of Nightmare's true form were his scarlet eyes, burning with an unholy cruelty as he callously surveyed the battle before him, and a black crown surrounded by blazing orange flames that marked his status as one of Hell's most powerful demon lords in both sheer might and authority. Even the lesser Nightmares were mere shadows compared to his full glory.

For a second, Nightmare stared at the two armies in silence. Then, he opened his mouth, and his words rumbled across the battlefield and seemed to tear into the ears, minds, and souls of all the demons present.

 **"̨͔̣̕S̡͎͇̕O͇̙̻̘ ͈͙̬̫̟M̪͕͎̤͜A̛̬̩̤͙̯N̛̙̙̻̻̤̤̺͟ͅY̰̼͚̫̩̘͜͝ ͈̱͈́T̨̰͎̫̕O͓͙͕̜̫͞͝Ỳ̡̩̤̯͖̹̠̕S̲̺̺̯͔̫̖̪ ̵̪̗͉̫̣̻͈͚͘TǪ̶̼̙̻̜͔̝̤͝ͅ ̸̨̣̝̻͜P̡̞͔̖͘Ḻ̡̖͞A͇Y̢͈̱̠̕ ̣̭̼̙͢Ẃ̶͚̫̝͠I̢̜̮T͞͏̥̰̼͍̰̳͢ͅH̵͖̖͙̫̣̬̺̼.͏̞͇͍̲͉̰.͖͙͙̦̰̯̻͚͝.̢̲̭̙̼̥̜̼A̧̤̜͜Ń̷̜̻̖͔D̮̯̦̘ ̨̘̪͉̤̀S̵̭̩͕̝Ơ̴̜͕͎̝̬̰ͅ ͏̤̦̘͉̮͍̻͘LI̵̵̡̝̞͎̖͍̮͙͖T̸̶̺̮̘͓͉͉̮̩̥T̤̼L̰̰̮̠͚̟͟͠É̸͇̳̯ ̢͎̳T̢͖̮͎́I͓̹Ṃ̡̺̯̼͍̭̭̙̳Ę̢̢͎͈.̨̤̜͕"̶̼**

 **(SO MANY TOYS TO PLAY WITH...AND SO LITTLE TIME.)**

He had pondered how to destroy Vucarik's armies, wondering if he should simply follow the lead of his lesser kin and unleash his physical might upon them. But while it would certainly be fun to tear these weaklings limb to limb and the mere sight of him going on a rampage would certainly frighten the other demon lords present, physical brutality (no matter how extreme) was nothing new in Hell. He needed to make a statement about the consequences of making an enemy of him or his kin, and for that he needed darker and crueler methods of toying with his prey before he went in for the kill.

So Nightmare abandoned the idea of getting up close and personal with his vengeance. Instead, with a cold sneer, Nightmare raised a claw and held it out towards the enemy army. The darkness that pulsed around his feet suddenly rose around him like a pillar of shadows, before it returned to the ground and flared outward, covering the land in tainted, unholy energy that seemed even blacker than the sky that he had obscured only seconds before. The demon warriors in front of him stared nervously as they saw the bloody ground underneath their feet disappear. The darkness didn't stop spreading until the entire battlefield had been consumed. For one intense second that seemed to stretch on forever and yet also pass by in the blink of an eye, nothing happened.

Then, Nightmare clenched his fist, and what happened next would be a sight that no demon who bore witness to it would ever forget.

Unholy energy suddenly erupted from the abyss that he had created, taking the form of screaming skulls and spirits as it flowed up and struck at the armies from below. The demons supporting Vucarik suddenly felt their very essences sicken and wither away, a physical corruption that tore away at their bodies as though they had been drowned in corrosive poison. But that was just the beginning of the horror Nightmare had unleashed. The demons that had already been wounded throughout the course of the battle succumbed to death at last, but death would be no release for them this time. As their bodies dissolved into ash, the shades of the fallen warriors were forcibly ripped from their ruined bodies, tortured wraiths that howled in terror upon realizing that they were not being allowed the temporary respite that all demons who were killed in the Inferno experienced before eventually respawning. Demons on both sides watched in undisguised dread as Nightmare's spell forced the demonic specters to attack their former allies with ghostly claws and fangs, and many of the survivors were either forced to fight back and destroy the wraiths or were overwhelmed and killed, adding to the ranks of the enslaved spirits upon their deaths.

The demons fighting _against_ Vucarik flinched away from what they were witnessing, dreading that in his thirst to destroy his enemies, Nightmare would callously inflict the same fate upon even those who fought by his side. But quite the opposite happened. Instead of feeling the same corruption tear away at their bodies, the wounded demons fighting against Vucarik's coalition felt their wounds _heal_ , their vitality and energy returned to them instead of being stripped away. They were too stunned to do anything but stare at their restored bodies with incomprehension, the only ones making any move being the lesser Nightmares who took advantage of the distraction to slaughter more of their enemies and bind their wraiths to their master's service in the process.

After a seeming eternity that in reality lasted only a few seconds, the black void vanished, and the spirits that Nightmare had enslaved sighed in relief as they felt the shackles break and they disappeared into Hell's reincarnation cycle (a comparative mercy compared to what they had just been subjected to). Vucarik's army had not been entirely wiped out by Nightmare's power, but huge sections of it and almost the entire front line had been destroyed thanks to Nightmare's spell. And just as importantly, the demons serving the Nightmares' allies had been completely or near completely healed, restoring them back to prime fighting potential. Realizing that they had absolutely no chance of winning now, the demons started to turn tail and flee, their fear of Nightmare overriding even their fear of punishment and torture at their masters' hands for their failure.

Unfortunately for them, Nightmare had no intention of allowing his enemies to leave the battlefield alive. He bared his teeth into a sickening grin and cast another foul incantation. This time, a blood red sigil appeared over the center of Vucarik's army, surrounded by black flames with a crimson core. The flames converged into the center of the sigil, at which point it unleashed a ring of scarlet light that pulsed outward, stopping just short of hitting Nightmare's side of the field before both ring and sigil vanished.

Unlike Nightmare's last spell, this one didn't seem to directly harm his enemies, causing many to wonder what game the demon lord was playing. The answer came seconds later, as Vucarik's warriors suddenly began to howl and froth with a berserk rage, a mindless bloodlust that overrode even the fear that had seeped into their hearts only seconds earlier. With shrieks of feral rage, the demon warriors afflicted with Nightmare's curse started viciously attacking each other with anything available to them, whether it be with weapons or bare claws and fangs.

Nightmare laughed as he witnessed the fruits of his malice, and even through the shadows the demons surrounding him could see the horrific grin on his face. With the berserk rage driving Vucarik's forces at each other's throats and indirectly pinning them and preventing from retreating in the process, they were easy prey for slaughter.

 **"͚͚C̫̘͎Ḽ̳̀̕͠ͅA̸̦̯̤̺̻͖̯̹͡I̮̳̗͙̪̕͡M̶̷̺͎̟͚̭͠ ̢͍͔̪̦̟̙̻̀Y̬̖̫͔O̤̬̪̭̩͜U̼̳͜R̶̯̱͡͞ ̢̨̭̪̻͡P̧̺͎̕͡ͅO̶̯̩̲̺͢U̡҉̠͍̙ͅN͢҉̨̜͖͙̳D̜̙̪̮̥̰̯͟͝͞ ͙̜̪͇͖̳̕Ǫ̩͎̪͝F̧̺͚͔̟͠ ̶͇̞FL̛҉̳̹̪̜̩̫͇̲È͖̗̬̤̤͜͝ͅS̨̼̥͈͍̮̕H͏͎̠̱̤̻̹̫ ͟͢҉̬̬͖F͏̲̘̞̫̘͈̼͉͝ͅR̴̷̘̭̫O͙̺͕̗͜͝M̶̱̲͖͈͍̖̲͘ ̧̮̩̱̳̰̠͢ͅT͔̦͝͝H̛͔̩͍̥̦̝̬̖͟͜E͓̝͖̠̞͙̹̖M̺͈͈ ̨̠̪̬̮̮̹̕N͖̫͘O̵̧̡̭̝̺͚͉͈W̙̪͞,҉̘̞̭̬͡ͅ"͏͙͔̪̗** **̂͘** he commanded his allies, **"̵̳̱̞̭̟̗͕͝F** **O̴̠̞̤̣͢͠** **R͔̫͔͍͖͔ ͎̱͘͟S̘̖͓̕O̢҉̥Ǫ̵̣̱̫̪͚N̛̛͓̺̱͖͓̲̬̳̮ ҉̟I̖̥̠̜̻͕̼͢͝ ̹̘̠̹̱̘Ś͖̪̪͎̣̹͖̱Ḫ̶̷͔̻̤̺̯͖A̧̛̟͈̹̯͖͍͘ͅL̼͇͚̣͔͈̕ͅL C̵̩̩͙͝L͕͖͚͞A̲̙͞IM̵͍̳̤͍̖̕ ̸͖̯̫̖͙̳IT͍͓̥̘̭̗̲͉̘͡͠ ̵̨̡̠̭̲͙̟̗A͏̰͖͔́ͅL̨͏̵͖̟̙̖̟̣̜̜L̞̱̣ͅ.̜̮"̪̝̰͠**

 **(CLAIM YOUR POUND OF FLESH FROM THEM NOW, FOR SOON I SHALL CLAIM IT ALL.)**

Without any further invitation, they lunged at their enemies, tearing them apart even as they frenziedly hacked at each other without care for their surroundings. A few of Vucarik's soldiers were able to either break free from the red haze or coincidentally attack their proper enemies even while consumed with bloodthirst. But with Nightmare's earlier spells empowering them and healing their wounds, Nightmare's allies could carve through their squabbling foes like tissue paper. With no meaningful resistance to stop them, they began to reap a bloody toll of thousands with each second that passed, in no small part thanks to the Nightmares, who seemed to fight with an even greater ferocity now that their lord and master had arrived.

Even Vucarik's demon lord allies, who had taken to the field to counteract the threat presented by the lesser Nightmares earlier on, were not immune to Nightmare's curse. Though they did not simply dissolve into mindless frothing rage like their subjects, the malice within the demon lord's power destroyed any sense of camaraderie that they might have had towards each other. Now, they saw each other only as rivals and threats to power, and began to charge at each other to claim the glory that could only come from killing another demon lord. Seeing the opportunity to claim that same glory and revenge for what was essentially free, the demon lords opposing Vucarik quickly joined in the violence, Nightmarionne and Nightmare Fredbear among them. It was with no small amount of satisfaction that Nightmare Fredbear watched two of his hated enemies tear each other apart until one was a broken corpse and the other was suffering from gaping wounds that were large enough to each destroy a regular demon, and he wasted no time in pouncing upon the survivor, ripping his wings off, and impaling the tips straight into his skull.

Away from the frontlines, Vucarik could only watch in disbelief and dread as the armies and allies he had so carefully gathered for his attempted coup crumbled before him. How? How was Nightmare able to take to the field so quickly? He was so certain that his enemy would have been forced to deal with the damned soul he had set loose, and yet here he was, single-handedly bringing his plans to ruination. And wielding such vast power…he had long dismissed the rumors of Nightmare's true might as merely exaggerations, especially with the frankly ridiculous form that he had chosen in the past few years. But if anything, the rumors had been _understating_ the depths of both Nightmare's power and his cruelty. He needed to react quickly, salvage what was left of his armies before it was too late. With his allies all but destroyed and his enemies at full strength, he needed as many pawns as possible to throw between him and his vengeful foes…

And that was when Nightmare himself began to advance, shaking the ground with every step he took. Wherever he walked, the demons that were not consumed with bloodlust moved away as quickly as possible to avoid being stomped on. Nightmare marched past his allies and deep into enemy lines, completely ignoring the attacks that Vucarik's warriors tried to inflict upon him. Soon, he was in the center of the enemy, and Vucarik couldn't help but wonder why Nightmare was being so arrogant to surround himself on all sides with enemies.

But it was not arrogance. It was Nightmare's patience and generosity running its course. He had given his allies enough time to shed enough blood to fill oceans, and it was time to destroy his enemies once and for all. He began to chant in an unholy tongue that had no place being spoken anywhere outside of the Abyss, and orange rings of pure infernal power began to flow into him. The few demons who realized what was about to happen desperately tried to attack Nightmare, to do anything they could to stop what was to come. But most were too slow, and the ones that did reach him were too weak to even scratch his armor. Nightmare roared his might into the darkened skies of Hell, and unleashed the infernal power he had massed in a series of devastating shockwaves that blasted through and ravaged the entire battlefield.

 **[[For a visual representation of this spell, look up the Youtube video "BFME2: The 1.09 Patch – Isengard Has Been Unleashed!" by Ruuddevil and go to 36:10]]**

Any enemy hit was obliterated instantly by the sheer devastation of Nightmare's unleashed explosion, their bodies sent flying backwards and demolished into ashes before they could even hit the ground. The only ones powerful enough to not be instantly obliterated by Nightmare's final spell were the demon lords who had managed to avoid getting too consumed by the chaos that Nightmare had incited earlier, and even they were left crippled and easy prey for vengeful enemies. Even Nightmare's allies were not completely impervious this time around; although the explosion that Nightmare unleashed did not outright harm them directly, the sheer force from the blast was enough to overwhelm their senses and force many of them to their knees.

And as soon as it began, it was over. The alliance that had been gathered against Vucarik looked over to where their enemies had been…and found nothing but Nightmare, surrounded by piles of ash, devastated corpses, and broken armor. With just three spells, the demon lord had annihilated an army that had numbered over a million.

And as Vucarik watched the obliteration of his armies, he knew that he was doomed. Not just because of the many enemies he had made, not just because Nightmare would come for him next, but also because he had dared to raise himself against Lucifer. He had no one to help him now, and he had no choice but to flee and try to stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. He turned around to depart…

…only to stare into the face of Nightmarionne.

Leaving no time for him to cry out, let alone make any sort of defense, Nightmarionne plunged his claws deep into Vucarik's stomach, grinning as the demon lord howled in agony. Vucarik raised a serrated razor-sharp blade, ready to hack at Nightmarionne for daring to attack him; he was still a demon lord and would be able to best him in a fair fight. But then Nightmare Fredbear lunged at him from seemingly out of nowhere, having taken advantage of the distraction caused by Nightmare's final spell to hunt down the one who had dared to attack their family. Nightmare Fredbear swatted the sword out of Vucarik's hand and grabbed both of his wings, crushing them in his iron grip as he chomped down on the errant demon's lord head with his jaw. Vucarik screamed as he felt Nightmare Fredbear's fangs tear into his head, but instead of finishing the execution, the greater Nightmare released the bite and instead grabbed Vucarik by the neck. Nightmarionne grabbed one of Vucarik's shoulders with his other hand, the two of them making sure that there was no chance of him escaping. Together, they dragged him out of the base that he had hidden away in like a coward while others fought and died for his cause, and brought him out onto the battlefield in front of Nightmare. The demon soldiers began to roar in triumph and call for blood, but their masters quickly demanded their silence. As the true victor of the battle, it was only fair that Nightmare get first claim to whatever vengeance he wished to unleash upon his broken foe.

Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne shoved Vucarik onto the ground. Nightmare bent down onto one knee, extended three claws from his right hand, and shoved them deep into Vucarik's throat before forcing the demon lord's head upward to meet his triumphant and hate-filled gaze.

 **"͔̺̺̙̖Y͖͙͔͙̕͘͜OU͘͏̶̖̥̫ ͙̩̣͈͇̕W̵̶̵͔̝̰E̡҉̢̯̜R̴̛͚̼̗̀ͅE̲̬̳ ̻͚̱̬̱̗ͅS҉̲̲͍͍̱͖̼̱̀O̶̘͉̯̙̭̖͙̼̬͜ ̣̝̼̕C̤̱̙̖̲̣̀Ò̙̻̺̥̺͈̜͕N̪͔͉̩̫͉F̠̥͙I̞͎̰D̸̝E̢̠͔̲̣͚N̞̬T̕҉̱͢ ̨̠̪̙̭I̙̥̰̼͙̺̯̮N͉͈̩̗̰͜ͅ ̡̺ͅÝ͕͙͚̬O̧̙̟͇͉̝͖U̧̟̯͚̮͖̙̟͜͞R̨̪͚̣̳͔̬̗̱̀͢ ̶͙̝͔̣̥͓̩̙A̦̘̣͎̗̯͝Ŕ̪͖̫̭͓͞M̴̖̩̳͓͖͙͢Y̤̘̜̤͜͜,̩̼̬̹͓̪͍̖̭͘"̧̨̠̥** **̛̤̳̥̥͓͚̥̘̪ͯ̈͌̅̅͒͋͒** Nightmare hissed with contempt dripping from every word he spoke. **"̦͕̤̪̀͜ͅYO̵̹̬͉͚͖Ṷ̫͔͟͟ ̮̮̗̞̝̳ͅA̕͏̳̯̬̳̩̮CŢ̡͉̘̩̟͖̮̱͞ͅṲ̻̗͓̬͜A̰̮̳̻̬͓̖͉L͉̲̹̰̳̘̪͍͞Ĺ̢̥̠͖̫̝̰̖̹̳Y̵͙͕̥͈͍̙̘̜ ̯̪̩͈̯͢T̮̩̕H̴̢̱̣͍̬̖̥O̴̘̱Ų̵͙͎̟̩̞͢G̛͍̯̺̣̯͚͜͡H̲͍̲̩̗̻̙͎̗̀T̴̺̣͕̤͜ ̰̯̬̝̪̮̖̝Ỳ̹͓̻̞͙O͍̱͉̞̬͢͟U̠̮̙͢R̘̩̜̪ͅS̞͕̣͚̀͘EL̵̳̯͈̝̳̝̫F҉͕̦̤͉͎ͅͅ ͖͚́W͖͉̫̕͝O̷̡̻̘̹̪̞͍͇RT̡̳͇̩̪̬̝̟̙Ḫ̪͓͓̣̞͓͓̘͘͡Y̸̡̞̯̯͎̜̣͓͇ ̷̪T͈̟̱͉̮̹̰̼̼̀͡O̷̪̼̱̼͟ ͏̖͔̲̬̟͔̀R̵̷̨̲͙͓̰̘͈͎͚Ų̩̹̟́Ĺ̸̸̰̬E̡͕̭̻̯̝͖͜ ̴͏̙͓̠̯̘͚̠̫O̧̺̮̱̺̥V͎̥̬̮̳͎͝ͅE̟͚̭͈̹̙͓R͏̳̟ ̛̖̞̪͚͚̕̕A̲̩̜̬Ĺ̹̪L̞ ̨͇͖̘H͇͎͔E̴̳͕̭͢LL̵̛̹̝̙̲͔̼̮ͅ?͖͈͚̣͍̘͡ ̷̛͖̰̺͙͇͚** **S̢̬̱͡U͉͟ͅC̴̖͈͚̫̦̰͡H͍͕̝̼̣͍̝̮̭̀** **̧͔̟͜A̳̖͇͕͈̹̩̥R̵̨̙̠̞̀Ŕ̖̫̱Ò̗̠̫̪̞̪͞G̶̩̱̬͉̫̬̤̬A̴͓NC̷̼͇͓̠̀E̪͎̗͘.̧̩͚͈͙͈͙͚̣"͚͘**

 **(YOU WERE SO CONFIDENT IN YOUR ARMY. YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT YOURSELF WORTHY TO RULE OVER ALL HELL? SUCH ARROGANCE.)**

All around him, his allies and their warriors laughed uproariously, knowing that there was nothing Vucarik could do to avenge himself against such humiliation.

 **"̢̠̯͕͎̳̰͚̞̕̕Y̼̪̱̰̝̕͢O̼͕̟̙̠͢U͇̗ ̸ͅH̤͈̻̗̭̮̳̺̕͜A̵̶̧͚̯̯D̞͎̖̀̕ ̗̼̙̼͙Ǫ̴̷͈̹͎V̴̫͎͇E͈̪̘̠̯̯̙̮͞R̸̷͓̼̟͢ ͏̤͈͚͇̲̘Á̶̸͇̰̬̪̺̰̝ ̢̮̬̬̦͢M͎I҉̷̨̯͚̼̤̹L̨̥̰̝͕͔̘͜ͅL̨͏̼͙̜͔̣͉I̶̡̪̗̩͘O̳͝N̟̱̬͈̼̱҉͖̙̱ ̯̘̝̞͇͞Ą̨̰͓̟̩͠ͅT̡҉̢̺̯ ̡̙̳͘** **Ý̫̞̣̀O͚̤̻̟͔͉̤͚͔U̡͚̝̱̻͉R̸̨͓̮̲͙̥̺̲̥̙͍̕ ̞̗̖̞̮C̸̹͎̗͘OḾ̸̞̰̥͇̪̖͜M̪̮͎͢͝A̜͍͖͓N̯͙͙̖̼̫̺D̨̨͕̼̬̪̭̝,̸̱̠͎̖̰̗̗͎͘͢"̴̘̘̬̪̘͚ ͣͯ͢ͅ** Nightmare sneered. **"̖̯̮̰̗͉̹͎̕Á͔̠̘̮̙̣̥̥N̮͈̻͝D͉̜̘̱̰̝̱̹ N̛̲̠̺͓̼͍̙͝͠Ǫ͎͍͈̟W̘̬̙͕ͅ ̵̠͚̠̜̭̼̮Y̳̲̳͇̰͓̮̱͙O͡҉̞̰̲̹̥̩̙Ú̸̥̪̙̠͉̞̫ ̢̮̠̪͈͖̩̣̗H͍̤̜͇̭̼̀A̧͓͉V̢͔͖̰̙̼͕̼̖̥E̷̡͖͔̟̙̪̘͍͢ ̸̵̙̹̘̗̲́ _Ǹ̶̘̟̠̯̞̼O̮̺Ṱ̵̥͖͉̲̘̠Ḩ͓̖͕̟̮̤̭͚I̶̸̜͕̭̼̤͚͡Ņ̷̧̙̩G_ ҉̩͙͕͍͉͕̯ͅ.̸͍̠̰͎͈̥͉"̶̣̤̠͎͚̰͞**

 **(YOU HAD OVER A MILLION AT YOUR COMMAND. AND NOW YOU HAVE NOTHING.)**

He lifted Vucarik into the sky, high enough for all of his allies to see. Then with a mighty roar, smashed Vucarik's body upon his knee, smashing the demon lord's spine. Vucarik screamed as the audience roared with laughter. The demons watched as Nightmare stomped on Vucarik's body again and again, breaking first his spine into even more pieces, and then each of his arms, legs, and tail in turn. Nightmare picked up the broken body of his enemy and hurled it towards the demon lords who had marshalled their forces against the would-be usurper.

 **"͔͚̤̪̖̖͝D̙̗O͏͏͖͚͉̙͖͍͙͇ ͏̤͕̞̭̮͙̱W̶̜͙̱̥̻̱͟I̞̭̳̬̬͕͕͘͟T̝͙̮̪H̷̶̶͚̗̰͇̥̣̼ ͏̟H̞̳̻̞I̴͘҉̳M̷̜͙͙͚̀ͅ ̴̪͙̳̀AŞ̠̰̦̝͘ ̵̸̞͚̣͇̲͜Y̪͚͔͍͓̜͉̕OU̵͙̥ ̖̜̻͍̯̀͢͡W̵̧̝̼IL̜̝͙͙͖͕͘L̴̝͉̪̦͔̠̼̮,̱̖͎̮͎̻́͞͞"̴̢͎̫̬̭̗̥̘͕̈́̉̿́͊́͐ͬ̓̔̒̀̕͢͢ ̛̰͕̳̻͕̮͐ͮ̽̏** he hissed at his allies. **"̺̙̲̞̲͇ͅI̧̩̗̪̳͖͙̥̺ ̷̝̥̕͞D͎̞̼̬̬̰̬͟͞O̯̟͇̯̕͠͠ ̲̩͉͚̺̺̟͞͡N҉̹̗̮͝Ó̡͔͓̙T͏̝͕̯ ̨͍̩Ẁ͉̫̜̖͎̝I̟̯͜͝S̷̡͇̫̻̭̕H҉̗̮̻͍̺͔͕̭̀͜ ̶̠̝͜T̺̹͔̝͉̞͟͞O̵̭͙ ̲̭͡W̢͈̳̜͈͈̩͇̕Ḁ̟̙̤̬̣ͅŞ̛̹̰̫̝̩͎̻́T̴̖̤̤̺Ẹ̷̸̵̹ ̸̧͏̮̝̜̠A̸͇͓̬͔̗̻̭̪̗͞Ṋ̹͙̱̭Ỳ̨̫̲̳͎͙̩̟̘͡ ̸͔̗̮̬̤̖͟͞** **M̵̢̠͔̯̖͜O̵͎̟͈̮̫̻͍̖͙R̢͙̰̞͕̫̦͟E̷̹̲̙̞̯͈͙̫͙̩̤̟̕ ̶̭̪̪͉̫̯̩̀͢ͅT̷̯̮͎̩I͢͏̠M̟͙͎͖̥̘͇̩͘È̻͙͈̪̝̱͞ ̸͈O̧̘̼̙̘̥͞N̴̴̛̻̠̣̬͇̫̲ͅ ͔̰̗̘͍̮̠T̼̼̻̀H̷͏̩̤̭̜̻I̡̝̹̗̹͙̝͎͘S̖͚͓̯̠̬ ̣̯͔͍̗̯͖̮͢W̮͠Ơ̺̰̳̰̖̠ͅR̭̤̞̠̲̥̀͡T̷̮̤͓͉͓̳̩̳̩͝H҉̯͎͞L͟͞͏̰͕̪E̢̥̪̖͖̟̲̰̮͠Ś̥̬̜̥ͅS̴̛̛̜͉̫̲͈̜̪ ̟̟͉͚̮̫ͅẂ̶̴͕͇̳̫̺̙̜͈O̲̭͈̳͙ͅŔ̫̥̰̥͚M̶͕͈͔̯͍̱̫̕.̶̢̱͕"̵҉̬͈͕̱̱̝̂̂ͨ̽͘͜ͅͅ**

 **(DO WITH HIM AS YOU WILL. I DO NOT WISH TO WASTE ANY MORE TIME ON THIS WORTHLESS WORM.)**

The other demon lords were surprised and more than a little bewildered by Nightmare's generosity, but they most certainly weren't going to question it. They began to discuss how to best carry out their revenge against Vucarik even as he lay twitching and broken at their feet. Ideas were being tossed around, such as gouging out his eyes and cutting out his tongue, crucifying him upside down to a flaming cross, and perhaps the most amusing, shoving various weapons up the demon lord's ass.

Interesting ideas, Nightmare mused. Perhaps once William Afton was back under his clutches where he belonged, he would replicate some of those suggestions on Vucarik's collaborator. But such ideas were best considered another time. With an unspoken command to Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne, the three greater demon lords returned to their Freddy Fazbear animatronic forms even as their lesser kin joined the other demon lords in the celebration of Vucarik's future tortures. A few demons gave them odd looks, but none of them dared to comment on the change in appearance – after the display of power Nightmare had demonstrated today, nobody would ever mistake the Nightmares as vulnerable ever again.

Once they were out of sight, Nightmare turned to face his seconds-in-command. **"I HAVE AN OATH TO KEEP, AND I WILL NEED YOU TO ACCOMPANY ME TO EARTH,"** he began. **"THOUGH VUCARIK DID NOT COUNT ON MY ALLIANCE WITH MIKE SCHMIDT, HE IS CORRECT IN CLAIMING THAT HEAVEN MAY HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE WILLIAM AFTON CAUSES WHILE ON EARTH. AND EVEN THOUGH I CAN EASILY SHIFT THE BLAME TO WHERE IT TRULY BELONGS, I WOULD RATHER NOT DEAL WITH THE TEDIUM OF CELESTIAL BUREACRACY TO BEGIN WITH. I KNOW WHERE WILLIAM AFTON IS HEADING, AND IT WILL BE YOUR TASK TO ENSURE THAT HE DOES NOT ESCAPE CAPTIVITY. IN EXCHANGE, I GIVE YOU MY WORD THAT YOU WILL BE THE FIRST AMONG OUR KIN TO UNLEASH YOUR TORMENTS ON HIM UPON HIS RETURN."**

" **VERY WELL,"** Nightmare Fredbear agreed. **"THOUGH I CONFESS THAT I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO ATTACK VUCARIK FURTHER, BEING ABLE TO CAPTURE THE MONGREL IS ENOUGH TO SATISFY ME AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING."**

" **YOU SEEM RATHER CONFIDENT IN THAT MORTAL, MIKE SCHMIDT,"** Nightmarionne mused. **"BUT HE IS MERELY A MORTAL AGAINST A DAMNED SOUL INFUSED WITH DEMONIC POWER. HOW CAN YOU EXPECT HIM TO PREVAIL?"**

" **IT IS SIMPLE,"** Nightmare explained. **"IT IS MY BELIEF THAT WILLIAM AFTON WILL INVADE SCHMIDT'S MIND, HOPING TO DIRECTLY ATTACK HIS SOUL AS REVENGE FOR BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORSENING OF HIS TORMENTS. AND IT WILL FALL TO SCHMIDT TO MANIPULATE CIRCUMSTANCES SO THAT THIS IS WHAT WILL COME TO PASS. WHAT THAT FOOL AFTON DOESN'T REALIZE IS THAT MIKE SCHMIDT IS A LUCID DREAMER WITH THE ABILITY TO BEND REALITY TO HIS WILL, AND HE HAS THE STRENGTH OF WILL TO FIGHT WILLIAM AFTON UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES."**

" **AH…"** Nightmarionne realized. **"SO INSTEAD OF A SLAUGHTER, THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THEM WILL BE AN EVEN BATTLE WHERE YOU BELIEVE SCHMIDT MAY EMERGE THE VICTOR."**

" **INDEED,"** Nightmare confirmed, before his mouth stretched into a menacing grin. **"BUT THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN WHAT I HAVE TOLD SCHMIDT. IT IS NOT MERELY THE POWER WITHIN MIKE SCHMIDT THAT INTRIGUES ME. I HAVE SENSED DARKNESS WITHIN HIS SPIRIT, AND THAT DARKNESS IS NOTHING SHORT OF IMPRESSIVE FOR SOMEONE SO FIRMLY ALIGNED TO THE SIDE OF GOOD. I AM CERTAIN THAT SCHMIDT CONQUERED HIS INNER DEMONS AND BROUGHT THEM TO HEEL, ELSE HE WOULD HAVE FALLEN TO EITHER EVIL OR DESPAIR LONG AGO. HE HAS MADE NO SECRET OF HIS HATRED OF WILLIAM AFTON, AND I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF SCHMIDT UNLEASHES HIS INNER DARKNESS UPON THE MONGREL IN A WORLD WHERE REALITY ITSELF IS HIS TO COMMAND…AND WHAT THE RESULTS WILL BE."**

He turned to his two brothers and, with a sweep of his claw, sliced open a portal that lead to the surface world. **"IF EVENTS PLAY OUT IN THE WAY I BELIEVE THEY WILL, I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE IN FOR QUITE THE SHOW. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

/

A/N: Consider that last bit of foreshadowing a second apology for delaying William Afton's arrival until the next chapter 😊 Nightmare might have told the truth to Mike and has every intention of honoring his oath…but even with his redeeming qualities, he has an ulterior motive behind the scenes like any proper demon…

Ladies and gentlemen, we have here our first occurrence of **Z̶̙͚͈̦͙̤̙̭͆̈ͯͨ̕A̧̳̫͈̱̯͂̾̅̉̂̆ͅL͙̭̙̪̙͚ͥGͬ̉͂ͮͯ҉͇̩̱̞̮̬̰̬̹͠O̢͇ͥ̐͐̅́̑̄͘** text! When capital bold just isn't good enough to really demonstrate the sheer amount of power and levels of "don't fuck with me" that a character has, there can be no better text to utilize. Sorry if it's difficult to read for some of you, though. Just in case you can't read the Zalgo text, I have added translations in regular bold in parentheses underneath.

As for the inspiration for Nightmare's spells, I actually play a game in my spare time called _Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II._ It's basically a Lord of the Rings version of Starcraft that's hella fun for an LOTR fan like me, and one of the things that makes BFME2 so great are the powers that you can use. Some of them are for specific heroes (eg Aragorn, Witch-King, etc.) while others are for factions as a whole, and they are freaking awesome to use (especially the late-game ones, which include things like summoning a Balrog or the Army of the Dead and are every bit as OP and game-winning as you would expect.)

So, in the style of BFME2, here are a list of the powers and abilities Nightmare used!

Lord of Nightmares (passive): All Nightmares on the battlefield gain +100% armor, +100% damage, and +100% magic resistance. Nightmare is completely immune to any status effects and instant death.

Ancient Horror (passive): All units cower in fear, whether friend or foe, whenever Nightmare casts a spell.

Blackest Night: Nightmare blackens the sky and covers the entire battlefield in darkness. All non-hero allies gain +100% armor and +100% damage. Enemies lose -50% armor and -50% damage.

Devouring Darkness: Nightmare calls upon ancient, forbidden magic to drown the entire battlefield in a malicious abyss of shadows. All enemies caught within the unholy corruption take significant damage over time, and if they are killed they become tortured wraiths that are forced to attack their former allies for a few seconds. All allies within the abyss are healed.

Frenzied Malice: Nightmare curses a large portion of the battlefield, driving targeted enemies into a berserk rage that causes them to start attacking anything in close proximity whether friend or foe.

Word of Damnation: Nightmare unleashes a devastating shockwave that instantly kills all surrounding enemies. Enemy hero units resist instant death but take significant damage.

I think the selection of spells that Nightmare used in this battle really summarizes his character quite well. He will be as brutal and horrifying to his enemies as much as he fucking pleases, but if you are fighting on his side or have earned his respect then he can be a valuable ally.

Anyways, I think I got carried away a bit with the roleplay here. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	74. Chapter 74 - He Always Comes Back

A/N: And here it comes. The moment you've been waiting for. There's a lot coming up in this arc, and I will have plenty of surprises to throw your way before the arc reaches its conclusion.

For those of you who didn't understand the Zalgo text last chapter, I have added regular translations in parenthesis immediately underneath the dialogue. This will hopefully clear any confusion regarding what Nightmare was saying.

Rockstar Ballora: Nope, I don't have a Quotev, sorry.

TheFedoraCritic: Thanks for the advice, though that'll have to wait until after this arc.

Guest: I couldn't find the typo that you pointed out when I went back to the other chapter.

LogBook: There's a couple of Zalgo text generators on Google. I just used one of the earliest searches.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: You're welcome! And I did incorporate your idea that we talked about ever so slightly in this chapter, as you will soon see.

Chapter 74 – He Always Comes Back

Mike sighed as his mind ran through all the preparations and defenses that he and the kids had established to counter the impending threat of Springtrap's return. Drawing on the strength of her siblings as well as her own, Charlie had set up defensive wards that would attempt to hold William Afton at bay for as long as possible. Though she had little doubt that they would fall to a concentrated assault, they would be enough to alert the family of William's presence and buy them a few precious seconds to get into position and fend off the threat of William Afton as best as they could.

They would not try to confront William Afton one at a time, as they had so foolishly done years before in the events that had led to the creation of Springtrap. Now, they would fight together and as one, hoping that the strength given to them through the Rockstars would be enough to overwhelm and defeat the murderer together.

Mike had even ordered the ghost children to possess him all at the same time, training his body to withstand levels of possession far greater than the semi-inhabitance they employed whenever they wanted to taste a meal through Mike. His sons and daughters had all been horrified at the idea of William Afton trying to possess him, and Mike had been forced to placate them with assurances that this was a last resort to prepare for a worst case scenario.

He had deliberately avoided informing them that this was the scenario he had _planned_ , for fear that it might motivate the ghosts to break their oath and attack William even in their vulnerable ghostly forms in their drive to prevent such a scenario from coming to pass.

The first time, he had been completely knocked out cold from the duress of being possessed by seven ghostly children at the same time, but after two days of strenuous testing he could now successfully withstand simultaneous possession from all of them (albeit barely). Mike could only hope that this newfound strength would be enough to endure possession from one demonically empowered damned soul, and that being able to converse with Nightmare in his dreams was proof that he could stand his ground against the demonic within the landscape of his mind.

Night had fallen, and now he sat on his bed in his bedroom, deftly checking the cameras where the ghosts and animatronics were. Mike had originally planned to confront William Afton alongside his children in the living room, for he was no coward, but the ghosts had ardently shot down that idea. _"If you're going to make us promise to flee the battle the moment the Rockstars get destroyed,"_ Gabe had argued, _"then you have to promise to stay up in your bedroom where you'll be as far away from that bastard as possible. It's only fair, and we're not going to stop bothering you until you make that promise to us!"_ With repeated insistences from him and the other ghosts, Mike had caved, and all he could do now was make sure that everything was in place and nothing had been missed.

They had done the best they could. Now, all they could do was wait, and hope that when the time came and darkness descended, they would triumph over it like they had for every other challenge of the past.

/

Several miles away, on an abandoned road far away from any semblance of civilization in Hurricane, a portal wreathed in flames writhed and tore itself into existence. A depraved, hateful soul took his first step into the world of the living since his final death in his former business partner's trap more than a year ago. The power that Vucarik had stolen from the Nightmares and given to him had reacted to the violence and cruelty in his heart, transforming him into a demonic and monstrous version of the animatronic that had caused his death and defined his existence after his rebirth. Though he could not see himself in his dark glory at this moment, he could feel his razor-sharp fangs grinding next to each other in his mouth, see the snarling and mewling mouths that defined the junctions between the warped and rotten metal that now defined his arms and legs. He looked down at his hand, flexed the claws that now defined his fingers, and his mouth twisted into a grin that would have sickened even hardened war veterans, if any had been around to see it.

" **I ALWAYS COME BACK…"** William Afton hissed, letting out a cruel laugh as he contemplated the good fortune that had fallen upon him. He knew that such respite was only temporary; both Heaven and Hell would stop at nothing to see that he was brought back down into the Abyss, but he had been given time. Time to get his revenge on the man who had made his torments so much worse than they had already been, and he would relish the misery of the brats as they watched him utterly destroy their father and symbol of hope.

Nightmare Springtrap began to take in his surroundings, and he realized to his surprise that he was on the road that led away from the main part of Hurricane to Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. He grinned at this stroke of luck; perhaps he could find some of his old animatronics to assist him, and maybe even take some of the Remnant he had stored with him to further his revenge…

He began to run towards his underground factory, delighting in the fact that his movements were no longer as stiff or as painful as they had been back when he had been inside the Spring Bonnie suit. But as he approached closer and closer, he began to realize that something was wrong. Even with his memories blurred from the torments that he had suffered in Hell, he knew instinctively that he should have seen the outline of the facility in the darkness even if it had already been closed down. He covered the last few meters more warily…and screamed in fury as his eyes fell upon the ruins of his life's work.

" **NO!"** he bellowed, eyes blazing with flames of rage and disbelief. **"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"** His life's work, the factory where he had created the Funtimes to carry out his malevolent will and truly started his experiments with Remnant, had been completely and utterly destroyed. One of the most advanced robotics companies of its age…reduced to nothing more than broken foundations and piles of ash. The explosion that had destroyed CBEAR, for only an explosion could have left a gaping pit where the facility had used to be, had wiped out everything. All of the animatronics he had created, all of the research he had compiled on Remnant and its ability to grant immortality through the trapping of souls, and most importantly, the storage of Remnant that he had collected inside the Scooper…all of it gone. Just as a single fire had destroyed William Afton and cast him to hell, so too had a single fire stripped him of every resource that he had collected and created on Earth…and William knew _exactly_ who was responsible.

" **SCHMIDT…"** Nightmare Springtrap snarled the name out with pure loathing, then howled the name into the sky. **"SCHMIDT! I WILL TEAR YOUR SOUL TO PIECES FOR THIS! WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOU, YOU WILL BEG FOR THE SWEET RELEASE OF DEATH! THE MURDERS OF THOSE LITTLE BRATS YOU ADOPTED WILL BE NOTHING COMPARED TO YOUR SUFFERING!"**

Caught up in his berserk rage, Nightmare Springtrap raced away from the broken ruins of CBEAR and towards Mike Schmidt's house. He knew instinctively where his enemy was, for he could sense both him and the ghosts of the children he had killed all those years ago. By now it was near midnight, and the streets of Hurricane were all but deserted. But there were still a few who would claim in the days to come that they saw a beast race past their homes, far larger and moving far more quickly than any animal they knew of in this area.

William Afton didn't stop his charge until he arrived at the outer gate of Mike's house, slowing down once he sensed the magical barrier that had been erected to keep him away from the threshold. It was almost invisible even to him, only the faintest outline of blue-tinted energy giving away that there was any defense at all. But he had seen what Henry's brat was capable of before, and he would not be so foolish as to underestimate her. **"SO…"** he hissed, mockery dripping in his voice, **"THE PUPPET GIRL HAS SEEN FIT TO RAISE A BARRIER TO TRY AND BAR MY ENTRY INTO THIS PLACE. VERY CLEVER…BUT THIS WILL NOT STOP ME!** _ **NOTHING**_ **WILL STOP ME!"** He lifted his claws into the air, his hand burning with demonic flames…and swung at the force field with all his might.

/

Charlie let out a gasp of shock as she felt William Afton smash her wards like a hammer blow. _"He's here…"_ she whispered, unable to mask her fear. _"He's here…and he's stronger than he ever was before."_

"Nightmare levels of bad?" Mike asked grimly.

Charlie shook her head. _"No…"_ she answered, _"he's not as powerful as Nightmare, thank God. But Nightmare never really wanted to hurt us outside of messing with our emotions. William Afton, though…we all know what he's going to do if he gets his hands on you."_

" _We can't waste any more time!"_ Jeremy insisted frantically. _"We have to get into position NOW!"_

" _Let's get moving!"_ Susie shouted. The ghosts quickly dispersed, entering their respective animatronics. They had positioned themselves beforehand so that they were just out of sight from the main hallway, ready to attack the moment Nightmare Springtrap invaded the house proper. In their minds, they recalled as clear as if it were yesterday how William Afton had easily dismantled their first animatronic bodies, their near-deactivated programming and old machinery preventing from resisting as he cut them to pieces with his axe.

This time, no matter what the outcome might be, they weren't going down without a fight.

/

With one final strike, William smashed through Charlie's barrier, shattering the magical defense to pieces that faded into wisps of nothingness. Laughing at his triumph, he charged into Mike's grounds, thrilled at the prospect of hunting easy, helpless prey after being the tormented for so long. The small mansion loomed ahead of him, and William grinned as he noticed that there was no magical barrier around to stop him this time. His eyes fell upon the workshop to his left, and he decided to break into it first _just_ in case Mike had decided to try and evade his fate by hiding there instead of in his house. He approached the workshop's garage door, sunk his claws deep into the metal, and tore the entire door off with a snarl. Tossing the hunk of metal aside, William scanned the inside of the garage with feral eyes that could now see keenly in the dark. He sneered as he realized that the garage was empty and left the small building behind, his sights now focused entirely on the larger mansion in front of him.

" **YOU SHOULD HAVE FLED WHILE YOU STILL HAD THE CHANCE,"** Nightmare Springtrap growled as he approached the front door. **"BUT IT IS FAR, FAR TOO LATE FOR THAT. NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU NOW!"**

Letting out a bestial roar, he clenched his claws into a fist and smashed it into the front door. The impact of his attack smashed the door clean off its hinges, leaving a gaping hole where Nightmare Springtrap's arm had punched through. William let the door fall forward uselessly onto the ground. He had a clear view of the living room from his vantage point, and was just in time to see Mike's head jolt upward from scanning the rooms, clear shock and horror on his face.

" **YOU ARE MINE, SCHMIDT!"** Nightmare Springtrap roared as he charged down the main hallway and into the living room. He lifted a flame-wreathed claw and swung it towards Mike's head…only for the man to vanish completely just as his attack was about to crush his head to a pulp.

" **WHAT?"** he growled. **"WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS!"**

"Now!" a voice shouted. William barely had time to whirl around as no less than six animatronics lunged at him from shadows unseen, the Security Puppet being the only one staying behind so that she could concentrate her energy on neutralizing the flames that flickered form their hated enemy's demonic essence. Howling and screaming with fury and a determination to stop William Afton in his tracks, the animatronics collided into Nightmare Springtrap, wasting no time in assaulting him with whatever weapons Mike could have provided for them. Rockstar Freddy whacked repeatedly at William's head with a metal shovel, while Rockstar Bonnie swung a large metal rake across the demonic monstrosity's chest, hoping to tear open his body with the metal spines. Rockstar Chica carried a large wrench in one hand and a hammer in another, and she alternated between both weapons to attack Nightmare Springtrap's head with less force but more frequency than Rockstar Freddy's shovel whenever he lifted it away to prepare for another blow. Rockstar Foxy had discarded his accordion and peg leg and replaced them with a shiny new hook and a spare proper left leg, becoming just like the Foxy of old as he charged at William Afton, striking frenziedly with his hook as he tried to cause as much pain as possible and tear open any weaknesses he thought he could find.

As the recreations of four iconic figures that had once defined the childhoods of Hurricane assaulted William with all of their strength from the front, two other animatronic bears contributed to the ambush in more indirect but no less meaningful ways. Being the only one without a usable weapon, Rockstar Golden Freddy couldn't initiate a prolonged attack on William in the same way that the others could. Instead, the ghost within concentrated on her inner power with more effort than she had ever done in the past, blasting at Nightmare Springtrap's sight and throwing him into further confusion and disorientation with illusions of Rockstar heads with black eyes, bloodstained tears and snarling mouths. And as Nightmare Springtrap stumbled backward, flat-footed and too stunned to properly react, Lefty approached him behind with a large kitchen knife she had found and shoved the blade deep into the demonic animatronic's neck.

William Afton roared in rage and pain, a sound that gave the animatronics hope and encouraged them to intensify their attacks. Maybe, just maybe, they could overwhelm and defeat him before he even got a chance to retaliate, and neutralize the harm he could cause to their father and their home.

They should have known that things would never turn out that easily.

The Security Puppet's eyes widened as she suddenly felt Nightmare Springtrap's demonic energy flare and intensify. "Get back!" she shouted to her siblings, trying desperately to warn them about William's incoming counter-attack. But she was too slow. A fiery orange aura suddenly erupted from Nightmare Springtrap, hitting the animatronics with such force that they were all blasted away from William and sent crashing into various pieces of furniture with enough force to outright destroy some of them. The Security Puppet let out a gasp of exhaustion – it had taken everything she had to reduce Nightmare Springtrap's counterattack into merely a "knockback" and not a fiery explosion that would destroy both animatronics and the house they were currently in.

Nightmare Springtrap turned his gaze on each and every one of his past victims, his fangs stretched into an amused and malicious grin as he ripped the knife out, the blade warped and melted from being in direct contact with the flames of the demonic. **"WELL, WELL, WELL…THIS BRINGS BACK SO MANY MEMORIES…"** he chuckled menacingly. **"I SEE THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN A COORDINATED ATTACK THIS TIME AROUND, INSTEAD OF BUMBLING IN TO YOUR DOOM LIKE YOU DID SO MANY YEARS AGO. VERY CLEVER…BUT IT WILL NOT SAVE YOU."** He looked around the room, and then up at the ceiling… _right towards Mike's bedroom_. **"AH…SO** _ **THAT'S**_ **WHERE HE IS. HIDING AWAY LIKE A COWARD WHILE HE SENDS HIS CHILDREN TO FIGHT FOR HIM. I WONDER…IS HE NOT ENOUGH OF A MAN TO MEET ME FACE-TO-FACE?"**

The unbridled hatred in the animatronics' eyes seemed to intensify, if that were even possible. "He's not a coward!" Rockstar Freddy snarled. "The only reason why he's not here is because we refused to let him come even near you!"

" **AND YOU THINK THE MERE DISTANCE OF A SINGLE FLOOR WILL BE ENOUGH TO SAVE HIM FROM MY WRATH?"** William countered with a sneer. **"FOOLS. THERE IS NOWHERE FOR HIM TO RUN, AND NOWHERE FOR HIM TO HIDE!"**

"You're not getting anywhere near him!" Rockstar Bonnie shouted. "We'll smash you down to a pile of scrap long before you ever get the chance!"

Nightmare Springtrap only let out a ghoulish. **"IS THAT SO?"** he asked mockingly. **"AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SAVE HIM…WHEN YOU CANNOT EVEN SAVE YOURSELVES? EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, YOU ARE STILL THE SAME IDIOTIC BRATS. I HAVE ALREADY SLAUGHTERED NOT ONCE BUT TWICE, AND THIS TIME WILL BE NO DIFFERENT FROM THE REST. SO COME!"** He brought his claws down onto the table and pulled, leaving deep scratches and scorch marks onto the ruined furniture. **"LET US REPEAT THE PAST ONCE AGAIN!"**

The animatronics let out more screams of fury and renewed their assault, but they had already lost the advantage of surprise, and this time William Afton was ready for them. Eyes blazing with malicious delight, he raised his hand to intercept Rockstar Freddy's shovel, and only a quick strike with the hook from Rockstar Foxy prevented William from ripping the tool out of Rockstar Freddy's hands. Rockstar Chica had tried to attack from the other side, but her arms had been too close to one of the many mouths on Nightmare Springtrap's body and it snapped its jaws at her arm, forcing her to withdraw and abandon her attack to avoid getting her arm crushed. Barely sparing her even a glance, Nightmare Springtrap raised his other arm to block a strike from Rockstar Bonnie's rake, and as he did so the jaw on his elbow clamped down on the handle behind the toothed crossbar, snapping the metal part of the rake clean off and rendering the tool useless for anything more than a wooden beatstick.

Rockstar Golden Freddy tried to disorient William Afton with more illusions, but this time he recognized them for the mere distraction that they were. Ignoring them, he wrenched the shovel out of Rockstar Freddy's grasp and snapped it in two, tossing both pieces to the side where they fell uselessly. Their best weapons had been neutralized or flat-out destroyed, and Rockstar Freddy looked torn between trying to retrieve a part of the shovel to use as a one-handed weapon or continue to fight Nightmare Springtrap with nothing more than his bare fists.

Rockstar Chica tried to attack Nightmare Springtrap with her wrench and hammer again, but the murderer simply raised his arm to block both weapons, and this this time he was done toying around. He viciously shoved the weapons away, and the impact was strong enough to send Rockstar Chica tumbling backward. But before she could regain her balance or be intercepted by one of her siblings, William Afton reached out and grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to drop her wrench. The other Rockstars cried out in horror as Rockstar Chica desperately tried to pull away from his grip, and the remaining Rockstars tried to attack William Afton with their fists to force him to let their sister go. But it was too little, too late. Nightmare Springtrap crushed his claws deep into Rockstar Chica's arm and slashed his claw across the animatronic's chest, tearing massive, gaping scars that would have caused excruciating agony if they had been inflicted directly on the soul within. William Afton forced Rockstar Chica's head forward toward his mouth, and with little choice Susie was forced to flee from the animatronic as Nightmare Springtrap crushed his fangs into Rockstar Chica's head and ripped it clean from the rest of the body. He spat the mangled animatronic head onto the ground and threw the rest of the broken metallic carcass alongside it, the first casualty in a desperate battle.

His hellish eyes focused on the now exposed Susie, who's own eyes widened in fear as she realized that William planned to attack her directly now that she no longer had an animatronic body to protect her. But before either of them could move, Rockstar Golden Freddy suddenly teleported in front of Nightmare Springtrap and began pounding at his head with both of his fists, the spirit within determined to save her sister from any harm. Nightmare Springtrap snarled in irritation, his original target forgotten, as Susie suddenly felt a hand grip her arm and pull her backward to safety. A ghostly _human_ hand.

" _What are…"_ she looked up at the figure dragging her back to safety, and her voice trailed off as she stared at the man's face. She had seen it only once, during their first Christmas, but it was face she would never forget.

" _Shhhhhh…"_ Michael Afton interrupted quietly, holding a finger up to his mouth. _"Your part to play is over, Susie. You promised your father you'd flee to safety once your animatronic body was destroyed, and even if you didn't, the only person you'd be hurting if you tried to join the fight now is yourself."_

" _What if the rest of us lose?"_ Susie whispered fearfully. Now that one animatronic had been destroyed, it was entirely possible that the others could too even with their teamwork and preparation.

" _You aren't alone,"_ Michael assured her gently. _"I promise you this: William Afton will not succeed tonight. Not if we have anything to say about it."_

Susie shakily took in deep breaths to slowly calm herself down. It wouldn't do anybody any good if she broke out into a panic now. _"Thank you,"_ she murmured as she turned back to the battle that she could now witness from a safe distance.

It was then that a thought suddenly came to her and she turned around. _"Wait a minute…"_ she asked. _"Who's we?"_

But Michael had already vanished.

/

From the moment that Nightmare Springtrap destroyed Rockstar Chica, the battle had gradually but decisively begun to swing in his favor. The animatronics no longer had any real weapons; not even Rockstar Foxy had his hook anymore since one of Nightmare Springtrap's mouths had chomped down on the hook and snapped it off of his hand. After seeing Rockstar Chica so easily destroyed by William Afton, the Rockstars had done their best to coordinate and attack him with their fists at the same time so that he wouldn't be able to single out and destroy one of them as he had done with Susie's animatronic.

But without the advantages they had brought with them to the start of the fight, it simply wasn't enough. Rockstar Foxy was the next to fall, his only remaining fist caught in one of Nightmare Springtrap's shoulder mouths when he tried to land a punch on his head from the left. With a grin, William Afton ripped Rockstar Foxy's arm clean off of its socket, leaving him without any hands to fight with. Dodging two more blows from Rockstar Bonnie and Rockstar Freddy, Nightmare Springtrap reached out towards Rockstar Foxy's head and began to squeeze, intending to crush the animatronic's head to a pulp. Realizing that he might soon feel the crushing weight of William's grip on his head, Fritz fled the animatronic's body and could only watch forlornly as Rockstar Foxy joined Rockstar Chica as another ruined carcass. Rockstar Golden Freddy blasted William's sight with more hallucinations, giving Rockstar Bonnie and Rockstar Freddy time to land two more assaults and, though none of them knew it yet, for Michael to pull Fritz to safety.

And so it continued, the past repeating despite all the animatronics' best efforts to avert it. One by one, William Afton captured, attacked, and tore apart the rest of the animatronics, laughing maniacally with each kill. The ghosts that departed from the ruined shells of the Rockstars didn't need any prompting from Michael to flee to safety, as they knew full well that if they stayed they would be a prime target for Nightmare Springtrap's vicious bloodthirst. Lefty was the last to be destroyed, and with his patience running thin, William Afton didn't even bother to wait for a ghost to depart from the black bear before he tossed the headless and broken body to the ground.

With all the animatronics that had attacked him now destroyed, William turned his malevolent glare onto the Security Puppet, who by now was exhausted from the effort of weakening William Afton's demonic aura. She looked up wearily at Nightmare Springtrap, knowing that she couldn't do anything to defend herself from her murderer's wrath. William grinned as he stepped forward, flexing his claws to demonstrate the promise of violence and destruction that he had already delivered onto the others. **"I CAN SENSE YOUR POWER, LITTLE PUPPET BRAT,"** he taunted. **"I CAN FEEL IT HOLDING ME BACK EVEN NOW."**

Despite her increasing fatigue, the Security Puppet managed to glare at William Afton. _"You ruined all our lives,"_ she gasped out. _"I won't let you destroy his too!"_

" **SCHMIDT'S FATE WILL MIRROR YOUR OWN,"** Nightmare Springtrap hissed. **"JUST LIKE YOU, HE IS OUT OF WEAKLINGS TO HIDE BEHIND. AND ONCE YOU FALL THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT TO STOP ME. THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO PROTECT YOU NOW."**

" _No one but me,"_ a soft voice coldly retorted from behind him.

William Afton paused and turned slowly, for he recognized that voice. The voice of the first animatronic he had made with the intent to kill, the animatronic that had come to define his daughter's existence. Floating over Lefty's body a few feet away from him was the spectral form of Scrap Baby, her claw snapping open and shut as she glared at Nightmare Springtrap with utter loathing.

The damned wretch's mouth turned upward in a twisted smile. **"ELIZABETH…SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. WHY DO YOU ALIGN YOURSELF WITH THESE BRATS, THESE WEAKLINGS WHO NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO BEGIN WITH? COME, JOIN ME, AS YOU DID IN THE PAST,"** he coaxed, though the mockery in his tone was still clear for all to hear. **"AFTER ALL, ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED? TO MAKE YOUR DADDY PROUD?"**

A look of pain and regret flashed on Scrap Baby's face as she remembered how she had so foolishly given her loyalty to a murderer in the year leading up to their final destruction. She had given herself to evil so easily in the past…but not anymore. The hatred and fury returned in full force, her green eyes glowing with the intensity of her emotions. She would not break down in front of this bastard that had once shared her blood, not when her family, and especially her father and favorite sister, were in grave danger. _"Did you really think I couldn't figure it out?"_ she snarled. _"All those promises you whispered into my ear when I first met you…they were nothing more than empty lies! You never cared about me as anything more than a tool to serve your ends, any more than you ever cared about Mikey."_ Her voice quieted to a pensive, almost conversational tone. _"I know what love feels like, now. I know what it means to be loved and cared for, and to give that love and care back. I finally know what being part of a family feels like now, AND YOU NEVER GAVE ME EVEN A SECOND OF IT!"_ she shouted as she glared viciously into her birth father's eyes. _"You almost destroyed everything good about me just so you could try and kill more kids like us,"_ Liz hissed as she gritted her teeth. _"You didn't deserve my love or loyalty then, and you don't deserve them now. I will never listen to a word you say ever again!"_

For a second, William Afton stood there, too stunned by Liz's condemnation to react. Then, his eyes started to blaze with the unholy malice of Hell, and he let out a snarl of pure, primal rage. **"A TOOL?"** he roared. **"YOU WERE TOO USELESS TO SERVE EVEN THAT PURPOSE! YOU COULDN'T EVEN KILL A SINGLE VICTIM IN SIX DAYS, A LIVING CARCASS WEAKENED BY THE YEARS WITH BARELY THE STRENGTH TO MOVE! YOU ARE JUST AS MUCH OF A DISAPPOINTMENT AS YOUR WORTHLESS BROTHERS,"** Liz felt a brief pang of sadness at hearing the father she used to idolize insult her so viciously, but it was quickly replaced by another surge of rage at how callously he disregarded her brother as a broken corpse. **"I WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU LIFE, YOU PATHETIC LITTLE INGRATE! AND I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO UNDO THAT MISTAKE!"** He flexed his claw threateningly at Scrap Baby, his talons flaring with demonic energy that the Security Puppet only barely managed to suppress.

" _And I'm going to do what I should've done from the very beginning!"_ Scrap Baby retorted, and with those words she lunged at Nightmare Springtrap. The demonic monster grinned as he saw his former daughter charge him with her claw held out in front of her, and prepared to grab both parts of the claw to counter and end Liz's feeble resistance. But Scrap Baby had learned well the lessens of both her failed assault on Nightmare months before, and the few lessons Mike had given her since her reunion with her brother. Seeing William Afton move his hands in position to grab her claw, she instead raised her left arm and slashed at Nightmare Springtrap's eyes with her left hand. Though the talons on her free hand would never be as dangerous as a Nightmare's or even her own claw, they were still sharp and more than capable of doing damage in their own right. William's eyes widened as he realized Liz's feint, and he barely had enough time to cover his eyes as Scrap Baby's fingers tore at his upper face. The demonic murderer gritted his teeth furiously, refusing to give his daughter the satisfaction of expressing pain. Temporarily blinded with his eyes closed, William Afton lifted his arms out to protect his neck from being crushed by Scrap Baby's claw, but Liz had a different plan of attack this time. She raised her claw high above her head, and then smashed it down onto Nightmare Springtrap's skull. The force of her claw collided onto the demonic murderer's head with a sickening crunch, and this time Springtrap couldn't stop himself from crying out in agonized fury as pain shot out from the location where Scrap Baby had tried to crush his skull.

Perhaps, if he had been a regular damned soul or even a weak demon, Scrap Baby's strike would have been enough to defeat her old father outright. But Nightmare Springtrap was more than just a wicked spirit. Even as he recovered, William swung his claw at Scrap Baby's chest, his desire for vengeance against his daughter for her defiance eclipsing even his motivation to attack Mike Schmidt at that particular moment. Scrap Baby lifted her claw up as a defense, its bulk shielding the rest of her body from harm. But though it might have taken on the appearance of metal, the claw was still part of Liz's ghostly body even in an animatronic form, and she could feel Nightmare Springtrap's claw tear into it as though he had attacked her arm as a human. Liz screamed in agony as she tried to cover up the gashes he had left on her claw, hideous scars that left little to the imagination in terms of how much pain they were causing her.

/

"What the HELL is she doing?" Mike nearly screamed when he saw Liz attack William Afton in her Scrap Baby. "I told her not to attack outside of an animatronic!"

He reached to press an intercom button on his security tablet, to order Liz to back off before she could get hurt anymore. But before he could do so, a large, shadowy hand reached out and grabbed his right forearm. "Let me go!" he started to snarl…but his anger gave way to surprise when he realized just _who_ had been the one to grab.

" **Do not give yourself away,"** Shadow Freddy warned as he stared straight into Mike's eyes, daring him to argue. **"You gave your children a promise that you would stay in this bedroom and minimize your presence, just as they promised not to attack Nightmare Springtrap outside of animatronic bodies."**

"Oh, yeah?" Mike spat. "In case you haven't noticed, Liz broke that promise and now she's in pain because of it! I told her not to attack William Afton as Scrap Baby and she's gone and done it anyway? What the hell was she thinking?"

" **She was trying to distract William Afton from attacking Charlie, for one,"** Shadow Freddy calmly explained. **"If Charlie lost control over William Afton's demonic aura, then he could very well burn the entire house to the ground or even attack your children with hellfire if he knew how to master the power he now wields. And more than that…this is her way of finally being able to completely forgive herself, Mike. To prove, once and for all, that she has risen above her evil past by directly fighting the evil responsible for her past fall to darkness in the first place. A small trace of guilt and self-hatred still existed all this time, lingering even after Michael's forgiveness. And for my sister, a moment of physical pain is a worthy price to pay to finally be rid of it."**

"If this keeps going, she's going to pay with a lot more than just a moment of physical pain," Mike countered. Even now, on the tablet, he could see Scrap Baby desperately trying to fend off William Afton's attacks while trying to counter with her own quick assaults. Now that both combatants knew that William Afton could directly inflict pain and wounds on Scrap Baby's ghostly body, he had become much more aggressive in his attacks, while Liz desperately tried to avoid the worst of the attacks or deflect them with her claw if she needed to. All the while, she tried to identify any weak spots that she could strike at with her claw or her fingers, but she could find none. William was simply too powerful for her even with her enhanced strength as Scrap Baby, but she couldn't give up. Not while so much was at stake.

" **I do agree that it is time for us to intervene,"** Shadow Freddy acknowledged. **"Neither my brother nor I want to see our sister harmed any more than you do."** A brief flash of bitterness appeared in the specter's eyes before it vanished just as quickly. **"I have waited long enough to confront father about his crimes anyway."**

Before Mike could say anything, he suddenly vanished from the bedroom.

/

" **THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME, LITTLE BRAT,"** William Afton sneered as he watched Liz cradle her claw. He had managed to inflict another set of gaping wounds during the course of their battle, and Liz couldn't ignore the pain any longer. **"YOU ARE JUST AS USELESS NOW AS YOU WERE OVER A YEAR AGO. I SHOULD HAVE JUST LEFT YOU TO ROT IN CIRCUS BABY'S. IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN HOW MUCH OF A WASTE OF TIME YOU TRULY WERE!"**

" _You boast about your superiority, father, and yet you blindly stumbled into the same trap that she did when you sensed a lie. You are more of a fool than she ever was, father,"_ a soft and cold voice dripping with contempt interrupted them. Both Liz and William turned to see Michael's spirit floating a few inches away from his sister, the son viewing the father with contempt and loathing.

William's fangs curled into a sardonic grin that didn't match the malice in his eyes. **"AH, MICHAEL…ALL THIS TIME, I HAD UNDERESTIMATED YOUR CUNNING, RESOURCEFULNESS, AND DETERMINATION. AS MUCH AS I DESPISE YOU FOR AIDING THAT MEDDLING WRETCH HENRY IN BRINGING ABOUT MY DESTRUCTION, I MUST ADMIT THAT I HAD FOCUSED MY DESIGNS ON THE WRONG CHILD.** _ **YOU**_ **SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE I CHOSE TO FOLLOW MY LEAD AND CARRY OUT MY LEGACY, INSTEAD OF THAT INCOMPETENT LITTLE** _ **BITCH**_ **."**

Michael let out a snarl of rage as Liz felt another pang of pain at the cruel insult. _"I would never have joined you, father,"_ he spat. _"Not after what I did to Eric and I realized just how far I had fallen. You deserved every ounce of pain and suffering heaped upon you both in this world and the next."_ His gaze suddenly shifted to someone behind William. _"Isn't that right?"_

Everyone else's gaze turned to Shadow Freddy, who had just materialized into the room. The moment he had arrived, Charlie felt a great weight lift off her shoulders as she felt someone else take on the burden of neutralizing Nightmare Springtrap's demonic energy and she allowed the Security Puppet's body to collapse onto the sofa in exhausted relief. Liz's jaw dropped as she remembered just _who_ Shadow Freddy truly was. But William, it seemed, didn't recognize the true identity of the newest arrival.

" **AND WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?"** the murderer asked disdainfully.

Shadow Freddy let out a bitter chuckle. **"You don't recognize me? I can't say I'm surprised. You never gave the slightest shit about me when I was alive. Why should things be any different now in death?"**

He turned to face William, the glowing white pinpricks of his eyes staring directly and accusatorily into Nightmare Springtrap's monstrous orbs. **"After all, if you cared about me to begin with, you would never have allowed the Bite to happen. You saw Michael torment me and did nothing to stop it. You are just as responsible for my death as he is…** _ **father**_ **."**

/

A/N: The cliffhanger might seem a little weird since many people in this story already know about Shadow Freddy's true identity, but keep in mind… _William Afton doesn't._

There's a "prevalent" version of Nightmare Springtrap that's around in Google Images and FNAF Youtube videos that I've envisioned for this fic, albeit without the demonic fiery orange eyes and unholy essence flickering around his body that I envisioned for this fic. The only reason why I didn't have it become full-blown flames is because Charlie spent the battle neutralizing the worst parts of Nightmare Springtrap's energy…otherwise he could have set the entire house on fire.

As much as I would have loved to have the Rockstars beat Nightmare Springtrap, that was never gonna happen without diminishing his credibility as a threat to the family and, by extension, decreasing the intensity and weight of this story arc as a whole. Even Scrap Baby couldn't do much despite her smarter tactics, even if she managed to get a good few hits in at the beginning.

If you got the impression that Shadow Freddy seems to hate William Afton on a personal level (beyond disgust at his crimes and the damage he did to their family), you'd be right. But that's something to be addressed in the next chapter.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	75. Chapter 75 - Shadows Unveiled Part 1

A/N: It's kind of unfortunate that FNAF Help Wanted is coming out very soon after this chapter, as there's always the possibility that some new lore information might throw what I've currently written for a loop (which wouldn't be THAT big of a deal except we're currently in the middle of an incredibly important arc). Oh well, that's what back-up plans are for.

Before we begin this chapter, I would like to state that I personally believe that there may be SEVEN significant victims of William Afton, rather than six (Charlie + 5 MCI kids). The Toy Chica cutscenes in UCN are clearly meant to parallel William Afton's murders, and yet we only know of 6 children that he slew for certain, the MCI kids and Charlie (Elizabeth doesn't count since her death was an accident, as far as we know). I highly doubt that Scott would have forgotten a detail as basic as the number of children that William murdered. Which is why I think there may be a seventh child thrown into the mix, and that this seventh is The One You Should Not Have Killed.

I was never really convinced that Golden Freddy or the child possessing him is involved with the UCN in any significant degree, considering his complete lack of lines and the fact that there isn't really any strong evidence tying Golden Freddy to TOYSHNK outside of the Void cutscene, which by itself has many possible interpretations that don't necessarily have anything to do with UCN Hell or TOYSHNK.

Now, assuming that UCN is canon to begin with (which I have doubts about, but that's something different), the UCN child / TOYSHNK is _probably_ just a seventh, unnamed child that we have no clue about (since I don't believe in PurgaMike). But that doesn't exactly work for this story. So instead, I'm going to go with a _different_ interpretation of a seventh victim. One that is admittedly less likely in the actual FNAF canon timeline, but one I think will make for a far more _interesting_ story…

Chapter 75 – Shadows Unveiled, Part 1

From the safety of the hallway, the ghost kids had slowly departed from the safety of the kitchen and back into the hallway. The loud noises and shouts from the living room had stopped, and nobody had moved…for whatever reason, William Afton had seemingly stopped attacking. Curiosity overcame even their heightened caution as the ghost kids silently sneaked towards the entryway to the living room where they tried to get a view of what was going on.

Gabe was the first to peer in, and the moment he saw who was in he immediately gestured for the ghost kids to stop. _"I recognize someone in there!"_ he exclaimed, and the ghosts quickly realized he was speaking through their mind link rather than out loud. _"Do you guys remember, back in the 1993 pizzeria, there was a bear-like shadowy Freddy that showed up?"_

" _Yeah, I do!"_ Susie answered back. _"He tried to guide us over to William Afton so we could get our revenge."_

" _But the bastard hacked our bodies to pieces instead,"_ Jeremy replied. _"And we ended up trapped even more. How do we know that this Shadow Freddy guy isn't on HIS side rather than ours?"_

Gabe shook his head. _"The way that Shadow Freddy looks like he wants to tear Springtrap's throat out, they DEFINITELY aren't working with each other. But I still don't have any idea what's going on!"_

" _Well, there's only one way to find out!"_ Fritz declared. _"Let's listen in to what they're saying. I heard someone talking inside the room earlier,"_ a worried look crossed over his face, _"and I could have sworn I heard Liz scream at least once."_

" _Be careful,"_ Cassidy warned. _"Don't let yourself get seen!"_ The five ghosts inched closer to the entryway, making sure that they couldn't be seen by Nightmare Springtrap.

Inside the living room, William Afton stared uncomprehendingly at Shadow Freddy. **"WHAT ARE YOU BLATHERING ABOUT?"** he growled. **"THE ONLY TIME I'VE SEEN YOU BEFORE WAS WHEN YOU WERE LEADING THOSE BRATS OVER TO ME IN THE PIZZERIA FROM OVER THIRTY YEARS AGO."** A sadistic grin stretched across his face. **"SPEAKING OF WHICH, I MUST THANK YOU FOR LEADING THEM TO ME. TEARING THEIR BODIES TO PIECES A SECOND TIME WAS QUITE ENTERTAINING INDEED."**

The white lights in Shadow Freddy's eyes seemed to intensify with loathing. **"I did not bring them to you for your benefit,"** he retorted. **"I thought I could help them get their revenge on you by leading you to where you were hiding, or at the very least set them free once their bodies were destroyed."** He sighed. **"There was more than one problem with my plan that I didn't realize until far too late, and if they can hear me I can only apologize for my mistakes."**

" _It's all right,"_ Gabe thought in his head. _"You were one of the few people to actually try and help us in a very long time."_

" **But to answer your question, father,"** Shadow Freddy's harsh tone suddenly returned in full force. **"You claim not to know me. Perhaps you will in a different form?"**

For the briefest of moments, Shadow Freddy's body changed, and everyone gasped in shock. A young boy had replaced the dark bear specter, a boy with brown hair wearing a black shirt with a white stripe and jeans. His eyes were a brilliant blue, and they expressed his hatred for his father with no less intensity than his Shadow Freddy form. But the most striking and horrifying thing about the boy was the fact that large parts of his head had crushed by the Bite that had ended his life, leaving behind hideous, gaping wounds with mutilated flesh and crushed bone underneath. Elizabeth stared at the wounds that had been inflicted by Fredbear's bite with undisguised horror, and Michael felt a new wave of guilt wash over him at the reminder of his greatest crime. As quickly as he had transformed, Eric shifted back into his new identity. But it was enough. William Afton now knew exactly who he was.

" **ERIC…"** he hissed. **"SO YOU HAVE FINALLY RETURNED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. PERHAPS** _ **YOU**_ **WOULD LIKE TO JOIN ME INSTEAD, HMM?** " he offered. **"YOU OWE THESE BRATS NOTHING, AND SURELY YOU MUST HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST YOUR BROTHER, THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SUFFERING AND WHO EVEN NOW DEFENDS THOSE BRATS?"**

The only response to William's temptation was bitter, mocking laughter. **"Join you?"** Shadow Freddy retorted mockingly. **"Do you really think that I'm as twisted and corrupt as you, father? Do you honestly believe I would damn myself on behalf of a monster and a failure whose fate has long been sealed? No…I gave up whatever grudge against Michael I had a long time ago, and even if I still held it, I would not be so vile as to trample on the lives of innocents for the sake of vengeance. And as for being responsible for my suffering…Michael was not the only one who played a role in the torment that was my childhood. You are just as responsible as he is, father!"**

" **HAS THAT BITE RENDERED YOU AN IMBECILE, THEN?"** William Afton mocked. **"ENLIGHTEN ME THEN, WITH WHATEVER PATHETIC REASONING YOU CAN PROVIDE."**

Shadow Freddy only chuckled in response. **"Do you really think that I don't know about the depths of your crimes?"** he asked. **"Even the others here, who have suffered so much by your hand, do not fully understand the abyss that is your depravity."**

" _What do you mean, Eric?"_ Michael asked, and everyone could tell that he was afraid of the answer even with the past decades hardening his will and ironing his resolve.

Shadow Freddy looked to his older brother and sighed. **"I won't pretend that there was a time when I actually** _ **did**_ **want revenge on you, Mikey, if only for a brief moment. But that didn't last very long. When I passed on from this world to the neck, I found myself in a realm that exists as the gateway between the realms of the afterlife. In that realm, I met a being that I did not expect. And this new friend of mine showed me the truth of the past, present, and future…"**

 **1983, after the BV's death**

Pain…that was the last thing he remembered. Pain and the jaw of Fredbear closing in, crushing down on his skull. Eric slowly opened his eyes, not sure of what he would find. All that he knew, some deep ingrained instinct within his very soul, told him that he was dead.

" _Where…where am I?"_ he asked, uncertain and afraid. All around him stood trees with leaves the color of the purest red, stretching high into the sky. It certainly didn't seem like it was in Heaven, but there wasn't any fire or screams of the damned that would suggest he was in Hell, either.

Before he could think anything further, he heard a sound splash in the distance. Deciding that he had nothing else to lose, he followed the sound, making sure to walk slowly and always look around him for anything dangerous. Once he passed the last few trees, he saw a clearing up ahead. Spanning most of its center was a large lake that possessed the color as the trees, although it didn't look like blood from what he could tell. And sitting at the opposite side was a figure wearing the leather jacket and attire of a fisherman or woodsman. He would almost seem like a normal man…were it not for the large crocodile head that sat on his shoulder.

Eric's eyes widened in fear at the sight and he tried to sneak away, but at that moment the figure looked up and stared right into his eyes. Eric immediately stiffened, and the figure stared silently at him for a few seconds. **"COME,"** the figure beckoned to a spot next to him. **"SIT WITH ME FOR A WHILE. I MEAN YOU NO HARM."**

For a moment, Eric wondered if this was some sort of trick. But whoever this being was, it seemed friendly enough, the first time he had seen a friendly face in so long. Hesitatingly, Eric stepped forward and slowly advanced until he was next to the being. He sat down next to him and began to ever slowly slightly relax.

" **MY NAME IS OLD MAN CONSEQUENCES,"** the figure introduced himself. **"I SIT AT THE BORDER BETWEEN THE REALMS OF THE DEAD, ITS GUARDIAN AND PROTECTOR. I SENSE MUCH TURMOIL AND ANGUISH WITHIN YOU, YOUNG ONE. SPEAK YOUR MIND, CHILD, AND PERHAPS IT WILL SOOTHE YOUR PAIN."**

Eric knew that he shouldn't trust strangers, and yet there was something deep within him that told him he could trust this…Old Man Consequences. And considering how his brother, how bad could a stranger really be? _"He killed me…"_ the boy explained, tears flowing from his eyes. _"My brother killed me! He stuffed me into Fredbear's jaws and killed me! On my birthday! I should have been happy! Why…"_ he sniffed and rubbed his eyes, _"…why did he hate me that much?"_

" **YOUR BROTHER NEVER INTENDED FOR HIS PRANK TO HARM YOU IN SUCH A WAY,"** OMC explained. **"IN HIS MIND, FREDBEAR WAS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ANIMATRONIC, AND THE PRANK THAT HE AND HIS FRIENDS PLAYED WAS MERELY MEANT TO FRIGHTEN YOU FOR A FEW SECONDS. NOTHING MORE. HE MOST CERTAINLY NEVER INTENDED FOR THE SITUATION TO ESCALATE SO DRAMATICALLY AND HORRIBLY."**

" _Then why…"_ Eric asked, _"…why did I…"_

OMC sighed. **"TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION WOULD REQUIRE ME TO EXPLAIN THE NATURE OF TRUE EVIL, AND SHATTER WHAT LITTLE INNOCENCE REMAINS IN YOU. AND SO I MUST ASK, ERIC AFTON. IS YOUR DESIRE TO UNDERSTAND IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT YOU WOULD RISK YOUR HAPPINESS FOR IT?"**

Despite everything, Eric couldn't help but chuckle humorlessly. _"I was never happy, Old Man Consequences. Not really much left for you do, is there?"_

A brief hint of sadness flashed in the being's eyes, but he nodded. **"VERY WELL. YOU SEE, ERIC, FREDBEAR WAS MUCH MORE DANGEROUS THAN HE SEEMED TO BE."**

" _I've heard about that,"_ Eric muttered. _"Dad mentioned it before. Something about…springlocks, I think?"_

OMC shook his head. **"THOSE ARE INDEED VERY DANGEROUS, BUT THERE WAS MORE TO IT THAN THAT. YOU SEE, ERIC…THAT ANIMATRONIC WAS DESIGNTED TO** _ **INTENTIONALLY**_ **BE DANGEROUS BY NONE OTHER THAN YOUR FATHER."**

Eric looked up at him in horror. _"What?"_ he breathed. _"How? That can't be! I know Dad's not a nice guy, but he can't be a…a…"_

" **HE IS FAR WORSE THAN YOU THINK, CHILD. HE DESIGNED FREDBEAR AND SPRING BONNIE TO BE DANGEROUS, HOPING THAT SOME UNSUSPECTING CHILD WOULD SUFFER GRAVELY IF HE WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME. YOU SEE, ERIC, THE ONLY REASON WHY FREDBEAR'S BITE WOULD HAVE THE BITE PRESSURE TO CRUSH DOWN ON A HUMAN SKULL WAS IF IT WAS INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO HAVE THAT KIND OF POWER. NO REGULAR ANIMATRONIC WOULD EVER BE SO DANGEROUS ON ITS OWN."**

" _So when my brother shoved my head into Fredbear's mouth, he had no idea that…"_

"… **THAT WHAT WAS INTENDED TO BE A MERE JOKE WOULD TURN INTO A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY,"** OMC finished.

 **Present Day**

" **Those animatronics were a death trap that you designed, long before you butchered your first victim,"** Shadow Freddy accused, glaring with disgust at his father as everyone around them gasped at the revelation. **"You tried to bring about death and horror through the animatronics even before you deliberately started making ones that were designed to be killing machines on purpose."** Liz shuddered as she realized that her brother was talking about the Funtimes. **"The only reason why I died from Mikey's prank was because Fredbear was intentionally made to crush my skull!"**

" **SO?"** William sneered. **"EVEN IF I WAS THE ONE WHO MADE THE ANIMATRONICS THAT WAY, IT CHANGES NOTHING. IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT** _ **YOUR DEAR BELOVED BROTHER**_ **WAS THE ONE WHO SHOVED YOUR HEAD INTO THAT BEAR'S JAWS, NOR DOES IT CHANGE THE FACT THAT HE WAS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR MISERY IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO YOUR FINAL BIRTHDAY."**

Shadow Freddy chuckled humorlessly. **"I knew that you would try to deflect the blame,"** he muttered. **"You never gave a damn about anybody's life but your own. And as for being the cause of my misery, Michael was certainly responsible for some of it…** _ **but not all**_ **."**

He glared directly into his father's eyes. **"You saw all of it, father. You saw Michael bully me, watched him make my life Hell from a distance. One word from you, and he would have been forced to stop or anger you for his disobedience. And yet you did** _ **nothing**_ **."**

" **IF YOU WERE SO WEAK THAT YOU COULD NOT WITHSTAND A FEW MOMENTS OF HARDSHIP FROM YOUR OWN BROTHER, THEN YOU WERE NOT WORTHY OF MY HELP TO BEGIN WITH!"** William retorted. Several members of his audience gnashed their teeth in rage, but the ones outside the room forced themselves to calm down so as not to attract his attention.

" **Ah, but it was never simply a** _ **mere**_ **moment, was it?"** Shadow Freddy challenged. **"The day before my birthday, Michael locked me into the supply closet, leaving me with only the lifeless parts of the animatronics to keep me company. You should have noticed I was missing immediately, perhaps after a few minutes at most, but no. I was locked in that closet for** _ **thirty minutes**_ **before a staff member finally stumbled upon me by sheer chance. Where were you, father? Did you not notice that I was gone…or did you simply not care?"**

Michael gasped in horror. _"You were in there for THAT LONG?"_ he exclaimed. _"I thought…I thought that it was going to be a quick joke. That somebody would find you quickly after I left. Eric, I'm so, so sorry…"_

His younger brother shook his head. **"You repaid your debt to me long ago, Mikey,"** he assured him. **"But father, on the other hand…"**

" **BAH,"** Nightmare Springtrap spat. **"I HAD MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DEAL WITH. LIKE RUNNING THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A PIZZERIA JOINT. YOUR BROTHER SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF YOU, AND HE FAILED."**

" **Perhaps,"** Shadow Freddy conceded, **"but there is one failure that you cannot place on anyone's head but your own, father."** His eyes hardened and the glare in his eye intensified. **"I always hated Fredbear and Friends'. I was so afraid of that place, so afraid of the animatronics there. If you cared about me at all, then you should have respected my wishes not to have my birthday at that pizzeria. No matter how much Mikey might have tormented me, he would not have had the authority to overrule you if you let me have my birthday somewhere,** _ **anywhere**_ **else. But no. You dragged me against my will to the one place I feared above all else, so incompetent as a father that you couldn't even fulfill a child's wish on his very birthday. The blame for that falls on you and you alone!"**

William bared his teeth at his youngest child. **"YOU WERE SUCH A WHINY, COWARDLY BRAT!"** he snarled. **"ALWAYS COMPLAINING AND WHINING, COULDN'T EVEN GROW A SPINE! I WAS GLAD TO BE RID OF YOU!"**

More gasps of horror and outrage echoed at his statement, especially from Charlie, Liz, and Michael, but Shadow Freddy only chuckled again. **"Glad to be rid of me, father? What an interesting choice of words. And how very fitting, all things considered..."**

" _E…Eric?"_ Liz interrupted timidly. Her brother turned to face her. _"Wh…what do you mean by that?"_

" **Let me ask you a question, Lizzie…"** Shadow Freddy answered. **"How many other victims of William Afton are currently in this house, at this very moment? How many souls whose lives William Afton snuffed out in his cruelty?"**

" _Six?"_ Liz replied. Technically, her death at the hands of Circus Baby had been an accident while the others had been deliberately murdered, not that it had made much of a difference in the end.

The Security Puppet's jaw dropped and her eyes flashed with horrified realization. _"Oh, God…"_ she whispered.

" **No, Lizzie…"** Shadow Freddy's gaze hardened and he glared hatefully back at William Afton. **"Not six.** _ **Seven**_ **."**

 **1983, OMC's Lake**

" _I want him to pay!"_ Eric shouted, his anger at being mistreated for so long finally bursting out from the depths of his soul. _"I want them both to pay! My brother made my life Hell while my dad just sit back and watched! I want my brother to feel the way I felt when he threw my head into Fredbear's jaws!"_

OMC's frame stiffened and his gaze suddenly hardened, and even though there was no outwardly visible change Eric knew that he had said something wrong. **"YOU WANT YOUR BROTHER TO PAY, DO YOU? WANT HIM TO KNOW HOW YOU FELT IN THE MOMENTS LEADING UP TO YOUR DEATH, HMM?"** OMC asked, his voice harsher than it had been a minute before. **"THEN LET ME GRANT YOU YOUR WISH."**

The being picked up his fishing rod and hurled it into the lake. The moment it hit the scarlet waters, the entire lake rippled and shimmered, until suddenly Eric wasn't staring at water anymore. He was staring inside a bedroom, _Michael's_ bedroom…

…and the horror show that was now unfolding in Michael's dreams.

Eric could only stare in stunned anguish and dread as Nightmare Bonnie slammed open the door to the left hall, raising his claws to slice open Michael's throat. He watched the world in the lake reset, watched Nightmare Chica rip out a huge chunk of his brother's head, blood pouring splattering all over as Michael collapsed onto the ground. Every time his brother respawned, a different Nightmare animatronic butchered him whenever his defenses faltered.

And all the while, their cruel, mocking laughter echoed sinisterly not just throughout the room, but in the realm that he and his new friend were now in.

" **AN ENTIRE CLAN OF DEMONS HAS BEEN UNLEASHED UPON YOUR BROTHER'S MIND,"** OMC explained coolly, **"SENT TO TORMENT YOUR BROTHER WITH UNENDING NIGHTMARES OF VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED AS PUNISHMENT FOR HIS MISDEEDS. IS SEEING YOUR BROTHER SUFFER LIKE THIS WORTH IT, ERIC AFTON? IS THIS ENOUGH TO SATISFY YOUR DESIRE FOR VENGEANCE?"**

Eric sat numbly on the bank of the lake. Seeing his brother being torn apart by the Nightmares had destroyed any desire for vengeance left in him, not just because of the gruesome deaths, but because he had heard Michael cry out over and over again to _him_ for forgiveness. He truly was sorry for everything that had happened. As Nightmare Freddy tore open his stomach and ripped out his organs, he finally couldn't take it anymore.

" _Mikey!"_ he shouted into the vision, using a nickname for his brother that he hadn't used in years. _"Mikey! Don't give up, Mikey!"_ He watched Michael jolt suddenly, almost as though he had heard him. _"Fight back!"_ Eric shouted. _"FIGHT BACK!"_

Before he could say any more, the vision faded and the lake returned back to its original state of red waters. Eric turned to face OMC. _"What happened?"_ he demanded. _"Bring it back! I need to help Mikey!"_

" **YOU CANNOT HELP,"** OMC warned him sternly. **"MICHAEL MUST PASS NIGHTMARE'S TRIALS ON HIS OWN. PERHAPS YOU MAY SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN TOWARDS THEIR CONCLUSION, BUT WE HAVE OTHER MATTERS TO DISCUSS."**

He cast his line into the lake again, though this time it was out of habit rather than any specific purpose in mind. **"TELL ME, ERIC…WHO DO YOU BLAME FOR YOUR BROTHER'S DEATH?"**

" _Mikey…and my dad, I guess,"_ Eric answered after several moments of silence. _"I'm not saying this cause I still hate my bro, but it's true. He was the one who shoved my head into Fredbear's mouth, and Dad was the one who made it that dangerous. It's both of their faults."_

To his surprise, OMC shook his head. **"YOUR ANSWER IS PARTIALLY CORRECT, YOUNG ONE, BUT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, YOU SHOULD PLACE LESS BLAME ON YOUR BROTHER AND MUCH MORE ON YOUR FATHER,"** he contested. **"THOUGH I MUST ADMIT THAT I SAY THIS WITH KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU DO NOT YET POSSESS."**

Eric tilted his head, puzzled. _"What are you talking about?"_ he asked.

" **THE WOUND THAT WAS INFLICTED UPON YOUR HEAD BY YOUR BROTHER AND FREDBEAR WAS GRIEVOUS, ABSOLUTELY,"** OMC explained with a wisdom that only a supernatural being could harbor. **"BUT IT WAS NOT INHERENTLY FATAL BY ITS VERY NATURE. IN THE YEARS TO COME, ANOTHER WILL SUFFER A WOUND QUITE SIMILAR TO YOUR OWN, BUT HE WILL SURVIVE. AND, IF YOUR WOUND WAS CARED FOR IMMEDIATELY AND ALL EFFORT TO SAVE YOU WAS MADE WITHOUT DELAY, YOU COULD HAVE SURVIVED AS WELL."**

" _Wait, REALLY?"_ Eric exclaimed. _"But then, how come…"_

His voice trailed off when the aura emanating from OMC darkened again, although this time he could tell that the being's anger was not directed at him this time. **"THOUGH I DO NOT MEAN TO MAKE LIGHT OF YOUR TRAGEDY IN ANY WAY, IT DID PRODUCE ONE UNEXPECTED BENEFIT. YOUR BROTHER, THOUGH HE WILL SUFFER AT NIGHTMARE'S HAND FOR HIS CRUELTY, WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE DARKNESS AND WALK IN THE PATH OF THE LIGHT. BUT YOUR FATHER, ON THE OTHER HAND…** _ **HIS**_ **DESCENT TO DEPRAVITY HAS LONG BEEN IN THE MAKING. AND** _ **YOU**_ **ARE YET ANOTHER SACRIFICE ON THE ALTAR OF HIS WICKEDNESS."**

Eric shuddered, dreading to think about what OMC was trying to say. _"I don't get it…"_ he whispered, though in the back of his mind he was wondering if that was because he didn't understand or because he didn't _want_ to understand.

" **THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING, CHILD,"** OMC warned. **"IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW, I WILL NOT SAY A WORD. I WILL LAY THE SUBJECT TO REST, AND ALLOW YOU TO PASS ON. IT IS UP TO YOU, IN THE END."**

Part of Eric was tempted to do just that. To just ascend to Heaven and be done with it all. His life was over, why continue to dwell on it? But for so much of his life, he had been a crybaby afraid even of his own shadow. Being in the presence of OMC, a being that he instinctively trusted despite his otherworldly nature, gave him strength. At the very least, he owed it to himself to learn _why_ he had died. He looked OMC straight in the eyes, the fire of courage flickering in his soul for the first time. _"Show me."_

OMC's crocodile-like jaw stretched into a grin of approval and respect. **"VERY WELL."** He cast his line into the water, and this time the lake rippled and shimmered again. This time, however, Eric was looking into a hospital room. He gasped when he realized that he was staring at his own broken body, unconscious and barely clinging to life, several bandages wrapped around his head. Michael was sitting at a chair nearby, his face buried in his hands in shame and horror, while William looked grimly at his youngest son's body.

"It's all my fault," Michael was muttering over and over again, despair clear in his voice. "It's all my fault…"

"There's nothing you can do about it, now, son…" William stated as he put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "He's barely clinging to life as it is, and that bite almost certainly damaged his brain beyond repair. All we can do now is end his pain."

Eric's eyes narrowed at those words. There was something about the way his father spoke that was insincere, something that he did not trust. As Michael got up and left the room sobbing, William turned to call a nearby doctor. Once the doctor had arrived, William's face put on a somber expression. "Doc…" he began, "…I've made my decision. Would you mind taking him off life support? I think it's time we let him go."

The doctor looked between Eric and William. "Are you sure, Mr. Afton?" he asked. "We can try keeping him on life support and treating him for a little while longer."

"I'm sure, doc," he insisted. "For all we know, my son is in terrible pain at this very moment. And even if he isn't brain-dead and on the verge of death at this very moment, the injuries he suffered to his brain will keep him crippled and disabled for the rest of his life. I can't put my son through that. It'll be better if I let him pass on peacefully, and let him move on to a better place."

"If you insist, Mr. Afton…" the doctor still looked a bit skeptical, but he wasn't about to argue with a parent's wishes.

"Would you mind just leaving me to say a few words?" William asked. "I won't be long."

"Of course," the doctor nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Once he was sure that everyone was gone, he looked back at his son's unconscious form…

…and smirked.

"Now you'll never be able to tell anyone what you saw," he muttered. "One word from you could have ruined everything. How convenient of Mike to take care of everything for me. And with you out of the picture, I don't have to worry about wasting time taking care of an irritating, whiny brat like you. Enjoy your new home under the earth, brat."

 **Present Day**

" _NO!"_ Liz and Michael screamed in united disbelief, repulsed and feeling physically sick at Shadow Freddy's darkest revelation. This time, Charlie and even the ghost kids out in the hallway couldn't restrain their curses and shouts of disgust and rage. Nightmare Springtrap's eyes flickered over to the hallway, but his eyes immediately rounded back on Michael, who had recovered first. _"That bastard…that complete and utter bastard…"_

"… **allowed me to die,"** Shadow Freddy finished with a snarl. **"Executed his own son. Assumed the guise of a comparing and compassionate father hoping to ease his son's pain, when in truth he merely used the Bite of 83 as an excuse to finally silence me and keep the earliest of his dark secrets in the shadows."**

" **A NECESSITY,"** William Afton drawled, utterly unremorseful. **"I HAD PLANS THAT I NEEDED TO ATTEND TO, AND THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE WAY THAT YOU COULD INTERFERE AND RUIN THEM. I WOULDN'T GO SO FAR AS TO END YOUR OWN LIFE DIRECTLY, BUT YOUR ACCIDENT PROVIDED ME WITH THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU PRESENTED."**

Liz sat silently, utterly disgusted and appalled not just at the latest revelation of her father's depravity, but also at herself. A man cruel enough to kill his own children all for his own selfish and monstrous goals. He had ended Eric's life support when her brother could have _maybe_ survived, and he had ordered Michael to go to CBEAR to rescue _her_ without ever telling him about the dangerous nature of both the task and the Funtimes. And she had blindly latched onto him, let herself be strung along by his poisoned words and tainted promises, almost become a monster as bad as him all for the sake of trying to please him when he never cared about any of his children to begin with.

How could she have been so goddamn fucking STUPID?

" _What was the secret, Eric?"_ Charlie asked, snatching Liz's attention away from her own self-beratement. _"What did William Afton go through so great lengths, even sacrificing his own son, to hide?"_

To everyone's surprise, a look of shame appeared on Shadow Freddy's face as he gazed down at Liz. **"I saw you die, Lizzie,"** he breathed, guilt and regret clear in his voice. **"From the corner of the room just outside of Circus Baby's stage. I saw you walk in and approach her, saw Baby's claw reach out from her stomach, grab you, and drag you into her body. I saw Circus Baby kill my own sister, and seeing that scarred me for the rest of my life. The reason why I was so afraid of the animatronics…** _ **that**_ **was why."** He looked over at Michael. **"You were wrong to treat me the way you did back when we were alive."**

Michael felt the guilt and shame he already harbored amplify almost a hundred times. _"I know. I should have been more understanding, more compassionate to you. All I did instead was make your fear even worse, and now that I know why I feel even more disgusted with myself than I already am."_

" **No,"** Shadow Freddy shook his head vigorously. **"You weren't wrong because you were too harsh. You were wrong because you weren't harsh** _ **enough**_ **. You always called me a crybaby, Mikey, but you had no idea just how true that was. I wasn't just a crybaby. I was a** _ **coward**_ **. You should have forced me to tell you everything, the whole truth, even if you had to** _ **beat**_ **it out of me."**

Michael looked utterly repulsed at the idea of physically abusing his brother. _"That…that's not…I'd never…"_

" **If I had just spoken out, if I had just told someone the truth, I could have ended all of this long before it even began,"** Shadow Freddy growled, and for the first time his self-loathing was clear for all to see. **"But because I was too much of a coward, I not only allowed Lizzie's death to go unanswered for, but also allowed William to continue butchering innocents."**

" **AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SILENCE,"** Nightmare Springtrap mockingly thanked his son. **"AT LEAST YOU WERE ABLE TO DO ONE THING RIGHT."**

Shadow Freddy glared at him. **"You won't be thanking me for long, father…"** he hissed, both of them ignoring the latest bursts of outrage from everyone around them. **"I may not have done anything to stop you back then…but I have had plenty of opportunities to make up for that mistake!"**

 **1983, OMC's Lake**

" **AT LAST, YOU NOW SEE THE TRUTH,"** OMC intoned as the image faded. **"YOUR FATHER WAS EVERY BIT AS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEATH AS YOUR BROTHER, IF NOT MORE SO. HE HAS TAINTED HIS SOUL BEYOND REDEMPTION LONG BEFORE YOUR DEATH. YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST CHILD THAT WILLIAM AFTON HAS SLAIN, AND YOU WILL NOT BE THE LAST."**

" _I have to stop him!"_ Eric shouted. _"I can't let him kill anyone else!"_ He looked up pleadingly at OMC. _"Please!"_ he begged. _"There has to be something I can do!"_

OMC was silent. He had tilted his head every so slightly, almost as though he were listening to a voice that Eric could not hear. After a seeming eternity, he turned to face Eric.

" **THERE IS ONE WAY…"** he finally spoke. **"YOU CANNOT DIRECTLY INTERFERE WITH THE LIVING WORLD, ERIC. IT IS FORBIDDEN BY THE LAWS OF LIFE AND DEATH. BUT FROM THE SHADOWS, YOU CAN HELP ANOTHER BRING ABOUT AN END TO WILLIAM AFTON'S CRIMES AND ATROCITIES. IT MAY TAKE YEARS, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TRULY REST IN PEACE UNTIL THIS TASK IS DONE. IS THAT A PRICE YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY?"**

Eric looked back over the red lake, its serene waters completely making the mystic nature that it had displayed only moments before. He had been a crybaby for so long, too afraid of his own shadow. His father had all but killed him to hide the truth of his evil, and it was only going to get worse from here. He was the only one who could do something about it.

It was time for him to finally stop running, to start doing the right thing for a change no matter how afraid he might be.

He looked right into the eyes of Old Man Consequences, and they burned with determination and steel that he had never felt when he had been alive. _"What do I need to do?"_

/

A/N: And that's a good place to stop, I think.

William Afton deprived his son of a chance to recover from the Bite of '83, all so that he would remain forever silent about Elizabeth's death. Truly, his depravity knows no bounds. And it gives Shadow Freddy an _excellent_ reason to hate him personally. I don't necessarily think this is the theory that is most likely to have actually happened, but you can't deny it makes for a good story!

Old Man Consequences…I wonder if any of you expected him of all people to show up. The role I have planned for him is similar and yet different to his portrayals in FNAF World (which to be honest I barely know anything about) and UCN (which I am much more familiar with). I don't want to say too much about him at the moment, so I'll leave you with this for the time being: his motivations and guidance for Eric are entirely honest and benevolent, but there is more to him than meets the eye.

And yes, I'm labelling him as OMC for the time being because I don't feel like writing "Old Man Consequences" over and over again. Deal with it.

I hope this chapter was worth the two week wait. The next wait will probably be just as long tbh. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	76. Chapter 76 - Shadows Unveiled Part 2

A/N: William Afton really is a piece of shit, isn't he? And he seems so smug about the whole thing. I wonder if he'll still be so self-satisfied when Shadow Freddy tells the rest of his tale…

I've changed the MCI date in this fic from 1985 to 1982, both because there's more evidence that suggests that the MCI happened before the Bite of 1983 than I originally thought, and because it's to avoid a rather significant plot hole to anyone who analyzes deep enough.

I do want to talk about _Help Wanted_ briefly **(SKIP this paragraph if you're afraid of potential spoilers)**. There is a glitchy Spring Bonnie character that manifests in the new VR game the more tapes you collect, and at this point it's almost certain that this new character "Malhare" is William, or at least a representation/part of him that has manifested in the VR game. I personally believe that Malhare is a part of William's soul that was taken away from the "main" William when data chips were taken from Springtrap and uploaded into the game. The best analogy I can think of would be a Horcrux.

I don't know how exactly I'll be able to tie in HW and Malhare into MNGF, but this gives me… **ideas** …heh heh heh heh heh. Bad enough that I'm talking about this during what could quite possibly be the darkest arc in my entire fic. On the plus side (for you guys, not for the family), this arc was originally gonna be the conclusion of most things FNAF-related in this fic, but the introduction of HW opens up new possibilities that weren't available beforehand. If I do incorporate elements of HW into MNGF, it won't be as dark as what's happening right now. But any HW-related arc will almost certainly throw a wrench into the happy times, that's for sure.

Also, someone on Reddit was kind enough to inform me that BV's REAL name is apparently in the Game Files for Help Wanted. I know what it is…but for the sake of not revealing spoilers and because I don't blindly trust random strangers on the Internet, I will not reveal it right now. Once the knowledge DOES become public, I'll be going through this fic and changing any and all instances of the name "Eric" to the real name. Just like I did with Rachel and Cassidy…yay that will be fun -_-

Cam: You'll see Nightmare carry out his threats, up close and personal, soon enough.

Rockstar Ballora: I don't have any plans for Nelson at the moment.

Chapter 76 – Shadows Unveiled Part 2

 **Present Day**

" **YOU? STOP ME?"** William Afton mocked his youngest son scornfully. **"HOW AMUSING. YOU WERE UTTERLY USELESS IN LIFE. WHY SHOULD THAT CHANGE IN DEATH?"**

" **I will admit, my efforts were not entirely successful,"** Shadow Freddy conceded with a small nod of his head. **"When you arrived back at the 1993 pizzeria to finish what you started, I saw an opportunity to help your victims. I guided them over to where you were hiding, so that they could find you and claim their vengeance. And if you won, then at least they would be free once you destroyed their animatronic bodies."**

" **BUT YOU FAILED…"** Nightmare Springtrap hissed gleefully. **"I TORE THEM TO PIECES A SECOND TIME, AND THEIR SOULS REMAINED TRAPPED IN THOSE EMPTY SHELLS. BECAUSE OF MY GREATEST SECRET, YOU ACCOMPLISHED** _ **NOTHING**_ **."**

" _You're wrong…"_ Charlie challenged. _"Even if he didn't free them, Eric did help us get some revenge. Thanks to him, my brothers and sisters chased you down and trapped you in the same suit you used to murder them. We kept you chained for thirty years and stopped you from killing more innocents during that time."_

" **AH, BUT ONCE I WAS FOUND AND RELEASE FROM MY PRISON, YOUR ACTIONS AND THE ACTIONS OF THOSE BRATS GAVE ME A NEW, STRONGER, AND GREATER FORM THAN EVER BEFORE!"** William Afton declared triumphantly. **"OH, THE WAYS I COULD SLAUGHTER THOSE WHO DARED TO STAND AGAINST ME…"**

" _And yet you failed to kill a single person, father,"_ Michael interrupted, surprising everyone by _laughing_ at his father. _"You couldn't kill me back in Fazbear's Fright, just as you couldn't kill me back in the trap that brought us all to an end. In fact, I don't believe you managed to kill a single person throughout your pathetic existence as Springtrap. So much for your flaunted superiority!"_

Nightmare Springtrap gritted his fangs as his eyes flashed with rage. **"WE WILL SEE WHO IS LAUGHING WHEN THE NIGHT IS DONE!"** he snarled. At the same time, Liz felt a wave of relief wash over her that even manage to dull her pain from their previous fight. If what her brother said was true, then neither of them had actually managed to kill anyone.

" **I am the one who is laughing, father…"** Shadow Freddy taunted, letting out a chuckle that managed to unsettle the ghosts and even William despite his advantage in power. **"I have always been laughing at you ever since you fell into the fire, the cold, and the everlasting darkness. And even with the demonic power you have been granted, I continue to laugh. Because even though I may not have been able to help your victims in the way I have hoped, the rest of my plans have been far more successful!"**

 **OMC's Lake, 1983**

" **THE DEAD CANNOT INTERFERE DIRECTLY IN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING,"** Old Man Consequences informed Eric. **"I KNOW THAT YOU WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO EXPOSE WILLIAM AFTON'S CRIMES FOR THE WORLD TO SEE, BUT THE LAWS OF THE AFTERLIFE FORBID YOU FROM DOING SO."**

" _Then…how am I going to stop dad?"_ Eric asked, confused and disheartened. If he couldn't do anything, then what was the point in trying?

" **BY FINDING ANOTHER TO ACT IN YOUR STEAD,"** OMC explained. **"REVEAL THE SECRETS AND HORRORS THAT STEM FROM YOUR FATHER'S WICKEDNESS, EXPOSE HIM FOR THE MONSTER HE TRULY IS. AND THROUGH YOUR GUIDANCE, THE ALLY YOU CHOOSE IN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING WILL BE ABLE TO CLEANSE THE TAINT THAT WILL SOON INFEST THE VERY SOUL OF FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZERIA AND BRING THE NIGHTMARE TO AN END."**

" _Who am I going to pick to help me?"_ Eric wondered aloud. _"I don't know anybody. People always picked on me, and even if they didn't, it's not like they could help me do anything to stop dad."_ His eyes widened suddenly. _"Unless…"_

" **AND NOW YOU SEE YOUR BROTHER'S PATH BACK INTO THE LIGHT,"** OMC nodded in confirmation. **"BUT TAKE HEED. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MANIFEST ON EARTH AS THE BOY YOU ONCE WERE. AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE, THE DEAD ARE NOT PART OF THE WORLD OF THE LIVING, AND ANY INTERFERENCE YOU WISH TO TAKE PART IN MUST BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM. INSTEAD, WE SHALL GIVE YOU…A DIFFERENT FORM…A NEW FORM, MUCH BETTER SUITED TO THE TASK AT HAND."**

OMC raised his hand and extended it towards Eric. The youngest Afton child watched the hand glow with a dark purple aura, and suddenly Eric felt his entire being swell with energy. His entire world turned white as he felt his very being be torn down and remade over and over again, until finally the transformations ceased. OMC lowered his hand and grinned at his young friend.

Eric knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. Whatever OMC had done to him, he felt different now. Stronger and more powerful than he had ever been as an easily terrified little boy. He looked down at the lake and gasped, for he had transformed into a shadowy, spectral version of Fredbear with glowing white eyes.

" **HENCEFORTH, YOU SHALL BE KNOWN IN THIS FORM AS SHADOW FREDDY!"** OMC declared. **"A BENEVOLENT BEING OF SHADOWS THAT SHALL STAND AGAINST THE MALEVOLENT TAINT OF YOUR FATHER."** He reached his hand out to the new Shadow Freddy, who used it to pull himself up. **"YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ALTERNATE BETWEEN THIS NEW FORM AND YOUR FORMER HUMAN SELF AT WILL,"** he explained, **"BUT WHEN YOU MANIFEST IN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING YOU WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO EXIST AS SHADOW FREDDY. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"**

" **I do,"** Shadow Freddy solemnly replied, marveling at how much deeper and more confident his voice sounded. **"What happens now?"**

" **IN A WEEK'S TIME, THE NIGHTMARES WILL FINISH THEIR LITTLE GAME WITH YOUR OLDER BROTHER,"** OMC answered. **"THAT IS THE POINT AT WHICH YOU CAN APPEAR BEFORE HIM, AND INFORM HIM OF WHAT IS TO COME. WHETHER HE CHOOSES TO EMBARK ON HIS QUEST TO EARN YOUR FORGIVENESS IS UP FOR HIM TO DECIDE,"** his crocodile-like fangs curled into an amused grin, **"BUT I BELIEVE WE BOTH KNOW WHAT CHOICE HE WILL MAKE."**

Eric smiled back at the entity. **"We'll stop him,"** he promised. **"We'll stop our father. One way…or another…"**

 **Present Day**

" _And that was when you appeared before me after Nightmare's torments,"_ Michael realized. _"I didn't know you'd already found a new form by then."_

Shadow Freddy smiled. **"It was thanks to him that I realized the truth behind everything and made the decision to bring our father's evil to its end,"** he replied.

Nightmare Springtrap laughed scornfully. **"AND YET YOU ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING,"** he sneered. **"YOU DID NOTHING AT CIRCUS BABY'S, DID NOTHING AT FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZERIA. YOUR ONLY SUPPOSED CONTRIBUTION WAS TO BRING THE ANIMATRONICS TO WHERE I WAS HIDING, WHERE I COULD SLAUGHTER THEM AT MY LEISURE. YOUR EFFORTS WERE WORTHLESS FROM START TO…"** his voice trailed off as a thought suddenly occurred. **"WAIT…"** he hissed.

Shadow Freddy chuckled menacingly. **"Ah, father…I see that you are beginning to see the truth.** _ **I**_ **could do almost nothing to stop you, but Michael, on the other hand…"**

" **YOU WERE THE ONE WHO OPENED HIS EYES TO THE DARK SECRETS OF THE FAZBEAR FRANCHISE,"** William snarled. **"THE TWO OF YOU CONSPIRED AGAINST ME FROM THE BEGINNING!"**

" _That's right, father!"_ Michael confirmed, a hint of glee at seeing his father's smug and arrogant expression crack and falter for the first time. _"After you deceived me and sent me to die at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, I wanted vengeance against you for your betrayal. But thanks to my brother, I learned about all the murders and depravities that you committed throughout your tainted, worthless life. I spent those night shifts discovering the truth and trying to see if there was any way I could free the children whose souls you enslaved, but there was nothing I could do at the time. But I would have my chance thirty years later…"_

" **I was the one who told Michael to arrive as a guard at Fazbear's Fright, where I knew you would lie in wait,"** Shadow Freddy continued, noticing that William's expression seemed to grow increasingly furious. **"I bet you would have loved nothing more than to butcher anyone you came across, from the night guard to unsuspecting patrons. But Michael was well-versed in the art of survival by this point, and once he came to appreciate the full nature of his task he could bring you to heel."**

" _I can't say I enjoyed myself there,"_ Michael added with a smirk, _"but I will say that I experienced a certain level of…satisfaction…at dragging you along on a wild goose chase, leaving you as little better than a slave to the fragments of programming left in the Spring Bonnie suit."_

Nightmare Springtrap bared his fangs in a hate-filled snarl. **"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS,"** he swore. **"NOBODY MAKES A FOOL OUT OF ME!"**

" **Nobody needs to,"** Shadow Freddy taunted. **"You did that yourself the moment you chose to walk into a trap pizzeria that you knew was a lie. Once again, I guided Michael to take on his final task. And this time, Henry would succeed where we had failed. How does it feel, father, to know that the sons you abandoned were the ones to orchestrate your doom?"**

" _We spent our final moments on Earth at each other's side,"_ Michael added with a mocking smile. _"And the last thing we did as the flames consumed us was laugh. Laugh at your arrogance and idiocy, laugh at the fact that you would soon suffer for all eternity,_ _ **just as you deserve."**_

William let out a feral scream of pure rage and lunged at Eric. Both Michael and Liz cried out in horror, as did the other children, as Nightmare Springtrap slashed his claws across Shadow Freddy's chest. Shadow Freddy let out a growl of pain at the wound inflicted, but to William's surprise his youngest son did not break or even falter. The wound was already starting to heal the second after it had been inflicted, reminding Liz uncannily of Nightmare's healing when she had tried to attack him with Scrap Baby's claw.

" **Of course you would solve your problems with violence, father,"** Shadow Freddy sneered. **"That is the only path you have ever known. But I am beyond your ability to understand, father, and beyond your ability to destroy."**

" **THE LONGER YOU LAST, THE MORE I CAN MAKE YOU SUFFER!"** William snarled back. He was so fixated on avenging his humiliation on the son who had orchestrated his demise from the shadows, that even his earlier goal of revenge on Mike and the battles against the children had been forgotten. Shadow Freddy stared defiantly back at his depraved father, fully prepared to endure all the torment that William could unleash upon him.

But the youngest Afton was not alone in this fight. The moment Nightmare Springtrap's back was turned, Michael made his move. His hand flashed, and suddenly a dagger appeared in his grasp, a small but elegant weapon with a golden hilt and a blade that seemed to be emanated with pure, holy light. Neither Eric nor William had seen the dagger appear, but Liz had, and it took all of her willpower not to gasp as Michael swiftly and stealthily approached the battling Aftons. The oldest son raised the dagger and slammed it down, impaling the blade straight into William's back.

The demonically empowered shade howled in pain and rage as Michael swiftly removed the dagger and leapt backward, dodging a reflexive claw strike that he had seen coming. He grimaced as he looked at the wound he had inflicted; he had hoped that he would be able to strike straight into William's heart and lay him low right then and there. But he had forgotten that wounds and damage had a different nature for souls and supernatural beings, and Nightmare Springtrap's armor was too thick for a simple dagger strike.

" **YOU WISH TO SUFFER FIRST, THEN?"** William growled as he turned his attention onto Michael. **"VERY WELL. YOU ARE NOT PROTECTED AS YOUR BROTHER."**

Liz's eyes flashed with growing worry and dread as she realized that William now had a new target. No matter what happened to her afterward, she couldn'tlet her older brother get hurt _yet again_. Forgetting the warnings of her new and true father, forgetting even the pain that she had endured in her previous battle, she let out a metallic roar and leapt at Nightmare Springtrap from the side, claw extended as she prepared to close it around William's throat.

William saw the attack coming and contemptuously raised his arm to block it, but Scrap Baby's attack had given her brothers the distraction they had needed. Shadow Freddy vanished and reappeared in front of his father, raising a fist holding a black microphone and slamming it directly into William's face. The blow did little better than stun him, but it gave both Liz and Michael another opportunity for a free attack. Michael sliced his knife across Nightmare Springtrap's throat, while Liz crushed her claw around the monster's stomach.

Nightmare Springtrap bellowed even more loudly than he had before, feeling genuine agony for the first time their entire fight. The ghostly children watching the brawling Aftons from the sidelines had sucked in their breath, hoping against hope that maybe, just _maybe_ , the Afton children would be able to overwhelm the murderer entirely on their own.

Unfortunately, that possibility was indeed too much to hope for. The wounds on William Afton's body began to heal as Shadow Freddy's and Nightmare's had done in the past, though more slowly and with the scars still remaining. William viciously shoved his elbow behind towards Michael, who barely managed to avoid having his upper arm being viciously ravaged by a fanged mouth. Shadow Freddy tried to distract William by punching him again, but though he might have been more durable than either of his siblings, he was also the weakest in terms of offense, and Nightmare Springtrap only laughed as he slashed at his youngest son twice and pushed him away.

His eyes focused on Liz, promising nothing but pain for her "betrayal." He lunged at his daughter, who was only saved from being mauled by Shadow Freddy teleporting in front of her. Liz dived out of the way as father and son crashed into the wall, Nightmare Springtrap letting out a snarl of frustration as he realized he had attacked the wrong target. He struck at Shadow Freddy's chest yet again, adding two more gaping wounds to the ones he had already inflicted. William raised his claw to inflict a third when the back of his head suddenly exploded in pain. Liz had taken the opportunity to stealthily approach from behind and slam the weight of Scrap Baby's claw right onto William's head.

Nightmare Springtrap clutched his head and let out an animalistic growl, shaking his head furiously to ward off the pain before he glared at Liz again. Shadow Freddy teleported in front of her to try and distract him again, but this time he wasn't fooled. He simply pushed Eric to the side and advanced on Liz, who looked back with a mixture of fear and defiance as she raised her claw to defend herself. As William swung his claws down on his daughter, Liz decided this time to try and avoid as many attacks as possible while still trying to find an opening. Unfortunately, her bulk now turned into a disadvantage, as her attempts at dodging were clumsier than either of her brothers' and she ended up having to use her claw to shield herself despite the pain she knew it would cause. As William slashed down and left yet another wound on her claw, she saw an opening at Nightmare Springtrap's left neck and reached out with her free hand, hoping to grab his neck and try to choke him.

It was a valiant and unpredictable strategy…that would backfire horribly. Liz's arm had passed too close to Nightmare Springtrap's arm and the fanged mouth on his shoulder blade. The mouth chomped down, and Liz yelled as she desperately tried to rip her arm free. Seeing his sister in pain, Michael slammed his knife onto the area just above the mouth and forced it to release Liz…but that had been all the distraction that William needed. He swung his claw from right to left across Scrap Baby's chest…and this time she was too slow to block it with her claw.

The scream of agony that echoed across the living room chilled the soul of everyone who heard it. Gabe and Jeremy both had to restrain Fritz from leaping out of the hallway and into the living room, consequences be damned, as William laughed at the suffering that he had inflicted upon a daughter who had once adored him. Everyone could see the gaping and horrific wound that Nightmare Springtrap had inflicted across her upper body, a wound that wasn't healing nearly as quickly as either Shadow Freddy or Nightmare Springtrap.

" **YOU ARE AS WEAK AND AS PATHETIC AS YOUR BROTHERS,"** William sneered as Michael pulled Liz away from the fight and towards Charlie. **"THE SUM OF YOUR ENTIRE EXISTENCE, DEFINED AS ONE FAILURE AFTER ANOTHER. DID YOU FORGET WHO GAVE YOU THAT POWER TO BEGIN WITH?** He let out a chilling, savage laugh. **"YOU ARE WORTHLESS!"**

Through her pain, Liz managed to give her father one last, defiant look. _"Wrong,"_ she hissed. _"I became a better person, and I broke your chains. That's all the worth that I ever need!"_

Nightmare Springtrap bared his fangs and prepared to charge down his daughter yet again, when a new voice interrupted. One that hadn't spoken once since William had first invaded their home. "Enough!" Mike's voice echoed through the intercom, drawing the attention of all. Nightmare Springtrap looked up and straight into the camera as the ghost kids in the hallway gasped in horror as one, realizing that Mike had given himself away.

Nightmare Springtrap grinned. He had forgotten his original purpose for coming here until the foolish mortal had given himself away. **"YOU HIDE AWAY IN THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HOME WHILE FORCING CHILDREN TO FIGHT FOR YOU?"** he taunted. **"WHO IS THE TRUE COWARD HERE?"**

"If it were up to me, I would have waited for you in the living room, ready to face you like a man," Mike answered coolly, in a calm voice that did nothing to mask his hatred of his children's murderer. "They were the ones who insisted I stay up here while they tried to fight you off. And I was happy to honor their request as long as the animatronics were the ones taking the damage…" a tone of menace entered his voice, "…until I saw you attack Liz the way you did. I wasn't going to stay silent after that."

William sneered. **"YOU CAN HAVE HER,"** he spat. **"I HAVE NO USE FOR THAT DISAPPOINTMENT OF A DAUGHTER ANYMORE. YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER TO HER FATE AND KEPT SILENT. I MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOUR PRESENCE HERE…BUT NOT ANYMORE. I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME,"** he hissed, his eyes flaring with hatred and the memory of unspeakable torments. **"I KNOW THAT YOU'RE THE REASON WHY MY EXISTENCE IN HELL BECAME SO MUCH WORSE THAN WHAT IT ALREADY WAS. AND I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR MY SUFFERING!"**

To his fury, Mike's response was tinged with contempt, amusement, and scorn instead of the fear that he had been expecting. "And what is there to fear?" he asked mockingly. "A blithering imbecile who walked into his own death? A helpless weakling who had to suck the cock of another demon lord just for the mere _chance_ of revenge? Come, then! Come and face me, like you planned. Let's settle this between the two of us, once and for all." Mike's voice dropped into the same menacing tone that his children had heard when Nightmare had revealed the true nature of his first visit. **"I'll be waiting."**

William gnashed his teeth in rage and turned his head towards the hallway, back where he had entered…and where the stairs leading up to the second floor. _"STOP HIM!"_ Gabe cried, forgetting that he was exposing himself and the others just as Mike had. But William wasn't going to spare another moment on his children when they could barely pose a threat to him to begin with. He raced towards the hallway, shoving Liz to the side as she tried one last time to get in his way. Michael tried to stab his father in the back with his knife again, but he was too slow and his dagger passed through empty air. The ghost children and the Aftons could only watch in horror as Nightmare Springtrap rushed out into the hallway and up the stairs. All of the children tried to follow, only to be blocked by Shadow Freddy. **"No!"** he commanded. **"Don't chase after him!"**

" _Why the FUCK NOT?"_ Fritz shouted back.

" _He's going after our dad!"_ Jeremy added furiously. _"We have to stop him!"_

" **It was never your destiny to face off against William Afton here,"** Shadow Freddy replied grimly. **"It was never even ours. Your father and the monster that William Afton has become have always been fated to confront each other. We,"** he gestured towards both himself and his brother, **"came here to ensure that none of you would be harmed, and that by attracting Nightmare Springtrap's attention towards ourselves, he would not direct his fury against you when you have already suffered so much."**

" _So what do we do now?"_ Susie cried out, trying and failing to hold back tears. _"What can we even do? We've failed! We didn't stop him at all! Now he's going after dad and…and…I don't even want to think about what he's going to do!"_

Before anyone could say anything to comfort her, they heard the Security Puppet float up to them. "Things aren't as hopeless as they seem, Susie," she gently told her. "I think Mike knew this was a possibility. And I think that he even planned for it, possibly with Nightmare's help. Remember all those times that he ordered us to possess him at the same time? I almost think he _wants_ William Afton to do the same."

" _Can we even trust Nightmare?"_ Cassidy asked suspiciously.

" **Nightmare may be a fiend and a monster,"** Shadow Freddy answered, **"but he has a code of honor and morals that our father never had. And his hatred for William Afton burns with just as much power as yours or mine. I would never tell you to trust him, but you can trust his desire for vengeance against William for daring to insult him with this escape, and you can trust any aid that he provides your father."**

A groan from the living room interrupted their words, and all of them turned to see Liz slowly approaching them, her hands clutching at the deep wound that Nightmare Springtrap had inflicted across her chest. Immediately, her brothers and sisters (both old and new) rushed over to her and helped her sit down onto the floor.

" _It hurts…"_ Liz whimpered. _"I can't even remember the last time I was hurt so bad."_

The Security Puppet and Michael knelt down, the latter vanishing his knife as they placed their hands over her wounds. The Security Puppet's hands glowed with a faint blue light, and Liz could feel some of the pain ever so slightly fade. But the wounds barely changed in size, and everyone could already tell that it would take a long time for Charlie to heal her sister.

" _I hate this!"_ Fritz suddenly shouted. _"I hate this goddamn waiting! Our murderer is in our home, going after our dad, and we can't do a fucking thing about it!"_

" _I know, Fritz,"_ Gabe gently replied. _"I hate it just as much as you do. But if what Shadow Freddy says is true, then we might make things even worse by getting in the way. We can only hope that God, Mike,"_ his face briefly scrunched up in distaste, _"and Nightmare will get our dad get through this night safely…one way or another."_

/

Oblivious to the dialogue a floor below him, William sprinted towards sprinted towards it and slammed it open, eager to finally lay eyes on the man who had dared to defy him.

Mike was sitting on the bed, the tablet connected to the security system lying next to his side. Upon seeing the man, William let out a bark of contemptuous, disbelieving laughter. **"IS THIS IT?"** he cackled. **"IS THIS THE ONLY RESISTANCE THAT THE GREAT AND MIGHTY MIKE SCHMIDT CAN MUSTER AGAINST ME? A WEAK OLD MAN SITTING ON A BED, WAITING FOR HIS END? YOU CALL ME A FOOL, AND YET YOU DO NOT CARRY EVEN A SINGLE WEAPON TO DEFEND YOURSELF!"** His eyes narrowed and his fangs curled into a sneer. **"OF ALL THE BEINGS IN THIS HOUSE, YOU ARE BY FAR THE MOST PATHETIC. A GNAT THAT DARES TO ROAR LIKE A LION, A CORPSE THAT DOES NOT KNOW THAT HE IS DEAD!"**

To William's surprise and irritation, Mike didn't cower in fear or shout insults at him, like he expected. He merely smirked, an expression that didn't match the cold, hard rage that burned in his eyes. "So…" he drawled, his voice deathly calm. "William Afton. The murderer of my children, and the betrayer of his own family. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but you're less intimidating than I was expecting."

Nightmare Springtrap let out a growl from within his throat, but before he could say anything Mike glared straight into his demonic eyes, icy wrath against infernal fury. "Are you going to kill me?" he asked mockingly. "Go right ahead. I didn't fear death more than thirty years ago, and I don't fear it now. Go ahead and get the revenge you so desperately want. It won't do you any good in the end."

William let out another cruel laugh. **"KILL YOU?"** he repeated scornfully. **"DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE ME SO EASY TO DECEIVE? I KNOW WHAT WILL COME TO PASS IF I SPILL YOUR BLOOD NOW. WITH YOUR DEATH, THOSE BRATS WILL BE FREED FROM THEIR DUTY TO YOU, AND ALL OF YOU WILL PASS ON TO HEAVEN WHILE I LANGUISH IN THE ABYSS ONCE NIGHTMARE AND HIS MERRY BAND OF MONGRELS BEGIN THEIR PURSUIT. NO…"** his mouth stretched into a menacing grin with razor sharp fangs. **"I HAVE A FATE FAR WORSE THAN DEATH PLANNED FOR YOU!"**

Mike's body tensed and his eyes widened as William's body started to flicker and transform into an incorporeal form, a red and black specter that emanated malice and cruelty from every aspect of its being. Before Mike could say or do anything, the spirit raced towards and dived into his body, sending him falling backward, motionless, onto the bed.

Downstairs, the ghosts felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere and were about to investigate when they saw a faint orange glow appear from the far side of the hallway leading to the front door. The ghosts cautiously approached the hallway, and as they peeked around the corner they saw an orange portal wreathed with the flames of Hell itself, faint screams and moans of the damned echoing from within its depths. Nightmare, Nightmarionne, and Nightmare Fredbear all stepped out onto the porch, a mighty demon lord of Hell flanked by his most powerful brothers and lieutenants. In any other time or place, such a sight would have cast raw and mortal terror into the very essences of all mortals, an omen of despair and doom for all who dared to look upon them. But tonight, the demon lords would be a most unorthodox and unlooked-for source of hope and relief for them in this blackest night.

Help had finally arrived.

/

Nightmare Springtrap looked around in the mindscape that he had entered, searching hungrily for his prey. He had expected to see Mike's soul in front of him, begging him for mercy with terror in his eyes as he realized that William would indeed follow through on his promise to unleash a fate worse than death upon him. Instead, Mike was nowhere to be found, but he could sense his presence nearby. And that, more than anything, made him wary.

The moment he had laid eyes on his surroundings, William instantly knew where he was. For some unfathomable reason, Mike's mindscape had taken on the form of the Dining Area of the 1993 Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. And yet, it had been altered significantly from what he remembered. The posters and pizza slices were still on the walls as he remembered, and streamers and stars still hung from the ceiling, but the tables with the party hats on them were nowhere to be found. There were still four doorways located approximately where they had originally been, but the paths to the hallways were boarded and blocked off, with only the corridor to the bathroom behind him and the entrance to the Parts and Services room on the opposite side unblocked. The room itself was also much larger and circular instead of rectangular, with much more space in the middle, and instead of a ceiling above him there were dark storm clouds that covered the room. It was as though the dining area had been transformed and repurposed to serve as…

…an arena.

"Face to face, William Afton, just like you wanted," a voice echoed from across the room. William's head whipped to the opposite doorway, just in time to see Mike step out from the shadows. His eyes were still hidden by darkness, covered under the shadows of his bushy hair. "You know, I never truly understood just how much of an evil piece of shit you truly were. I thought my own father was a nasty piece of work. And then I saw what you did to Liz, heard about how you left Eric to die…your soul died long before my kids stuffed you into that bunny suit, didn't it?"

" **TRYING TO STALL, ARE YOU?"** William sneered. **"DO YOU THINK I GIVE THE SLIGHTEST DAMN ABOUT YOUR OPINION? HOW FITTING THAT YOU WOULD CHOOSE HERE OF ALL PLACES FOR YOUR TOMB, FOR I WILL SUCCEED WHERE THE ANIMATRONICS FAILED LONG AGO."**

Mike gestured towards the room. "Like what I've done with the place? It seemed only fitting that we settle the score here. The place where I first became part of the Freddy's horror story, for better or for worse," Mike's lips curled up into a smirk, "and the place where you first suffered for your crimes. I can't help but wonder…how do the torments of Hell compare to the springlocks? Did you appreciate the suggestions that I made?"

" **PLAY YOUR LITTLE GAMES AS MUCH YOU WANT,"** Nightmare Springtrap retorted, ignoring the hidden taunt in Mike's question. **"IT CHANGES NOTHING."**

"You still don't see it, do you?" Mike shook his head and his smirk grew. "I _wanted_ you to possess me. I _hoped_ that you would go the extra mile to be as cruel as possible. Before you invaded my mind to attack my soul, I was exactly as you described. A mortal man who couldn't possibly hope to stand against a damned soul given demonic power. But now…"

He snapped his fingers, and a bolt of purple-tinged lightning suddenly shot down from the sky, straight onto Nightmare Springtrap's body. William hissed and let out a growl of shock as he felt the electricity course through his very being. The attack itself hadn't done much in terms of actual damage, but William had still felt _genuine_ _pain_ of the attack. The same pain that he had experienced when Michael had stabbed his holy dagger into his body, and when Liz had tried to claw open his stomach.

Across the impromptu battlefield, Mike grinned at his hated enemy's expression. He hadn't even put all that much power into the lightning strike to begin with, not enough to serve as more than a warning shot. The fact that William Afton could already feel some degree of painfrom this first strike, however minor, was encouraging. And more importantly, he had undermined Nightmare Springtrap's intended role as the aggressor by depriving him of first blood.

An insult that, judging by the fury that flashed in William's eyes, the murderer was fully aware of.

With another snarl, William raised his claws and dug them into the wall, dragging his talons down in a shower of sparks as a show of power and savagery. He ripped his claw away from the shredded metal, waiting for Mike to make his next move.

For a few seconds that seemed to last for an eternity, Mike didn't move a muscle. Then from the shadows that covered his upper face, two piercing dots of light flashed into existence where his eyes should have been. Two orbs that glowed with the color of blood. Mike's smirk stretched into a full-blown grin as he tilted his right hand upward, and a ball of dark purple flames erupted from his hand.

"What are you waiting for, William Afton?" Mike asked, before his voice descended into a snarl worthy of Hell itself. **"Show me what you're made of."**

/

A/N: And here we are, folks! The long-awaited battle between murderer and guardian is finally about to begin! William may be powerful, but Mike hasmany, and I do mean _many_ tricks hidden up his sleeve.

I obviously don't want to go into too much detail because of spoilers, but I will say this: as the battle rages in the depths of Mike's mind, any resemblances that Mike may have to other fictional characters you may be familiar with, especially villainous ones… **are completely intentional.**

To get you pumped up, I suggest you look up "YuGiOh Forbidden Memories – Mage Duel" on Youtube and listen to it. To this day I contend that this Playstation game has one of the best soundtracks I've EVER heard.

The next chapter will definitely be at least 2 weeks away, since I have two med school boards exams next week. It's frankly amazing I was even able to get this chapter in to begin with.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	77. Chapter 77 - Battle in the Mind Part 1

A/N: Well, Boards are finally done. Feels like shit, but that's normal, I guess. On to bigger and better things!

With rotations coming up, I don't know whether I'll be able to guarantee weekly updates like I did before Boards. The safest I can say is that I'll fluctuate between once/weekly and once/two week updates, I can't really give you any more than that.

On a more positive note, we've managed to hit an average of 11 reviews per chapter! Thank you very much to everyone who's read and supported this fic, you guys are one of the biggest reasons why I've been so committed to this fic and I hope to continue delivering quality content for you guys to enjoy!

DeaththeWolf: Apparently the "Norman" thing was an error, but I actually really like the name so I might be tempted to change all the Erics anyway when I have time (Norman sounds like it would be more of a British name than Eric is).

A random potato: As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm for the fic, please refrain from asking me to update like you have been doing. I have a very busy schedule as a med student and cannot guarantee that I will be able to update in the prompt and consistent manner like I have been doing in the past.

Chapter 77 – Battle in the Mind Part 1

The first mistake William Afton made was thinking that Mike would actually let him have the first attack.

Mike's words and actions had been carefully chosen, both a taunt and an invitation for Nightmare Springtrap to charge at him. William was so eager to initiate his attack on the man who was the cornerstone of the ghost children's newfound happiness that he had failed to take in his surroundings or sense any sign of impending danger. Mike closed his fist, and before William could move so much as a single step, black spectral chains erupted out of the ground around him.

" **WHAT THE…GAH!"** Nightmare Springtrap struggled as the chains snaked around his body and bound him with a suffocating grip. Mike thrust his hand downward, and the shackles yanked William down onto the ground, right in the path of three shadowy black spears that had popped out of the ground, all of them aimed straight for William's stomach. The damned monster let out an incoherent yell of fury as Mike summoned three more lightning bolts, identical to the one he had fired earlier except much more powerful, and blasted William with them in quick succession. The shadowy chains and spears faded as Nightmare Springtrap got back onto his feet, the demonic essence he had stolen already healing the wounds inflicted.

Mike chuckled as he caught wind of William's furious expression. "You always got in the first strike in the past," he commented with a smirk. "Did you really think I was going to let you get the opportunity this time around?"

With a howl of rage, Nightmare Springtrap lunged towards Mike with his right claw outstretched, wanting nothing more than to silent the insolent mortal in front of him. As he got closer and closer, he raised his claw and swung it down in front of him…right through the air where Mike had been standing seconds earlier. William had moved surprisingly quickly for a hulking, metal beast…but Mike had moved faster, neatly sidestepping to the left and out of the path of the claw.

"I'm not like the children you butchered," Mike spoke in an almost conversational tone that did nothing to hide the menace that burned in his now scarlet eyes. "I'm not some helpless weakling who can only beg for it to be over quickly. Did you honestly think I was just going to stand here and let you kill me?" His lips stretched into a grin. **"You're going to have to work for your kill this time."**

Instead of expressing his rage again, William Afton began to laugh. Mike's eyes narrowed. "Something funny?"

" **EVERY ENEMY I HAVE FACED UP UNTIL NOW, EVERY VICTIM I HAVE KILLED, THEY WERE ALL SUCH PATHETIC WEAKLINGS!"** Nightmare Springtrap explained while still laughing maniacally. **"THOSE BRATS IN THEIR USELESS METAL BODIES, MY OWN USELESS SPAWN, DEALING WITH THEM WAS SUCH A TRIVIAL MATTER THAT IT WAS ALMOST TEDIOUS. BUT YOU, SCHMIDT…"** his mouth curled upward in a fanged grin. **"YOU RESIST IN A WAY THAT THE OTHERS COULD NOT, AND THAT WILL MAKE THE MOMENT WHEN I FINALLY BUTCHER YOU ALL THE MORE SATISFYING!"**

"Then come and get me!" Mike challenged, and as William attacked him again with his claws he sidestepped twice, avoiding the murderer's claws just as easily as he had last time. William's eyes narrowed…there was no way that a middle-aged man should have been able to evade his attacks so effortlessly.

Before he could get in another round of attacks, Mike counterattacked. He raised his hand in the air, and all around him large blades began to manifest into existence. Blades that looked as though they had been taken straight from the scythe of the Grim Reaper himself, made of black shadows that glowed with a faint purple flame. Mike threw his hand forward, and the blades suddenly flew towards William, spinning wildly.

William's eyes widened as the shadow scythe blades converged on his location and he was forced to abandon his attack to protect himself. At first, the murderer handled his defense quite well, being able to successfully deflect two blades outright with powerful slashes, and managed to catch the third one between his claws before shoving it away from his head. Unfortunately for him, the extra time it took to fend off the third blade left him vulnerable, and he had no time to shield himself as the fourth blade sliced right through his side and left a gaping tear deep into his flank.

Nightmare Springtrap let out a feral snarl as he clutched at his side, dodging the last two blades instead of trying to block them like he had done previously. Already, he could feel the wound starting to close, but that knowledge did nothing to improve his mood. For this was the second time Mike had successfully struck against him, while he had failed to deal a single successful blow in return.

Mike smirked as he saw the expression on William's face. "You know," he began almost conversationally, "ever since those kids first came into my life, I always had the strangest feeling in my gut that one day, someway or somehow, we'd end up crossing paths with each other. I know it's odd to think about," he added with a chuckle, "after all, you're supposed to be burning in Hell for the rest of eternity while the kids stay safe and happy with me. But I've never been one to ignore my gut, and look where we are now."

He interrupted his speech to dodge two more slashes from Nightmare Springtrap's claws. "And now I can't help but wonder…was this preordained? Was our battle meant to be?" He shrugged. "Not that I can really complain, even though I'm pretty sure a lot of people would be if they were in my shoes. After all…" at this, Mike's scarlet eyes flashed for a second, **"…now I can finish what my kids and Nightmare started."**

Nightmare Springtrap charged at him again, this time carefully studying Mike's posture even as he advanced closer and closer. The moment the man dodged, he would make sure to change his position and attack wherever the man moved; he would not fall trick to his cat-and-mouse plays a third time.

Except that Mike had no intention of thwarting his enemy's attack the same way as last time. Instead of dodging to the side, the man lowered his right hand toward the ground and swung it upward in an underhand swing. A row of shadow black spears, the heads engraved with the image of a skull, shot out of the ground in front of Mike, forming a barrier that protected him from any frontal assault. William's eyes widened and he desperately tried to slow himself, but he had gathered too much momentum in his charge. He crashed against the wall of spears and was sent sprawling backward, stumbling to maintain his balance. The spears sank back into the ground and disappeared…and Mike had vanished along with them.

William searched around him, trying to find his enemy before Mike could get the drop on him with a free attack. The sound of a throaty chuckle that sounded _exactly_ like Freddy Fazbear's laugh echoed behind him and he whirled around. Mike was standing behind him, a few feet away…and floating behind and above him was a gigantic Freddy head, its white pupils glittering with malice and fury from black eyes.

"You know, I always thought that game was a bit overrated for all the hype it riled up," Mike mused, and then he smirked. "But shooting huge laser beams from giant floating cannons? Sign me the fuck up."

Before Nightmare Springtrap could say anything, the Freddy head opened its mouth and unleashed a devastating beam of pure white energy straight towards him. The beam crashed into him far too quickly for him to dodge, and his world exploded into pain.

/

Gabe floated towards the front door both to welcome the Nightmares and to make sure that the demons didn't have any malevolent intentions toward his siblings. "You're here!" he gasped. "Thank God you're here. William's already attacked us."

" **IGNORING THE FACT THAT YOU INVOKED THE NAME OF GOD IN OUR PRESENCE,"** Nightmare Fredbear growled. **"WHERE IS WILLIAM AFTON? WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE WITH THE MONGREL, AND OUR VENGEANCE WILL NOT BE DENIED."**

" _He went up to Dad's room…"_ Susie answered from behind Gabe, _"and I think he…possessed him, or something? Dad's laying on his bed completely knocked out cold. Charlie's watching over him right now."_ She shuddered. _"I don't think I want to know what's happening to him."_

Nightmare's face took on a thoughtful expression. **"SO…EVENTS ARE PROCEEDING EXACTLY AS I HAD FORESEEN, AND AS YOUR FATHER AND I HAD ARRANGED."** His mouth spread open into a churlish grin that showcased his razor-sharp fangs. **"THE FACT THAT WILLIAM AFTON IS NOT STANDING IN FRONT OF YOUR FATHER'S BROKEN BODY, GLOATING OVER HIS VICTORY, MEANS THAT EVEN NOW MIKE SCHMIDT IS WAGING WAR AGAINST HIM. AS FOR THE DETAILS…"**

" **FREDBEAR!"** He suddenly barked an order to his golden-colored brother. **"COME WITH ME UP TO SCHMIDT'S ROOM. THE MOMENT WILLIAM AFTON RESURFACES, WHETHER IN VICTORY OR DEFEAT, WE WILL BE THERE TO BRING HIS LITTLE GAME TO AN END."** Nightmare then turned to Nightmarionne. **"NIGHTMARIONNE…ENTERTAIN OUR LITTLE FRIENDS. MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT INTERFERE WITH OUR BUSINESS."**

" **OF COURSE, BROTHER…"** Nightmarionne replied, ignoring the growing feelings of nervousness and fear in the ghost children's eyes. As Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare ascended the staircase, somehow warping reality to avoid crushing the stairs underneath their feet, Nightmarionne turned to his face the ghostly children. His eyes glittered with delight as the children slowly retreated to the living room, where the two Afton brothers were watching over their wounded sister.

" **COME, CHILDREN…"** Nightmarionne beckoned with his long, spindly fingers. **"LET'S PLAY A GAME TOGETHER. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

/

Charlie looked up towards the door as Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare marched into Mike's bedroom. _"Finally…"_ she breathed a sigh of relief. _"Help has arrived."_

" **INDEED, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL,"** Nightmare drawled. **"HOWEVER, BEFORE I TAKE ANY FURTHER ACTION, I WISH TO…INSPECT THE LANDSCAPE OF MIKE'S MIND. STAND ASIDE."**

Charlie immediately did so, and the demon lord stepped in front of Mike's unconsciousness body. He raised a clawed hand towards Mike's head until it was a few inches away, and immediately began swirling his hand in a circle. Flames began to gather in his hand until they suddenly expanded outward, creating a black scrying portal wreathed in flame. Images began to form in the portal, until the Freddy Fazbear-themed arena and the battle between Mike and William solidified into full focus.

Nightmare's eyes gleamed with delight, and he let out an amused chuckle as he watched William try to attack Mike with the same savage fury, but the man repelled the monster yet again, this time with a howling wall of black wind that raged around Mike, shielding him from all sides and sending William flying backward. **"I HAD HOPED THAT YOU WOULD STILL BE FIGHTING WHEN I ARRIVED, SCHMIDT…"** he mused. **"I AM PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU DO NOT DISAPPOINT."**

" _What's going on?"_ Despite her lingering fear of both the Nightmares and William, Charlie couldn't resist the temptation to see what was going on in her father's mind. She approached Nightmare's side and peered into the portal, right in time to see Mike conjure up a Chica head next to him. Even from the bedroom, Charlie could see the flash of surprise in Nightmare Springtrap's eyes before the Chica head opened its mouth and let out a hideous screech, almost identical to the original animatronic's scream but somehow even more hideous and terrifying. William closed his eyes and screamed, grabbing at his Nightmare forms' ears as the scream tore through his ears and into his very being. From what Charlie could see, the attack did no actual harm to her murderer, but it didn't need to. Mike had taken full advantage of his distraction to summon two more Freddy blasters, firing their deadly beams straight through William before he could recover and dodge in time.

" **IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO DEFEAT WILLIAM, WITH THE ESSENCE THAT HE HAS STOLEN FROM US…"** Nightmare commented approvingly, **"BUT I CAN MOST CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE TACTICS BEING USED BY YOUR FATHER. I SEE NO NEED TO INTERRUPT THEIR BATTLE AT THIS TIME."**

Anger surged through Charlie, overriding her fear as she looked up to glare at Nightmare. _"WHAT?"_ she shouted. _"You promised to help our dad! You promised to make sure that William Afton didn't succeed. Dad trusted you. Hell, a part of me even respected you, no matter how much I hate to admit it. And now you're telling me you LIED to him?"_

" **BE SILENT, LITTLE BRAT!"** Nightmare Fredbear snarled furiously, but before he could say or do anything further Nightmare lifted a hand to calm his brother.

" **ENOUGH, BROTHER"** he interrupted. **"HER COMPLAINTS ARE UNDERSTANDABLE, AND EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT, DO YOU REALLY THINK I CARE ABOUT THE MEANINGLESS INSULTS OF A MERE MORTAL GIRL?"** He turned to gaze at Charlie. **"I GAVE MY WORD TO YOUR FATHER THAT I WOULD COME TO HIS AID** _ **AT HIS MOMENT OF NEED**_ **. I MADE NO MENTION OF HELPING HIM BEFORE THAT POINT. AS YOU CAN SEE,"** he gestured towards the portal, in which Mike was unleashing a barrage of lightning bolts from the sky, causing William to scramble around to avoid getting blasted by them, **"SCHMIDT IS FULLY CAPABLE OF DEALING WITH THE MATTER AT HAND, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING. I WILL DELIVER HIM FROM WILLIAM AFTON'S RAGE WHEN HE APPROACHES THE BRINK OF DEFEAT, BUT NOT** _ **ONE SECOND SOONER."**_

Charlie still looked outraged, but Nightmare wasn't finished. **"THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY I WILL NOT FULFILL MY OATH TO SCHMIDT AT THE MOMENT."** He turned to look down at the battle. **"I AM MANY THINGS. A LORD OF HELL, A TORTURER OF THE DAMNED. BUT SAVE FOR MY TITLE AS THE MASTER OF MY FELLOW NIGHTMARES, I AM A WARRIOR FIRST AND FOREMOST. AND AS A WARRIOR, THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT THAN TO INTERFERE IN THE DUEL OF ANOTHER WARRIOR, ESPECIALLY A BATTLE AS PERSONAL AND WITH GREAT IMPORTANCE AS THIS ONE. I WILL NOT DISRESPECT SCHMIDT IN SUCH A MANNER, ESPECIALLY WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT HE MAY VERY WELL TRIUMPH OVER WILLIAM AFTON."**

Charlie gritted her teeth but didn't challenge the demon. She wouldn't even begin to think about how Nightmare's mind worked, but the demon lord seemed to think that Mike could beat William even without his help, and his refusal to immediately come to Mike's aid actually gave her hope in a bizarre way.

" **STILL…"** Nightmare conceded, **"IT MAY BE WISE FOR ME TO KEEP A CLOSER EYE ON THE DUEL, JUST IN CASE AFTON SECURES AN ADVANTAGE OVER SCHMIDT THAT IS BOTH SUDDEN AND SIGNIFICANT. NIGHTMARE FREDBEAR,"** he ordered his brother, **"STAY HERE AND STAND GUARD. SHOULD WILLIAM AFTON ATTEMPT TO FLEE FROM SCHMIDT'S MIND, YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO PREVENT HIS ESCAPE."**

Nightmare Fredbear nodded, and Nightmare began to dissolve into a cloud of black smoke. The black smoke entered Mike's body and vanished into him, leaving only Nightmare Fredbear and Charlie behind in the bedroom. Nightmare Fredbear gave the brown-haired ghost girl a churlish grin. **"SCHMIDT IMPRESSED ME WITH HIS WORDS WHEN WE CROSSED PATHS,"** he commented. **"PRAY THAT HIS BITE IS AS STRONG AS HIS BARK."**

/

William let out yet another howl of frustration as he felt a scythe blade tear through his armguards. During the course of their battle, Mike had summoned a Bonnie head for the first time, and instead of opening its mouth the rabbit's eyes had flashed the entire battlefield with a brilliant white light that had completely blinded William. The only reason why he hadn't been impaled in the head was because the murderer had instinctively lifted his arms to protect his head, causing the scythe blades that Mike had hurled at William to tear through his upper limbs instead.

" **YOU COWARD!"** William roared as the spots of light faded from his vision. **"FIGHT ME WITH HONOR, INSTEAD OF HIDING BEHIND YOUR PATHETIC TRICKS!"**

The only answer to his protest was a bout of mocking laughter. "Honor?" Mike repeated with a sneer on his face. "Do you even know what that word means?" His hands started to glow with purple flames. "You had no honor in life…" a circle of six black scythe blades spun towards William, who by now had learned to dodge them all rather than try to block them one at a time, "…you had no honor in death…" chains writhed out of the ground and snaked towards William, who only barely managed to avoid them as they tried to shackle him down onto the square of spears that had erupted out of the ground where he had been standing seconds earlier, **"…and you will get none from me!"**

Three Freddy heads materialized and blasted their beams of energy towards William, who rapidly and carefully maneuvered around the deadly blasts as he tried to approach Mike for yet another attack. He had noticed that Mike seemed fully intent on keeping as much space between them as much as possible…if he could land just _one_ lethal attack…

…that hope was not to be, for Mike called a lightning bolt onto William just as he was about to land the lethal strike he so desperately desired. The dark energy crashed onto Nightmare Springtrap's head, killing his momentum and his focus, and it gave ample time for Mike to neatly sidestep the attack like he had done so many times before. **"WHEN I GET MY CLAWS ON YOU, I WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR THE FIRES OF HELL!"** the monster swore as he lunged at Mike again. The man summoned another barrier of dark wind that protected him as effectively as before.

Mike laughed contemptuously at the threat. "What an impressive threat," he mockingly praised. "A grand threat indeed, for an imbecile who has proven too incompetent to land so much as a single hit on me."

Nightmare Springtrap bellowed in rage and leaped at Mike, hands outstretched to throttle the insolent mortal. Mike merely smirked and vanished into the shadows, causing William to crash harmlessly onto the ground as his enemy reappeared a few feet away. Throughout their battle, Mike had avoided each and every single one of William's attacks through one method or another. A sidestep to the left or right. A wall of spears. A barrier of dark wind. A teleportation away. Each and every time, Mike evaded William's deadly claws in a different matter, save for the times when he dodged in the same way twice to throw William off even further. There was no pattern, no consistency to any of his movements. The spontaneity made it impossible for Nightmare Springtrap to plan a proper offensive, a fact that only served to heighten his frustrations.

"It's funny…" Mike mused. "You think that the demonic power that you stole makes you so much greater, and yet I would have feared you more as the human you once were instead of the monster that you have become."

William's eyes narrowed. **"YOU ARE EVEN MORE OF A FOOL THAN I BELIEVED, THEN."** he growled. **"DO YOU NOT SEE THE POWER THAT I NOW WIELD? DID YOU NOT WITNESS ME TEAR THE METAL BODIES OF YOUR CHILDREN TO SCRAP?"**

"And yet for all your power, you have no idea how to use it other than at the most basic level," Mike sneered, interrupting himself to summon a Freddy blaster and fire at William. It was a haphazard attempt and one that William easily evaded; neither of them were particularly interested in fighting for that brief moment. "As a human, you were able to successfully hide your true nature from everyone. You put on the guise of a respectable member of society, hiding the violent sociopath and monster underneath. You were able to fool my kids into following you into their deaths, and escaped justice until the day they trapped you in that deathtrap of a suit. And you did the same with the Funtime animatronics, with no one suspecting the danger that lurked underneath."

The grudging, almost pensive quasi-respect in Mike's tone immediately vanished, replaced by contempt and scorn. "But all you are now is a savage, frenzied, blithering **imbecile,"** he spat, the sneer on his face returned in full force. "All that power you claim to wield, and you couldn't manage to kill so much as a _single_ person. And don't even get me started on the trap pizzeria, because I've got to say, your idiocy is nothing short of spectacular. Liz had an excuse in that she was just a child following your lead. Charlie had an excuse that she was secretly trying to help Michael out. Molten Freddy had an excuse in that he was had gone batshit insane and was little better than a talking animal. But you? You **knew** that the pizzeria was a lie. You **knew** that something was wrong about the whole thing. And yet you blundered into your death anyway. You wouldn't have lasted a week out in the streets if it wasn't for that fucking fursuit."

Interrupting himself mid-sentence, Mike conjured up another giant Bonnie head and a giant Chica head, but this time William was ready. He covered his eyes to protect them from the worst of the giant flash bang, and covered his ears to shield his wits from the hideous, piercing scream. **"You wouldn't have lasted a single fucking day.** The only reason your worthless existence continued after getting shish-kebab'd when my kids caught you was because of the experiments you fucked around with when you were still alive."

Blank shock flickered in Nightmare Springtrap's eyes, piercing even through his ceaseless rage towards the former night guard. How had he…he hadn't even told _Elizabeth_ about Remnant. "Oh yes, William Afton…" Mike hissed, with a look of satisfaction and delight on his face that could only be described as cruel, "I know **all** about Remnant. I know that it's the reason why my kids and you had your souls trapped in the bodies of the animatronics in the first place. I learned about its true nature when I went digging in Henry's past…and through yours. I wonder…when did you discover Remnant's horrible potential? When did you take something that started out as innocent metal, and started perverting it to your own fucked up designs?"

Even if William would have deigned to answer, Mike didn't give him the chance to. "Well, it doesn't really matter at this point now, does it?" he asked. "After all, it won't ever be able to enslave anyone's soul ever again. With the children you slaughtered, with the daughter you betrayed, I burned your entire life's work to a pile of ash, **and I enjoyed every second of it!"**

Nightmare Springtrap let out a bellow of rage and charged at Mike, swinging his claws wildly as he frenziedly attacked the man who had been responsible for the destruction of his life's work. Mike didn't even blink in the face of William's rampage as he moved with inhuman speed, dodging and sidestepping every single attack with the same unperturbed nonchalance that he had demonstrated throughout the entire battle. His casual attitude throughout the entire display seemed to enrage William even further; how had this mere mortal soul put up such frustrating resistance against his sheer power for this long?

Having grown bored of seeing William try and fail to land a single hit on him yet again, Mike extended his hand towards his enemy. Nightmare Springtrap's body began to glow with a dark purple aura as he found himself being lifted into the air. **"WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?"** William demanded as he flailed about trying to break free from whatever spell Mike had cast on him.

"No tricks. **Only pain."** Mike clenched his hand into a fist that glowed the same purple aura…and then smashed it straight into William's stomach. The punch unleashed a wave of dark energy that sent the murderer flying across the arena, his trajectory stopped only when he smashed into the wall next to the entryway leading to the Parts and Services. The damned soul gritted his teeth in pain as he struggled to get on his feet; he could feel Mike's empowered fist crush his abdomen, and it was taking his regeneration capabilities longer than usual to heal off the damage from such a direct and brutal attack.

Mike, in the meantime, had teleported up to his enemy so that he was only standing a few feet away, watching him carefully the entire time. "You know, there are so many reasons why I despise every fiber of your being, but out of all of them, the way you fucked around with Liz's head had got to be on the top of the list," he growled, his voice emanating a cold rage that hadn't been there in any of his previous dialogue. "All she wanted was a father to love her, someone to take care of her after you left her to rot in your fucking funhouse of horrors for years. And when she finally found you, all you saw was just another tool to carry out your sick and twisted goals. What lies did you whisper into her ear? What false, empty promises did you dangle in front of her to delude her into following your every whim, like a puppet on a string? The only reason why you didn't destroy every bit of goodness in her soul was because Henry destroyed you all before the point of no return." He scoffed and spat at Nightmare Springtrap's feet. "My father might have been a bastard that made my entire childhood a living hell, but I'd rather spent ten years with him at his worst than ten seconds with **you."**

William sneered. **"SHE WANTED TO MAKE ME PROUD,"** he retorted, **"AND I MERELY TOLD HER THE MEANS BY WHICH SHE COULD DO SO. ANY SINS THAT SHE COMMITS IS ON HER HEAD, AND HERS ALONE."**

Mike's eyes flashed with cold fury. "The only reason why she ever committed those sins in the first place was because of you!" he spat. "Don't you dare put this on her. And even if her crimes were her own fault, she turned away from the dark path you forced on her and found her way back into the light, no thanks to you!" He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "She's mine now. My daughter, not yours. You lost any right to call yourself her father the moment you let her get killed by Baby all those years ago. I've given her more love and compassion in the first five seconds I've met her than you have for her entire existence, both in life and in death. And after seeing how little you give a damn about your children outside of how useful as they are as pawns in your fucked-up plans, I honestly have to wonder… **how the fuck did a piece of shit like you ever make a family in the first place?"**

The moment Mike finished his words, Scrap Baby's head appeared behind his shoulder, her green eyes glowing hatefully at her former corrupter. Nightmare Springtrap glared at it intently, waiting for it to attack him like the Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica heads had done. But instead, two metal claws appeared on each side of Mike, larger even than the scythe blades that Mike had been using to attack up until this point. The pincers snapped threateningly twice and then launched themselves at William, who swung his claws to deflect their attacks like he had done previously. But instead of vanishing upon being repelled, the claws swung around and tried to attack William from different angles and directions, the relentless assault a dark representation of Liz's determination to protect her father from any threat. It took all of Nightmare Springtrap's concentration to avoid what would almost certainly have a been a crippling blow from Scrap Baby's pincers, and he failed to notice the new threat that Mike had conjured. The moment Scrap Baby's attack finally vanished, a manifestation of Foxy the Pirate lunged at William from Mike's direction, his one open eye glowing with malice and his mouth opened in a hate-filled snarl. The Foxy simulacrum crashed into William, tackling him to the ground, as it began slashing and swinging its hook at William with the same berserk frenzy that the murderer had himself futilely exhibited on Mike seconds earlier. But for all its savagery, it lacked the raw might that William enjoyed thanks to his demonic power. Ignoring the scratches and wounds inflicted upon his body, William reached out and grabbed the Foxy specter by the throat, using his other hand to tear open huge gashes in its body while the animatronic struggled fruitlessly in his grasp. With a roar, William grabbed Foxy's legs and lifted him high into the air, before smashing the pirate fox's body and spine against his knee. The Foxy imitation let out one pitiful, agonized scream before finally laying still, William not even sparing it a glance as he tossed the broken corpse to the side and it dissolved into nothingness.

But Mike had already prepared the next stages of his attack while his enemy had been occupied. Perhaps he had gotten bored of seeing William fruitlessly attack him again and again, or perhaps the reminder of his crimes against his daughter had ignited his fury underneath his calm and dispassionate facade. Regardless of the reason, the attacks he now unleashed upon William possessed much greater intensity and complexity than anything he had thrown at the monster up until that point. Instead of using one type of attack at a time, he now began to combine them in unpredictable and deadly patterns that Nightmare Springtrap found almost impossible to fully keep track of and evade. Shadow scythe blades hurled themselves at William from one direction while bolts of dark lightning rained down upon around him to cut off his escape. Freddy blasters fired deadly beams of energy both directly at him and at his sides while black spears shot up from the ground to try and impale him from below. William was forced to abandon offense entirely and focus entirely on protecting himself as Mike watched on, waiting for Nightmare Springtrap to dare to try and attack him in the middle of such a relentless onslaught.

With so many attacks unleashed at him from all sides, it was impossible for William to keep himself unharmed. As he slammed aside a blade that had tried to impale him from behind, Mike summoned another Bonnie head in front of him. The murderer tried to protect his eyes from the blinding light that he knew was coming, but he was too slow. Bonnie's eyes flashed and William covered his eyes in pain, not noticing the chains that had wrapped themselves around his legs. The bindings pinned his feet to the ground, leaving him helpless against the salvo of lightning bolts, Freddy blaster beams, and scythe blades that Mike launched against him all at the same time. William howled, feeling true pain and agony for the first time that night, as the attacks smashed into him one after the other. It was only after he fell to his knees that Mike finally relented, the man's lips curled into a smirk at all the damage that he had inflicted.

William felt the demonic essence in his body try to heal the damage it had taken, only to realize that his body wasn't rejuvenating as quickly as it had been beforehand. It was taking nearly twice the time for it to recover as it had in the past, and he could see marks, burns, and wounds that would have healed completely had they been inflicted earlier in the battle. A trace of fear cut through his rage as he could find only one possible explanation; Mike had started to inflict enough damage to his essence that even his demonic regeneration couldn't fully heal it anymore.

Mike, in the meanwhile, was beginning to breathe more heavily, a look of exertion on his face as he gritted his teeth. An idea started to form in William's mind…perhaps he could force Schmidt to tire himself out, leave himself vulnerable for the kill. For all the power he had displayed, his was still only a mortal, and a mortal's endurance was nothing compared to his own.

Now with a purpose in mind, William charged at Mike, hoping to bait out his more elaborate methods of defense and weaken him further. Dodging a Freddy blaster and a lightning bolt, he slashed both of his claws widely in an arc to cover as much room as possible, forcing Mike to teleport away and appear behind him. Knowing that he had to stop William from gaining more momentum, Mike summoned another Foxy phantom and two Scrap Baby claws and sent them towards Nightmare Springtrap. With the two of them attacking at the same time, William had a harder time fighting them off than he did previously, and as he blocked Foxy's strikes he failed to notice one of the claws close in around his side and close around his flank until it was too late.

William howled as the teeth on Scrap Baby's metal pincer crushed into his side and tore open a huge chunk of metal and ethereal flesh from his body. Snarling, William grabbed the claw and began to savagely pummel both the other claw and the spectral Foxy on the head with his makeshift weapon. Though both continued to assault the murderer with single-minded ferocity and even managed to inflict some minor damage on William's body, it wasn't very long before he triumphantly smashed all three into broken pieces that immediately dissolved into nothingness.

"This is your true self, isn't it?" Mike questioned, his voice now a low hiss. "A savage, egotistical beast with no compassion or thought for anyone or anything other than yourself. You tried to disguise it behind the masks of a scientist, an inventor, and even a father. But you could never truly hide the rot in your soul, a rot that tainted and ruined everything you ever touched. Your transformation into Springtrap merely tore those masks off and revealed who you truly are for everyone to see."

He snapped his fingers, and Golden Freddy heads began to appear in a circle all around the arena. With a grin, Mike vanished, and the Golden Freddy heads began to fire one at a time, creating an ever-rotating beam of destruction that edged closer and closer to William's location. Nightmare Springtrap snorted contemptuously at how easy this attack would be to avoid compared to the others…up until a much larger Freddy head appeared, this one aimed straight for him. William threw himself to the side, the Freddy blaster missing him by inches, and immediately took off running to avoid the ever-approaching attacks from the Golden Freddy heads. The next few seconds seemed to pass by at a blur as William focused all his attention on evading both types of blasters. He kept a close watch on his surroundings for any sign of ambush, a decision that proved wise when Mike attempted to sneak in both a Bonnie and a Chica head in place of one of the Golden Freddy heads at different times. William managed to avoid the worst of both with little more than minor irritation, and he wondered contemptuously if his would-be victim was beginning to lose his touch.

Then the Golden Freddy heads turned into _Shadow_ Freddy heads, and the entire arena plunged into complete darkness. William could see nothing save for the white eyes and teeth of Shadow Freddy, not even the beams that had been firing from their mouths. William looked around him frantically, trying to find any sign of an incoming attack, when his body exploded with the same pain he had felt whenever a Freddy blaster had successfully attacked him in the past. As soon as the pain faded, William began to move about wildly, hoping to simply avoid the invisible beams from the Shadow Freddy heads by sheer dumb luck. It wasn't until he had been blasted three more times that he realized that Shadow Freddy's teeth still moved in the same way that Golden Freddy's had done whenever it was about to attack, and with that knowledge he could finally begin to track the path of the beams. Mike seemed to realize that William had come to this realization, for the heads soon vanished afterwards and the light returned to the arena. William noted that Mike seemed noticeably more fatigued than he had been earlier, an observation that brought him no small amount of satisfaction and anticipation for all the pain he had caused him.

" **YOU ARE AT THE EDGE OF YOUR LIMIT, MIKE SCHMIDT,"** William declared, smelling blood and victory in the air even as he forced himself to ignore the wounds all around his own body. **"I CAN SENSE YOUR EXHAUSTION, SMELL YOUR WEAKNESS. I WILL ADMIT THAT YOU PUT UP A MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE RESISTANCE THAN I COULD HAVE POSSIBLY ANTICIPATED, BUT IT WILL SOON COME TO AN END. YOUR DOOM IS AT HAND, NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU SEEK TO DELAY IT."**

"I have more fight in me than you think," Mike retorted, "and even if I was on my last breath, I will never give in to a monster like you. If you want victory so badly, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead corpse!"

" **A REQUEST I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO FULFILL!"** William snarled as he swung his claw down on Mike's head. The man summoned up another wall of black spears to deflect the attack, and after teleporting to a safe distance away, began to throw every single attack that he had utilized during the entirety of their battle up until that point. With all the intelligence he had gathered on Mike's attack patterns throughout their duel, William weaved and forced his way through the storm of attacks that the man sent his way. He had learned exactly which attacks were the most dangerous and focused on avoiding them entirely, even accepting pain and damage from a "lesser" attack when he had to choose between being hit by one or the other. As he shoved a Scrap Baby claw aside and pounced to the right to avoid three Freddy blasters and a lightning blast, he managed to catch a glimpse of Mike. There was no mistaking it – he could see the encroaching fatigue more clearly than ever, and the grimace on Mike's face made it clear that he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up for much longer.

With the prospect of victory so close, William abandoned all caution to the wind and charged straight for Mike. Lightning bolts rained down upon him and Freddy blasters fired their beams directly at him, but he ignored the pain they caused, so eager was he to finally claim victory over the one man who had caused him more grief than even Henry. Panic flashed in Mike's eyes as he intensified his barrage of attacks, but William no longer cared. Even as a Foxy simulacrum tore a gash across his abdomen with his hook and a scythe blade sliced cleanly through his shoulder, William pounced straight towards Mike…

…and sunk his claws straight into the man's chest.

Mike yelled in shock and pain as everything that he had conjured vanished into nothingness. Both he and William were staring down at the grievous wounds that the latter had inflicted, all of which were now spurting blood, as though neither of them could believe that Nightmare Springtrap had actually landed a successful and deadly blow on a man who had managed to effortless avoid any sort of damage up until this point. William began to laugh, a wild, insane, cruel laugh as he began to imagine the atrocities he could inflict upon the father of the ghostly brats now that he held the man in his grasp.

Only to realize that _he wasn't the only one laughing_.

"Well, well…I have to admit, I'm surprised you managed to actually land a hit on me," Mike commented. William immediately began to sense that something was wrong…the man was speaking far too calmly and with far too much clarity for someone who had had his chest sliced open. "I guess I got too careless…I didn't intend to let you hit me at all for the first part of our little game."

" **WHAT ARE YOU BLATHERING ABOUT?"** Nightmare Springtrap snarled. His earlier feeling of triumph had completely vanished, replaced by growing unease and uncertainty; there was no trace of fear, pain, or even the fatigue that he had noticed earlier in their battle. Something was very, _very_ wrong.

"Did you really think that I would be this easy to kill?" Mike mockingly questioned. "Did you honestly think that you would win the entire battle as soon as you managed to land in one good hit? If you did, **then you're even more of a fool than I took you for."**

Moving far more quickly than William could have expected for someone who had seemingly suffered a crippling and mortal blow, Mike raised a fist glowing with deadly energy and slammed it straight onto Nightmare Springtrap's face. The force of his surprise attack created a small explosion of darkness that sent Nightmare Springtrap flying backward, the murderer too taken by surprise to defend himself as he was sent sprawling to the ground. Even as he tried to get back on his feet, the ground began to rumble as cracks and fissures began to tear through the ground. The pieces of the floor began to fall away, revealing a seemingly bottomless black abyss, empty and vast, that was growing with every second that passed. William began to panic as he scrambled to his feet and tried to outrun the collapsing floor, but he was too slow. Right as he was about to fall into the yawning void, two chains reached out and snaked around his wrists, keeping him suspended above the darkness.

Forcing his gaze away, he looked up to see the spectral form of the Marionette towering above him, the other ends of the chains extending from its fingers like strings. The Puppet glared down at William, her white eyes flickering with undisguised hatred. In front of him, Mike stood at the edge of the abyss, his wounds from Nightmare Springtrap's final attack already healed.

" **Enjoy your second descent into the depths, William Afton,"** the man taunted, and with those words the Marionette released her chains. William screamed a final, unintelligible curse as he fell into the abyss, his fleeting moment of triumph invalidated and destroyed by the knowledge that Mike had been playing him for a fool during the entirety of their battle.

The last thing he saw was Mike waving mockingly at him from far above, and the last thing he heard was the derisive laughter of the children he had butchered, a perfect mirror to his own cruelty when he had laughed at the violent deaths that he had inflicted upon his victims.

And then his entire world fell into darkness.

/

A/N: Whoo boy, this was a hell of a chapter to write. And we haven't even gotten to the REAL battle yet.

Those of you well-versed in video game culture probably recognized the parallels to the Sans battle in Undertale's Genocide Route. And you'd be right. Mike did use the infamous Sans battle as an inspiration for how he conducted the first part of this battle…the biggest example being the Freddy blasters.

Some of you might very well be disappointed by the lack of action considering how much this battle has been hyped up. Why didn't William Afton do anything to attack other than physical charges and claw strikes? Why didn't Mike use so much as a single physical weapon of any kind during the entirety of this stage? I actually have quite a few explanations for why I (and by extension, Mike) played this battle out the way I did.

The first and biggest reason is that Mike was NEVER fighting William Afton seriously to begin with. He was screwing with William and playing him for a fool the entire time, forcing him to go on the defensive multiple times throughout the battle. William imagined himself as the ultimate aggressor with a massive power advantage over someone who should have only put up a feeble resistance at best, and been completely helpless at worst. Mike gave him the ultimate insult by violently stripping that notion away from him, amplified by the fact he wasn't even really trying. For those of you who have played the Sans battle before, imagine having to deal with the frustration of that battle, only with even MORE unfair bullshit thrown it, all while the Sans-equivalent is viciously mocking and insulting you with much more vitriol and hatred than Sans ever did. Like Mike said before, he doesn't give a single flying fuck about treating William Afton with any sort of honor, respect, or dignity. It's not like the bastard deserves any of it.

The second reason is because Mike was focused on verbally assaulting William just as much as he was trying to attack him directly. He thoroughly despises William for MANY reasons, and he had a LOT of shit that he wanted to say and get off his chest. Much of what he wanted to condemn William Afton for throughout their battle has now been spoken and done, and when the next stage begins he'll focusing a lot more on pressing his attack properly.

The third reason is that Mike wanted to, in his own way, demonstrate that he's fighting alongside his kids rather than claiming revenge for himself. He has the power of imagination at his command, and he could have attacked William in other ways that would have been a lot more powerful, vicious, and effective from the get-go. Instead, Mike chose to incorporate the animatronics into his fighting style to show that, even though he might be focused on revenge, he hasn't forgotten the ones he cares about, the ones he's fighting to get revenge for in the first place.

And finally, I feel like I should address William Afton's mental state, and why he didn't do anything apart from blindly charge and attack Mike with his claws. William has spent a year in Hell by now, and has spent much longer trapped in the body of Springtrap. Years of torment has eroded his mind and his intelligence, leaving him little better than a savage beast. He might still think himself to be the genius that he once was, but the fact that he wandered into a trap pizzeria that he KNEW was a lie says all you need to know about his mental state. His entire mental state revolves around violence and murder, with no thought to strategy or the cunning he once employed as a human. Even when he was fighting the ghost kids and winning, he still used the same basic strategy against them that he did against Mike. But Mike has proved once and for all that William's old way of doing things won't work against him. William will have to _think_ about how to wield the demonic power he stole from the Nightmare children, or else the only thing he will enjoy is a slow, inevitable crawl to defeat as Mike wears him down again and again…

My apologies to anyone who was hoping for more intense "action." Mike might have been toying with William Afton for the first stage of the battle, but both of them are done fucking around. I can assure you that the next stage of the battle will be _very_ different from this one.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Below is a list of Mike's attacks as well as my inspiration for them. Hopefully the descriptions will make it easier for you to understand what I envisioned while writing this battle.

Reaper's Fury – Mike summons six giant scythe blades made of darkness in a circle and hurls them towards the enemy. This spell is essentially the **Excalibur** spell from Fire Emblem 7 and 8, except it is Darkness-themed instead of Wind-themed.

Black Lightning – Mike rains down lightning bolts fueled by the powers of darkness. Inspired by Asriel Dreemur's **Shocker Breaker** attack.

Wall of Spears – Mike summons a wall of black spears from the ground to either protect himself or try to impale his enemies.

Dark Wall of Wind – Mike creates a barrier of black howling wind around his body to protect himself from any attack. Enemies that hit the barrier are knocked back a large distance. Inspired by the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card of the same name.

Darkfire Smash – Mike viciously punches an enemy with a fist imbued with the powers of darkness. Inspired by Thanos punching/blasting his enemies with the Power Stone.

Freddy – basically a FNAF-themed Gaster Blaster. 'Nuff said.

Bonnie – Bonnie's eyes shoot out an intense light that blinds and stuns anyone who is looking towards his direction. The attack cannot cause direct harm, but can render an enemy helpless against incoming attacks. Can be countered by closing one's eyes or by looking away before the flash occurs. Inspired by Bonnie's UCN mechanic.

Chica – Chica lets out a hideous screech that deafens anyone who hears it. The attack cannot cause direct harm, but can render an enemy more vulnerable against incoming attacks. This attack is not as debilitating as Bonnie's but can be effective from any direction, not just in front. Can be countered by covering one's ears before the scream.

Foxy – A spectral manifestation of Foxy the Pirate charges at an enemy, attacking frenziedly with hook and claw. The simulacrum has high attack speed and damage, but has low defensive stats and will fall quickly to a prolonged assault.

Golden Freddy – Same as Freddy, but can turn into Shadow Freddy blasters. The Shadow Freddy blasters are completely invisible save for their eyes and mouth, including their beams. The only way to tell when they are about to attack is if the movement of their teeth changes.

Scrap Baby – Summons two copies of Scrap Baby's metal pincer to attack an enemy. The claws can attack from multiple sides and can deal heavy damage if they successfully catch an enemy in a lethal vice grip.


	78. Chapter 78 - Battle in the Mind Part 2

A/N: And now we begin the next stage of the battle between William and Mike. Even if I wasn't busy with hospital rotations, I honestly think I would have waited two weeks before posting this chapter anyway. After all, we are in the middle of what could very easily and justifiably considered the most important arc in this entire fic, and you know what they say about rushing and poor quality.

As you've probably guessed by now, Mike is a man who doesn't give a single flying fuck about things like "honor" and "decency" when it comes to a fight. Any and all ethics and morals he would have otherwise held close to his heart have been thrown right out of the fucking window, especially against a depraved mongrel like William Afton. And if you thought the last chapter was bad… **we're just getting started.**

Also pre-emptive apology for the frequent use of the words "fire" and "flame" in this chapter. Because they WILL show up a lot.

Guest 1: Who says Ultimate Custom Night isn't in this fic? Maybe it merely hasn't occurred _yet_. 😊 It will almost certainly be in at least a slightly different form than what is in canon, though.

Guest 2: That's not a bad idea, though the pets will have to get used to being around ghosts though :P Funnily enough, one of my original ideas was for Mike to adopt a dog BEFORE the William Afton arc, which all the ghost kids would immediately love and cherish, especially Susie. And then when William Afton invaded, the dog would try to attack him to protect its new family…only to get violently and brutally torn to shreds by the bastard.

…you can see why I didn't include this version into the actual chapters.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: I'm honored that you think this fic is good enough to warrant a TV Tropes page, but I don't know if I'm actually allowed to do that. From what I've seen, it's supposed to be OTHER people who make the tropes page for a work they like.

Rockstar Ballora: That's a good point, now that you mention it…

Anyways, let's get on with the battle!

Chapter 78 – Battle in the Mind Part 2

 _My entire childhood was one giant nightmare._

 _From the moment I saw my mother bleed to death in front of me, I never knew peace. I watched my family fall apart, watched my father degenerate from a hard but fair man into a wretched bastard whose only care in the world was the bottle and how much he could spend on it without bankrupting the both of us. I still remember all those terrifying nights when I hid from him, fearing for my life and trying to avoid getting beaten down during another drunken rage. I thought that when I finally ran away from our apartment, from_ _ **him**_ _, I would finally be free of fear and pain._

 _I was wrong._

 _The streets of the city are unforgiving and dangerous to the unprotected and unwary, and I learned very quickly that if I wanted to survive, the only person I could trust was myself. I moved from block to block, always watching my back, making sure that nobody was following me. Any companions I made were temporary alliances, a common goal – getting food, clothes, or money by any means necessary – the only thing uniting us while we made sure that the other wouldn't plunge a knife into our back at the first opportunity. It was a terribly lonely existence by necessity, and I always kept an eye on the shadows for the first sign of any threat._

 _You could call this life miserable, but I consider myself lucky, for life in reality was nothing compared to the torments in my dreams._

 _A city, covered in eternal darkness, buildings and trees twisted and mutated in grotesque and dreadful shapes. I stood in abandoned streets, devoid of any cars or people, while all around me horrific creatures and monsters lurked in alleys consumed entirely by darkness. All my fears about living in the streets come to life and magnified a hundred times. I spent those restless nights running, running as fast as I could from shadowy abominations made from my own fear and the despair that I refused to submit to. I was certain without knowing how that the they day caught me was the day I would finally die._

 _Instead, it was the day that I conquered my inner demons for the first time._

 _When they cornered me in a corrupted alleyway, seconds away from pouncing on me and tearing me to shreds, I called on every ounce of my willpower to push those horrors away even though I couldn't do anything else except hold my hands out in front of me. I never expected a brilliant light to shine out of my hands, or for those shadowy monsters to be blasted back and sent fleeing in terror. None of them bothered me for the rest of the night, and that was the day I learned that I could shape reality to my will, fight back against the creatures formed from my own fears._

 _I could have simply blocked myself off from them. Created shields against myself, conjured up walls of unbreakable stone that would keep me safe. But what good would running away do when they would still be out there, waiting for me to let my guard down?_

 _Instead of hiding away like a coward, I fought back. I didn't have nearly the imagination that I have now, with only video game storefronts as a source for creativity, but it was enough. I hunted down the monsters that once hunted me, and even though they tried to fight back with all their savagery and malice, I was already so much stronger than I had been only a few nights ago. With every fight that passed, with every creature I killed, the monsters in my mind became more and more desperate, and my attacks became crueler and more vicious. Why would I show them any mercy, when they didn't show any to me? I didn't stop until I destroyed every single manifestation of my inner darkness that I could find, and the abominations that once tormented my dreams fled in horror and dread at the very sight of me. Even back then, I understood that I hadn't truly defeated my inner darkness, in some ways I might have even made it worse, but I would no longer fear it like I had throughout my childhood._

 _Seeing you here, William Afton, reminds me of those days. You are just like those predators, a beast made of pure evil who preys on the weak and helpless. But against those who actually know how to fight back, in one way or another…well, your track record against them isn't exactly very good now, is it? You might be the real deal instead of a figment of the darkest corners of my mind, a monster from without rather than from within, but the moment you tried to invade my mind, that became a distinction without a difference. You delude yourself into thinking that you are a superior being, but here you are just another nightmare, another monster trying to succeed where others have failed._

 _And now I will show you the only truth that matters here, William Afton:_ _ **that you can DIE like the rest of them.**_

/

When William opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Hell.

Or at least, Mike Schmidt's interpretation of Hell. William knew he was still in Mike's mind, for he had not felt himself leave its confines, let alone the agonizing, excruciating descent into the abyss that he had experienced the moment Scraptrap had been destroyed. But the scene he found himself in now wouldn't have been out of place in the nightmarish realms and locales of the Inferno.

He was standing on a circular platform made entirely out of obsidian. A shadow head wreathed in flames with only two burning scarlet eyes had been carved onto the arena, with the letters "MS" engraved next to it with one letter on each side. All around the outer edge of the arena, black stone pillars rose from the floor, each with the head of a horned fiend whose eyes and mouth glowed with an inner fire. At each of the four cardinal directions beyond the edge of the arena, a much larger demonic head with burning malicious eyes hung from above, its lower jaw detached and suspended by black chains while monstrous metal claws held large black basins. Both jaw and basins held larger and much more intense flames like hellish torches, making it appear as though the demonic statues were _alive_ in a twisted, malevolent fashion.

And all around him, beyond the safety of the circular arena, was an abyss filled with roaring, hellish flames that stretched as far as the eye could see.

For a brief moment, William wondered if this was what Mike had planned. To trap William's soul in the darkest corners of his mind, in his own personal version of Hell, all alone with nothing but the demonic statues for company.

Before he could dwell on this possibility any further, he suddenly began to hear the sound of something…or someone…falling from a great height. Realizing what was about to happen, William dived out of the way…right before Mike slammed onto the ground where the murderer had been standing seconds earlier, shattering the earth beneath his feet. William was about to snarl another threat at Mike, but the words died in his throat.

For Mike's appearance had changed again, evolving far beyond the shadows covering his upper face and the faint glow that had emitted from scarlet eyes. If William had asked the ghostly children what he was seeing and his victims had deigned to answer, they would have recognized what Mike had become. They would have recognized the midnight blue and dark purple robes, the sigil of darkness inscribed on the center of his upper body. They would have recognized the two hand scythes that Mike was now holding, their black metal blades flickering faintly with the flames of darkness, each with a head fashioned in the shape of a skull and a handle that appeared as though it were made out of a spine. They would have recognized how Mike's body was now covered in shadows as menacing purple and black flames glowed from his body, the only visible feature being the same blood red eyes that now glowed with greater intensity than they had been during the first stage of their battle. It had been the first real hint that the ghost children had received about the dark side of Mike Schmidt, one that had unnerved and even scared them even though they had never seen it in person. But this time, it was not merely a figment of imagination or even an illusion.

For William Afton, the menacing reaper and warrior of darkness that now stood before him was _very_ real.

" **Any of this look familiar, William Afton?"** Mike asked, his voice now permanently emanating with the menacing echo that he had only intermittently appeared beforehand. **"I wouldn't be surprised if it did. After all, you have quite the intimate relationship with fire and flame, don't you? Fazbear's Fright, the trap pizzeria…and let's not forget the fires of Hell itself. I thought I'd try to make things a little** _ **easier**_ **for you, show you something a little closer to home."**

William felt his anger burn through his initial unease. **"ENJOY YOUR LITLE GAME WHILE YOU STILL CAN, MIKE SCHMIDT!"** he snarled. **"FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZERIA, A FIERY ABYSS, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU TAKE US! THIS WILL END ONLY IN ONE WAY: WITH YOU BEGGING FOR MERCY AS I BUTCHER YOU ON THE TIPS OF MY CLAWS, ONE PIECE AT A TIME!"**

His only response was a bout of mocking, contemptuous laughter. **"Really?"** Mike sneered. **"You've only managed to hit me exactly** _ **once**_ **ever since we started, and that was only because I got careless. You haven't given me a** _ **single**_ **good reason for me to even consider you a threat, let alone fear you. But I, on the other hand…"**

Without warning, Mike suddenly stretched out his left hand, the scythe vanishing as he did so. William barely had any time to react before a huge blast of lightning erupted out of Mike's hand, engulfing Nightmare Springtrap's entire body. But this was not the same lightning that Mike had unleashed on him before. Despite the pain it had caused him, Mike's lightning strikes up until this point had been more of an inconvenience, having only minimal impact in terms of actual damage.

Instead of regular lightning tinged with purple, the lightning that Mike fired now glowed the same bloody red as his eyes with a black core. And the moment that it hit William, he felt his entire body explode into atrocious agony the likes of which he had not experienced since he had first escaped Hell. He could feel the hideous energy tear into his body, mind, and soul, feel it slowly tear away the tiniest fragments of the demonic essence he had stolen, piece by piece. Mike's mouth stretched into a grin, revealing two rows of fangs that were smaller but still just as razor sharp as Nightmare Springtrap's, and hurled William away from him. The demonic murderer slammed into one of the pillars with a sickening crunch and he fell onto the floor, still reeling over the unexpected torment he had just experienced.

" **You have all that power at the tip of your fingers,"** Mike sneered, **"and you have no idea how to use it. A wild animal from the desert could have pulled off what you have done up until this point, and probably done a better job. Nightmare seemed to think that you were a threat, at least to me. I can only imagine how disappointed he will be that you proved so INCOMPETENT!"** he finished the last word with a snarl.

William climbed onto his feet, breathing and growling heavily. Though he loathed to admit it, he knew that what Mike had claimed was the truth. If he continued the way he had, Mike would inevitably defeat him, especially with the massive surge in power that he now enjoyed. And he couldn't flee either to destroy his enemy in the real world, for if Nightmare had decided to abandon his duties in pursuit of revenge then he would be simply be trading an enemy for an unstoppable tormentor.

That left only one option for him. To call upon the full extent of his demonic power, and fight Mike Schmidt with all his might and from every possible angle. Vucarik had warned him against this very action, for the very power that gave him strength would consume him and leave him a charred, broken husk once it finally burned out.

But that too would be his fate if he did nothing. And if William was going to be destroyed no matter what happened, then he would make sure to at least take Mike down with him.

Reaching deep within himself, finding the core of his demonic power and seizing it, William let out a feral, bestial scream as he channeled the essence he had stolen and released it throughout himself. Nightmare Springtrap's infernal aura flared out like it had done in the living room against the Rockstars, but instead of receding, it enveloped his entire body in unholy fire and fueled his form with malevolent power now fully unleashed. His eyes and maw began to first glow, and then burn frenziedly with hellish flame that made them seem like pits from the darkest reaches of the Inferno. William began to laugh maniacally as he felt the rush of power, his vitality and strength restored, fully confident in a future victory once more.

" **PRAY, MIKE SCHMIDT!"** he cackled. **"PRAY FOR GOD, FOR NIGHTMARE TO SAVE YOU! THEY CANNOT HELP YOU NOW! YOU WERE A FOOL NOT TO FEAR ME!"**

" **Oh, I'm sure they could,"** Mike retorted. **"God speaks for Himself, and even at your best you wouldn't ever come close to the power that Nightmare wields. I'm sure that either of them would be more than happy to deliver me from you if I asked. But that's not good enough for me. I'm not going to wait for God or a demon to save me. I swore that I was going to tear you to pieces myself for all the horrible crimes that you've committed…"**

His eyes flashed, **"…AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!"**

William reared back and thrust his head forward, opening his jaw and released a stream of hellish flame that roared and snapped viciously as it headed towards Mike. Mike snapped his fingers and a wave of fire erupted from the abyss beyond the arena, crashing down between the two enemies and intercepting William's first offensive. But William was learning despite his arrogance, and took advantage of the distraction to initiate a hidden offensive. Even as the two attacks crashed into each other, Nightmare Springtrap rushed forward and around the wave of fire, hoping to ambush Mike from either the side or from behind for the man could react.

But the man had seen it coming, for he would have done the same in his enemy's shoes. Instead of dodging away like he had always done, however, Mike swung his scythes in front of him, right as Nightmare Springtrap brought down a claw wreathed in flames. Claw and blade crashed against each other with more force than either of them expected, and both of them stumbled backward as they got over their surprise at each other's power. Both quickly recovered from their shock, and two proceeded to trade vicious blows in the darkest corners of Mike's mind.

William first tried to target Mike's left side and strike at it repeatedly, having seen him use his right hand more often in the few minutes that the two had interacted. A strategy that might have been effective in the real world, but Mike could simply will himself to use both of his arms with equal proficiency, and he easily blocked every attack that William attempted with his scythe.

Hatred and rage fueled both Mike and William as they savagely attacked each other, wanting nothing more than to overwhelm and crush the enemy through sheer force and raw power. But even then, there were subtle but important differences in their fighting styles. William had seemingly abandoned any form of strategy or even a proper defense in favor of a pure, unrelenting offense, every attack with his claws and fangs driven by the sole purpose of delivering death and destruction. By contrast, Mike chose his attacks with careful precision and thought despite his rage. Knowing that William was stronger than he was in terms of brute force, Mike devoted most of his attention to deflecting William's attacks rather than actually trying to strike his enemy, only going in for a decisive offensive strike when he felt that he could do it without opening up vulnerabilities for William to exploit. The two clashed in a deadly dance of claws and blades, even managing to score a few minor hits on each other. This time, it was William who had claimed first blood (outside of Mike's surprise lightning attack) by successfully tearing his claws through Mike's shoulder inches from his head, and Mike had retaliated by slicing at William's chest plate, creating a shallow but visible gash with his scythe that did not fade.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Mike had put enough focus on defense to prevent himself from being overwhelmed or even hit significantly, but he knew that he couldn't win in a straight-on fight, at least not at the moment. Now that he was fully channeling his demonic essence, William had the advantage in terms of raw strength and endurance. In prolonged close-quarters combat, the murderer would slowly win.

But Mike had absolutely no intention of fighting fair. As claw met blade yet again, Mike suddenly let go of the scythe he was holding in his right hand. Incomprehension flashed through William's face, which only intensified when the scythe continued to fight and block his attacks as though Mike were still holding it. He was so taken aback that he failed to notice Mike raising his hand towards his face, and by the time he noticed it was too late. Mike unleashed another blast of nightmarish lightning, this time straight at William's face. William screamed in horrific agony as he stumbled backward, trying desperately to block the lightning off with his claws. Mike took full advantage of his cruel distraction, rushing forward and slamming his scythes straight onto William's head twice. Fiery essence and ichor spewed out from both wounds, and the only reason why Mike didn't try a third time was because William had recovered and tried to grab his arm, and he wasn't going to allow _that_ to happen.

Still, he wasn't going to give William the protracted fight that he wanted. Mike's body vanished into shadows and reappeared several feet away, giving him more breathing room. Remembering how easily Mike had made a fool of him whenever he had blindly charged, William instead raised a flaming hand and slammed it onto the arena. The arena rumbled as a molten fissure began to snake through the arena from where Nightmare Springtrap had hit the ground, aimed straight at Mike's feet. Mike threw himself to the left as the ground erupted, unleashing a plume of lava where he had been standing seconds earlier. As Mike dodged, William held out his claws and began to channel his power into creating a massive, hellish fireball. While Mike was getting to his feet, William threw the fireball at him, giving him no time to dodge or teleport away.

But Mike didn't need to do either. He raised his hand in front of him and clenched his fist. The air in front of him began to distort and swirl around, creating a vortex that led straight into a black void. The vortex hungrily devoured William's fireball and formed a ring of purple flames around its circumference, almost as though it had claimed the hellish energy and transformed it for its own use. The flames began to spin frenziedly as Mike hurled the vortex right back towards Nightmare Springtrap, who only barely had time to dodge it. He could feel the raw power in the vortex as it zoomed past his left and exploded far behind him, and despite his hatred couldn't help but feel a grudging respect for Mike's ferocity.

Still, he had work to do, and an enemy to break. William hadn't missed how Mike had deliberately broken off their close combat duel earlier, and he knew that he had a much higher chance of winning if he could continue to force such fights. He reared his head and let loose another stream of hellfire, closely watching Mike to see how he would avoid the attack and to identify any opening for him to attack. Mike raised his scythes, and the dark flames that surrounded the blades seemed to flare and intensify. The scythes caught the fire blast head-on, capturing and absorbing the infernal energy. With a yell, Mike slammed the ground just as William began to charge towards him, unleashing the murderer's attack right back at him in the form of a transformed but equally demonic arc of energy. William laughed, surprised that Mike would be so foolish as to attack him with his own tools. He lunged towards Mike despite the fact that the man's counter-strike was directly in between them, confident that he could easily ignore the damage caused…and was blasted backward the moment the hellish energy bolt hit his chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

" **WHAT?"** Nightmare Springtrap asked incredulously. **"THAT WAS MY ATTACK, MY POWER! IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HARMED ME!"**

Mike smirked underneath the cover of the shadows. **"There is so much that you don't know or understand,"** he taunted. **"You lost the moment you tried to invade my mind. You just haven't realized it!"**

William let out a frustrated snarl and rushed at Mike, momentarily forgetting how fruitless such attempts had been in the past. Mike's smirk grew and he vanished into the shadows, leaving William to look around frantically and furiously for the next sign of attack. Familiar mocking laughter suddenly echoed from behind him, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn around slowly, a chill crawling through his spine.

For it wasn't Freddy's laugh that had reached his ears, nor was it Freddy's or even Golden Freddy's head that now accompanied Mike.

It was **Nightmare's**.

There were three of them, larger than William had ever seen in the past, 1 directly above Mike and 1 at each side. Their eyes glowed scarlet with hatred, malice, and contempt, all three of them glaring directly at William even as their mouths were twisted into amused, bestial grins. Even with their fangs clenched, William could see unholy flames burning in their mouths. Before the murderer could get over his shock that Mike had actually invoked the visages of his demonic tormentor, the Nightmare heads opened their jaws and unleashed a torrent of hellfire, more intense and much larger than anything he himself had used before now. Nightmare Springtrap managed to dodge the flames from all three of the Nightmare heads, but to his shock instead of disappearing the heads began to _turn in his direction_ , continuing to breath hellfire all the while. Knocked completely off-guard, he failed to avoid them in time, and was engulfed in the very same hellfire that he had attempted to utilize against Mike. And just like the malevolent lightning that Mike had been wielding ever since they had arrived at the pit, the Nightmare heads' flames threw William into atrocious agony and devoured at the core of his being with a power and cruelty that hadn't originally been present.

As the flames finally subsided, he noticed with a feeling of dread that only _two_ of the Nightmare heads had vanished following the attack. The one that had been in the middle had stayed, and it seemed to Nightmare Springtrap as though it had grown larger while he had been distracted with his suffering. The demonic head opened its mouth again, but this time of breathing fire it began to accumulate infernal energy in the form of a steadily growing meteor. William tried to breathe his own stream of hellfire at Mike to try and interrupt the attack, but the Nightmare head simply absorbed the attack into the meteor. Nightmare Springtrap braced himself to dodge the now gigantic meteor, but instead of firing it directly at him, the Nightmare head tilted upward and launched the meteor high into the sky. William switched his gaze between both meteor and his enemy in confusion, just in time to watch Mike raise his right scythe and fire a particularly vicious blast of his corrupted lightning. The moment the lightning struck the meteor, it began to crack and shatter into smaller fragments, each piece as large as Nightmare Springtrap's head and glowing with both energies. Just as the fragments began to fall, the flames on Mike's scythe intensified, and they stayed suspended in air. With a vicious growl, Mike threw his arm forward and downward, causing the small meteors to descend with much greater velocity and force than they would have if he had simply allowed them to fall.

William didn't need to be a seasoned fighter or an expert strategist to know that allowing himself to be bombarded by an attack imbued with both types of malice would be very bad news. Just as he had done in the past, he dodged every projectile that he could, and the experience he had gathered throughout the course of their battle allowed him to evade most of them with surprising agility and skill. He wasn't completely successful, however; two of the meteors landed directly on his head, racking his body with agony as the effects of two potent curses struck him at once. Nightmare Springtrap's endurance was still powerful enough to keep him on his feet and the pain, as excruciating as it was, only lasted a brief moment. But it was enough to distract him from the fact that Mike _still_ hadn't banished the Nightmare head that he had summoned yet, and it had one more unpleasant surprise for William.

The moment the murderer fully recovered, Nightmare's eyes flashed the entire battlefield with a scarlet light, just as Bonnie had done, before it finally vanished. Only instead of merely being blinded, Nightmare Springtrap's mind and sight were drowned in a thousand visions of his own horrific death, all differing in nature but equal in their brutality and cruelty. Though they caused no actual pain to him, the torrent of horrendous illusions was enough to overwhelm even a soul as twisted as William's, giving Mike plenty of opportunity to attack. By the time William tore his mind away from the malefic visions, Mike was already charging at him, and with his scythes he hacked straight at the monster's skull. Ichor and demonic essence spewed out from the wounds as William staggered backward, his head reeling from the vicious wounds Mike had inflicted. But the man had opened himself up to close quarters combat in the process, giving William the first opportunity that he had been hoping for in a while. Nightmare Springtrap ferociously swung his claws at Mike in retaliation, narrowly missing the man's chest but still successfully tearing through Mike's arm. The two re-entered their deadly dance of claws and blades, continuing the duel that they had broken off what seemed like an eternity ago.

In his frenzy and desperation to crush his enemy, William hadn't noticed how the wounds on Mike's arm barely seemed to slow him down at all…or how the man was wielding his scythes with more speed and power than before…

/

Nightmare Fredbear let out an amused laugh. **"WELL, NOW** _ **THIS**_ **IS A SURPRISE,"** he hissed with delight. **"I KNEW THAT YOUR FATHER WOULD SPARE NO QUARTER AGAINST THE MONGREL. BUT I WAS** _ **NOT**_ **EXPECTING HIM TO INVOKE THE IMAGE OF OUR BROTHER AND LORD AS PART OF HIS ASSAULT."**

Charlie stared at the battle unfolding in the scrying portal. She let out a gasp of horror as she watched Nightmare Springtrap slash his claws against Mike's chest twice, but it seemed that the attacks had barely hindered her father's capabilities at all. If anything, being attacked in such a manner had only enraged Mike and increased his viciousness. _"And will Nightmare…be okay with this?"_ she asked nervously. Whether she liked it or not, the demon lord was their most powerful ally at the moment, and if he chose to abandon them…

" **HE WOULD BE INSULTED IF THE INDIVIDUAL INVOKING HIS IMAGE WAS INCOMPETENT OR DISRESPECTFUL,"** Nightmare Fredbear answered nonchalantly. **"BUT ANYONE CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT YOUR FATHER HAS UTILIZED ANY ATTACKS REPRESENTING MY BROTHER WITH PROFICIENCY AND SKILL, FAR BEYOND WHAT I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED FROM A MORTAL WITH NO COMBAT EXPERIENCE THAT I AM AWARE OF. THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT HIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN PERFECT…WHEN HE RAINED THOSE SMALLER METEORS DOWN UPON WILLIAM AFTON, I WOULD HAVE REFORGED THEM INTO A STORM OF KNIVES OR ARROWS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BOTH MUCH HARDER TO DODGE, AND OF COURSE MORE PAINFUL WHEN THEY IMPALED THAT WRETCH."** The golden bear demon tapped his chin thoughtfully with a single claw. **"IT ALMOST MAKES ME WONDER HOW SCHMIDT BECAME SO PROFICIENT WITH SORCERY AND BLADE IN THE FIRST PLACE…"**

Charlie looked back at the battle raging onward, paying more attention to Mike. The more she thought about it, the more she noticed that Nightmare's words seemed to ring true. The way he battled against William made it seem like he had years of training and experiencing under his belt. And much more disturbingly, Mike seemed to show absolutely no hesitation or regret whatsoever in attacking William as cruelly and as viciously as possible. As if he was familiar with such brutality, possibly even embracing it.

She knew that Mike hated William just as much as the rest of them, and she herself was no stranger to violence and vengeance. After all, she and her siblings had plenty of blood on their hands, or would have stained them in Liz's case. But for the first time in months, she wondered if there was anything that her father was still hiding from the rest of their family…

/

Mike grimaced as he parried yet another vicious flurry of claw strikes from Nightmare Springtrap. Even though he felt much more comfortable matching the monster in close quarters combat now, he knew that he still had a much greater advantage when he could strike at William from a distance. The moment that William's attacks subsided, Mike took his chance. He called up the swirling barrier of shadowy wind that he had utilized earlier, only now it was charged and crackled with tainted electricity. Recognizing it for what it was, William retreated slightly, giving Mike enough time to vanish and reappear several feet away.

Unfortunately, his strategy gave William an idea of his own. Focusing on the infernal energy that gave him his strength, William seized it and expanded it around him. The flames on his body erupted from a mere aura to a miniature firestorm that raged around him, and Nightmare Springtrap grinned as he saw Mike's eyes widen in surprise. Now all he needed to do was get close enough to force another fight, and _he_ would be the one to seize control of their battle.

Mike quickly got over his shock, however. As if he had heard Nightmare Fredbear's critique in the real world, he conjured up a hundred floating knives that crackled with malicious power and fired them all at William. Though several of them impaled themselves into Nightmare Springtrap's body, the fiery tempest surrounding his body destroyed them almost immediately afterward. Mike followed through his attack with another direct blast of wicked lightning from his hand, but William had grown wise to his methods, and deflected the bolts off his claws. His sadistic grin widening with every failed attack, William lunged at Mike with his claws outstretched, finally ready to wipe the smirk off the man's face and introduce him to a world of pain.

And then the space in front of Mike distorted tore open into a portal opening into the void, and a simulacrum of Nightmare stepped outward, with his full body and in all his unholy glory. William immediately panicked, but he had no way of stopping his own momentum. Caring nothing for the firestorm that swirled around Nightmare Springtrap, the Nightmare copy reached out and grabbed the demonic rabbit mid-air, sinking his claws deep into William's body as he did so. William let out a pained yell as Nightmare picked him up like a rag doll and savagely threw him across the arena, causing him to crash into one of the demon pillars with a sickening crunch. The murderer had no time to recover as the Nightmare clone barreled towards him and began to swing giant claws burning with hellfire, effortlessly tearing two deep and vicious gashes in his chest with far more success than the Foxy clones ever had. The Nightmare clone raised both his arms and swung them downward, which William was only barely able to avoid by rolling away as Nightmare's fists smashed the already damaged pillar to rubble. It was only when the Nightmare clone faded away, its power spent, that William dared to breath a sigh of relief and climb back on his feet.

Despite everything, William couldn't help but let out a chuckle. **"SUCH SAVAGERY,"** he mockingly complemented. **"SUCH VICIOUSNESS. I WONDER, SCHMIDT…DO THOSE LITTLE BRATS KNOW JUST HOW VIOLENT AND BRUTAL YOU CAN TRULY BE?"**

" **And why would I show this to them?"** Mike replied with deathly calm. **"Unlike them, you deserve every bit of pain and suffering that I've thrown, and am going to throw at you. Do you still honestly believe that you're going to win? Even though it might just be the two of us down here, in this fiery pit formed from the darkest corners of my mind, I am not alone. I have** _ **never**_ **been alone."**

" **SPARE ME YOUR LITTLE SPEECH ABOUT THE VIRTUES OF FRIENDSHIP AND FAMILY,"** Nightmare Springtrap sneered. **"OR PERHAPS YOU REFER TO ASSISTANCE OF A DARKER NATURE. I CAN SENSE NIGHTMARE'S HAND IN THIS BATTLE, THOUGH EXACTLY HOW HE IS INVOLVED I CANNOT BE CERTAIN. I MUST CONFESS THAT I AM QUITE CURIOUS, SCHMIDT…WHAT BARGAIN DID YOU MAKE WITH ONE SUCH AS HIM? WHAT DID YOU OFFER HIM IN YOUR QUEST FOR REVENGE?"**

Mike smirked. **"Not much at all, really. All he wanted me to do was make you suffer in exchange for his guidance, and it's not like I wasn't going to do that even without his help. Hatred is such an** _ **excellent**_ **motivator for cooperation. And speaking of which…"**

A Nightmare head suddenly appeared in front of him and Nightmare Springtrap immediately tensed, waiting for it to breathe a stream of hellfire or torture his mind. Instead, the head opened its mouth and let out a terrifying roar that echoed across the battlefield. The demonic rabbit covered his ears immediately, but the roar did more than just deafen him. He could feel the infernal storm surrounding him dissipate and dispel into nothing but impotent wisps of flame, its power destroyed by Nightmare's unholy roar.

His surprise at having his infernal protection dispelled was nothing compared to his astonishment as the blades of Mike's scythes suddenly shot outward from their handles, stretching far beyond his expected melee range on chains that seemed to writhe in the air like a torturer's whip as the dark flames surrounding the blades themselves flared and intensified. The two blades snaked through the air and sliced right across Nightmare Springtrap's throat, and as he instinctively grabbed his neck to stem the essence bleeding out of the new gash, Mike swung the blade of his right scythe and impaled it straight into William's head. Without even pausing for a second, the man violently ripped the scythe away, causing corrupted ichor and essence to spurt out of the gaping wound left behind as a mind-splitting headache joined Nightmare Springtrap's list of woes.

It was nothing compared to the havoc that Mike had wreaked onto William Afton's pride, however. The wound itself was nothing particularly meaningful in the grand scheme of their battle; many of Mike's earlier attacks had been more brutal and more damaging. But all throughout their battle, the one advantage that William had focused on outside of his endurance was his superiority over Mike in melee. And the fact that Mike could have invalidated that advantage from the very beginning, faking a weakness _yet again_ …that was a severe blow to both his pride and his confidence.

As if he could sense William's faltering morale, Mike decided to twist the knife a little further. **"You are running out of time, you fool…"** he taunted, his voice dripping with contempt. **"The longer you take to destroy me, the closer your doom approaches. Whether you defeat me or not, they will be here soon to drag your worthless carcass back down into Hell where it belongs. For all that we know, they could have been here from the moment our battle began, watching from the shadows, waiting to snatch you from the jaws of victory. Either way, you certainly do not live up to your boasts or reputation, William Afton."**

William bared his teeth in fury, but as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Mike was right. He _was_ running out of time. Mike seemed confident that the Nightmares would rescue him soon, and William had little reason to doubt him. Especially since he had given Nightmare a very personal reason to come howling for his blood. He needed a way to end this quickly, much more quickly than a slow victory in close combat that seemed harder and harder to obtain with each second that passed.

Fortunately, he still had one major card left to play, one that would be impossible for Mike to see it coming.

" **YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN ONE…MINOR DETAIL, SCHMIDT,"** Nightmare Springtrap hissed as he slowly got to his feet. The collective damage that he had taken throughout their battle was beginning to take its toll on him, and not even the healing factor from his demonic essence could fully heal those wounds anymore. **"I HAVE AN ALLY IN HELL, JUST AS YOU DO."**

Mike snorted. **"If you honestly think that your demon ally will come help you out, then you're even more of an imbecile than I took you for."**

" **OH, I KNOW FULL WELL THAT LORD VUCARIK WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP ME DIRECTLY,"** William replied as his mouth stretched into a menacing grin. **"BUT HE DOESN'T NEED TO. HE LEFT ME ONE FINAL PARTING GIFT APART FROM THE OPPORTUNITY FOR VENGEANCE…AND IT IS THIS GIFT THAT I CALL UPON NOW!"**

With a triumph burning in his gaze, William began to chant words in the unholy language of the demonic and the damned. Behind him, at the edge of the circular arena, a gigantic fiery portal began to distort and tear itself into existence, spanning from one edge to the other. Hideous roars, shrieks, and snarls echoed from within, and it only took Mike a second to realize that Nightmare Springtrap was summoning an army straight from the depths of Hell.

The demonic warriors that marched out of the portal and into the abyss of Mike's mind were hideous creatures, one and all. Some of them seemed to possess some form of discipline, as they marched like rank-and-file soldiers, complete with armor and weapons that at the very least seemed well-made and functional. Others were little more than savage beasts with only the desire to main and kill on their minds. Part of Mike wondered just how exactly William was able to convince another demon to loan him a small legion, while the Game Master in him would have labelled most of the demons as lower-tier D&D creatures, with a few mid-tier demons scattered amongst them.

But this was no game. This was a true army of the accursed and the damned in front of him, and yet more proof that William Afton did not possess a shred of honor within his wretched, rotten soul.

" **Well, well, this surprises me less than it probably should…"** Mike mused aloud. Before the demons that crossed the threshold of the portal could charge at him, he snapped his fingers and a wall of black flame erupted between them, preventing the demons from charging close to him without being instantly incinerated. **"Trying to change the rules of the game to skew the fight in your favor? I wouldn't have expected anything else from scum like you, Afton."**

William didn't bother with a response, but he hadnoticed that Mike didn't seem even remotely bothered by the unexpected development. **"All right then. I'll be happy to play along. You summoned an army to do your dirty work for you?"**

His scarlet eyes flashed. **"IT'S ONLY FAIR THAT I GET TO DO THE SAME!"**

/

A/N: Yeah, Mike and William both certainly turned up the heat, haven't they? Mike's attacks have gotten a hell of a lot darker and more vicious, and William has actually been able to (a) land in a few hits of his own and (b) come up with other strategies besides "Attack! Attack! Attack!" all the time. Mike's dark side is inspired by a combination of a few iconic villains, see if you can tell which ones I used.

Those of you familiar with "God of War" probably recognized Mike going Kratos when he used his scythes like the Blades of Chaos before William summoned his army. And you're probably going "Wait WTF? Mike can go Kratos with his scythes and yet he only uses a single light attack and a semi-fierce attack that didn't even slam the ground? Why did he do something so basic when we all know how much of an insane badass Kratos is? This is lame!" And to that I say: next chapter, friends. Next chapter.

One thing I particularly enjoyed coming up with was the Nightmare attacks. Just like in FNAF4, Nightmare has replaced all of the other animatronics in Mike's "animatronic attacks." What makes the Nightmare attacks so much more dangerous than the regular animatronic attacks is that not only are the attacks themselves more powerful than their counterparts, but they can (a) combo with each other and (b) make it impossible to tell _which_ attack a Nightmare head will use before he uses it. Whether Mike simply invoked the image of Nightmare as part of using his imagination in a dark way, or whether Nightmare gave more help than just advice the night that he came to warn Mike of William's arrival…that, readers, is for you to decide.

I was originally going to have the battle be only two chapters, but after this chapter approached the 12th page on Word I realized that two chapters wouldn't be enough. One more chapter in the battle left to go, and both characters will have an army at their backs. It's clear what William's army is, but I'm going to keep what Mike's going to bring to the table hidden for now 😉.

Sorry for the long wait, hope you guys enjoyed! Here's a list of Mike's Nightmare attacks.

Nightmare Flamethrower - Mike summons a Nightmare head that unleashes a stream of hellish fire towards an enemy, causing atrocious agony to any consumed by the inferno. The Nightmare heads can follow an enemy's movements. Based on Freddy's attack.

NOTE: This attack can also take the form of a giant fireball instead of a stream of flames.

Tormentor's Gaze – Nightmare's eyes unleash a cursed light that bombards the minds of all who see it with horrific visions of their own death and torment. These illusions stun all those affected and lower their defenses until they recover. Based on Bonnie's attack.

Demonic Roar – Nightmare's head lets out a devastating roar that deafens all those who hear it. The roar also briefly silences enemies and destroys any positive enchantments on them. The latter effect cannot be avoided regardless of whether an enemy successfully covers his ears in time. Based on Chica's attack.

Infernal Charge – Mike summons a copy of Nightmare to charge at an enemy. The simulacrum will savagely attack any foe in its vicinity, finishing with a particularly devastating and unblockable attack before disappearing. Based on Foxy's attack.

Avenger's Malice (passive) – Mike completely ignores all damage resistances and immunities when attacking enemies. (I know, not technically a Nightmare attack, but still worth noting if you're wondering why Mike can seemingly attack a demon with hellfire without any issues).


	79. Chapter 79 - Battle in the Mind Part 3

A/N: Things have really escalated at a velocity of shit hundred and fuck, haven't they? What started as a 1v1 duel has spiraled into a battle between entire armies. William has summoned an army of demons from Hell in the depths of Mike's mind, generic in nature but still dangerous in large numbers. But as for Mike…one could argue that what he will bring to the table to counter this threat is even more sinister…

Fnaffan: Not that familiar with super-late Pokemon, sorry :/

FireFlamer: I actually tried to find your recommendation on TV Tropes but couldn't. Unless you're Tropemaster849.

Rockstar Ballora: Maybe. I'm still thinking about it, and the current arc has put other considerations on the backburner anyway.

Logbook: Ehh…I probably would have been more receptive to the idea earlier in the fic. At this stage, it's a bit late in the fic for that.

Dash456: I won't be having Mike adopt Michael and Eric, it just wouldn't really work in my fic especially since they're both already free to go to Heaven. As for whether the Nightmares are Affably Evil…it really depends. Nightmarionne is the only one who definitely is on a consistent basis. Nightmare can be Affably Evil, Faux Affably Evil, or just not give a shit about any sort of politeness whatsoever depending on his mood and his opinion of the person he's talking to, though his demeanor towards Mike does fall under the first category since he does have genuine respect for the man and is willing to cooperate with him to get revenge on William Afton. Nightmare Fredbear is more along the lines of Faux Affably Evil, though he does have some respect for Mike as well (albeit not nearly as much as Nightmare). As for the rest, they haven't gotten enough screen time to say for certain.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: You pretty much hit the nail right on the head :P.

Anastasia: What can I say? Plans change 😊

Chapter 79 – Battle in the Mind, Part 3

Mike had always known about the darkness that existed in his heart and mind. In his childhood and teens, that darkness had taken the form of fear and hopelessness, manifested as the monsters that had hunted the child in his dreams. When he had told Oskar about those nightmares, and how brutally he had hunted and destroyed them in turn, the retired colonel had warned him that he could be just as capable of evil as he was of good, and that he needed to truly understand his inner darkness if he wished to rise above and master it. Mike had taken his words to heart, and though he would never be able to truly destroy his inner darkness, he would defy it with everything he had. After his decision to rise above his despair and sacrifice his life as a Night Guard in Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, the darkness would never trouble him again.

And then seven ghostly children entered his life decades after his tainted childhood had come to a close. Seven ghostly children desperate for peace and forgiveness, who had given Mike the happiest years of his life and the true family that he had never had. But for all the joy and light that they had brought into his life, the ghosts had unintentionally reignited Mike's darkness in a new form as well.

Ever since he had learned about the depravity of William Afton from Charlie and the atrocities that he had committed, Mike had felt nothing but disgust for the murderer. And as he grew to love the children as his own, that disgust had evolved into sheer hatred and loathing far beyond anything that he had felt even for his abusive father. A hatred that his children had seen in fleeting moments and dreaded in the depths of their souls, even though it had never been directed towards them and never would be.

And as that hatred had grown, so too had the darkness within Mike. The monsters that had once preyed on the man's fear now fueled their strength with his hatred of William Afton, and had grown to the point that they were now even more powerful than they had ever been when they had hunted a scared, frightened child in the twisted streets created by tormented imagination.

But though the monsters in Mike's mind might have been stronger than ever, the relationship between them and Mike could not have been any more different than it had been in the past. Before, Mike had been a frightened child, haunted and hunted as prey by horrors created from his own fear. Now, Mike was the lord and master of those monsters, and they were united both in purpose and in mind. Together, they shared their overwhelming hatred and desire for vengeance against William Afton for all the atrocities that he had committed.

And together, they would destroy him and whatever pathetic army that he dared to summon.

A shadowy portal leading to a black void opened behind Mike, almost as large as the portal that had brought forth William's demonic army. William could see numerous red eyes within its depths, all emanating the same malice and hatred that Mike had been exuding throughout their entire battle. The moment the portal fully formed, the shadow monsters within wasted no time in spilling out of the portal onto the arena like a black tide of death. Many of the shadow creatures were little better than primal beasts driven only by their need to attack everything in their path: savage wolves, feral bears and boars, all howling for the blood of William Afton and any that dared to align themselves with him. There were other, less mundane creatures thrown into the mix as well: chimeras, Cerberus hellhounds, even alien creatures like Xenomorphs and Outriders, all of them as black as the shadows save for their menacing red eyes and the dark metal armor on their heads, shoulders, and claws. And right alongside them were several berserkers carrying massive battle axes and wearing only minimal armor save for fearsome horned helmets, the ferocious and bloodthirsty expressions on their faces almost indistinguishable from the demons that William Afton had summoned.

But just as Mike had overcome and conquered the darkness within him decades ago, so too had order been imposed upon the chaotic nature of the shadows. As the beasts and berserkers left the threshold from the portal, snarling at their infernal counterparts with only Mike's iron will keeping them under control, the rest of Mike's army of shadowy beings followed them into position. Organized soldiers with the discipline of a true army, each wearing different degrees of armor and weapons depending on their specific purpose. The front line of this new force was composed almost entirely of heavily armored juggernauts bigger than even the berserkers, each carrying a massive tower shield in their left hands and a spear with a tip that crackled with the same malevolent electricity that Mike had been throwing at William throughout their battle in their right. Behind them marched several rows of humanoid warriors that carried a diverse array of swords, axes, and lances, with varying degrees of armor dependent on how much they prioritized mobility or defense. And at the rear were a combination of smaller, nimbler shadow archers and a few figures robed in black cloaks, wearing only bone white pauldrons and horned helms fashioned in the shape of a ram's skull for armor. In their right hands they carried staves made of bones with the same horned skull for their heads, giving them dark sorcerers an almost shamanistic appearance that accentuated their sinister presence. But even with all the diversity in Mike's army, there were some themes that remained the same.

All of them were beings of shadow born from the darkest depths of Mike's soul, and all of them possessed the same scarlet eyes that burned with loathing and hunger for vengeance against their master's sworn enemy.

With his army fully mobilized and fielded out, Mike dissolved the wall of black flame that had prevented either side from attacking the other. With this last obstacle gone, the more savage and bestial creatures on both sides began to froth and roar as they strained against their masters' leashes, eager for the slaughter to begin. Then, Mike raised a scythe with a blade wreathed in dark flames into the air, while across the arena William did the same with his claw. And as they threw their arms forward towards their enemy, one shouted out his command and the other bellowed out a feral, bestial roar. But the meaning behind their gestures was clear, and it was exactly the same.

" **KILL THEM ALL!"**

Howls, roars, and laughter erupted from the two armies as the more savage creatures and warriors broke from the main ranks and charged frenziedly towards the other side, both wanting nothing more than to slaughter as much of the enemy as possible. From the moment the two forces clashed, the battle became a gory and violent bloodbath on a scale that even the earlier battle between Mike and William couldn't possibly have hoped to reach. The Shadow Xenomorphs and Outriders were the first to leap into the fray, enhanced by razor sharp claws worthy of any Nightmare and empowered by Mike's fury. They immediately started tearing apart any demon warrior in their path to splatters of flesh, ash, and ichor, crushing and devouring the faces and heads of any demon unfortunate enough to have survived their initial evisceration. The axe-wielding berserkers were only a few paces behind, adding to the massacre with mighty cleaves that easily sliced a regular demon in two and in some cases killed more than one demon simultaneously. And right behind them, the many animalistic shadows that Mike had summoned were either tearing apart their victims with their claws or consuming them with flames of pure darkness, ironically more composed than the aliens but no less deadly in their assault. The demons of William's army who had rushed ahead of their fellows, confident that the manifestations of one man's darkness couldn't possibly stand a chance against them, were completely unprepared for such a terrible show of strength and brutality, and the shadows wiped them out almost instantly with one vicious death or another depending on their whims.

The slaughter of the cannon fodder quickly educated the rest of William's forces on the deadly nature of their enemy, and even the more bloodthirsty demons quickly realized that they would need to take this enemy seriously. The shadows were individually more powerful than the average demon in their forces, but they had the advantage of numbers, and grudgingly understood that they would need to cooperate if they didn't want to get slaughtered. As the "berserker" shadows tossed aside the last of the broken corpses of the first line, they quickly began to group together and attack each shadow as a team, for it had already been shown that they stood no chance against a shadow creature individually.

With their newfound teamwork, William's demons could now properly retaliate against the onslaught of Mike's most savage shadows. Even as little as three demons could find success where only one had failed miserably, and it wasn't long before they were hacking away and destroying the beasts made of Mike's darkness with their own claws and blades. Every shadow creature killed by a demon dissolved back into wisps of darkness that faded into the grim atmosphere of Mike's mindscape, while every destroyed demon released an infernal shade from its butchered remains that faded out of existence almost immediately after being released from its corporal form. But even though the demons' new teamwork and tactics were able to greatly slow the momentum that Mike's shadows had seized with their initial assault, they were not able to halt the tide completely, let alone seize momentum back.

Some of the beasts and berserkers had noticed the newfound cohesion in their enemies, and quickly began to aid each other in turn. Mike watched with mild interest and approval as a Cerberus about to be overwhelmed by a group of five demons was rescued by two berserkers who had already killed everything in their immediate vicinity, and working together they slaughtered every demon before the Cerberus could be destroyed. Other shadow creatures began to work together even without any immediate danger; the Xenomorphs and Outriders in particular made for deadly combinations with the former either outright butchering or stunning their enemies with their stinger tails, and the latter finishing the gruesome work that the Xenomorphs stared. Even in cases where a shadow monster gave up its life to rescue another, the sacrifice of a wounded and weakened creature was well worth the life of one that was healthy and at prime fighting condition, especially since the surviving monster would now be driven with a desire for vengeance at the destruction of its comrade.

After several moments, the lines of bloodthirsty demons and shadow beings had thinned to the point that there were only a few demons and shadows of the first wave left, the two sides having effectively destroyed each other in the hideous bloodbath. William decided that it was time to unleash the rest of his army on the shadow creatures, and ordered them to charge Mike's army with another terrible roar. As his legions surged forward, he turned his baleful gaze over to Mike's shadows, expecting them to do the same.

To his surprise, they did no such thing. Instead, the surviving creatures turned around and ran back towards the safety of the warriors that made up the bulk of Mike's forces, even the Xenomorphs and Outriders. The heavily armored warriors parted to make room for the berserkers and beasts and closed ranks once they were safely past, slamming their massive shields onto the ground as they held their spears out in front of them. The warriors looked up and glared at the oncoming demons, as if daring them to try and break through their immovable defense. All too soon, the shrieking demons crashed into the front line of juggernauts, who stood their ground as they repelled the tide of fiery savagery and death. A few of the demons had been either stupid or unfortunate enough to run directly into the tips of the spears, and were rewarded with an agonizing death as they were simultaneously impaled and electrocuted with the force of Mike's wrath. The rest merely crashed into the line of defenders, fruitless trying to claw or strike at any weak points they could find in their heavy armor.

Far behind them, the sorcerers and archers prepared their retaliation. The dark shamans had begun chanting spells in a harsh, guttural language akin to the Black Speech of Mordor, the horned skulls on their staves igniting with dark purple flames similar to the ones that Mike had been using in the earliest stage of his battle with William Afton. Others had instead turned their attention to their archer allies, choosing to empower their arrows with the same dark flames instead of launching any direct attacks of their own. Once they were ready, the archers and sorcerers immediately began firing arrows and dark fireballs into the hordes of demons attacking the front-line juggernauts, destroying several of the demons that had managed to escape being instantly impaled.

For a while, it seemed as though this defense alone would be enough to stave off William's army completely, and that the archers and shamans would be able to pick off the demons at their leisure as they fruitlessly tried to break through tower shields and heavy armor. But a small portion of the demons William had summoned into Mike's mind were berserkers quite similar to the ones Mike had created, and in an unexpected display of cunning William had restrained most of them from attacking in the first wave. Now, William unleashed them in full to break apart the front line that was causing his weaker forces so much trouble, and though the heavily armored juggernauts could have held off hordes of cannon fodder with ease, there was almost nothing they could do against an overwhelming, concentrated attack that could actually break through their defenses. The demon berserkers, caring very little if at all for the arrows and shadow flames that hit them, tore through the shadows' front lines, their axes, greatswords, and hammers either smashing apart or slicing through heavy armor and tower shields with terrifying ease as they carved open paths for the rest of the demons to pour through.

The shadow creatures and berserkers that had survived the initial stage of the battle immediately charged forward to intercept the berserkers, both because they were eager to slaughter enemies as savage and ferocious as they were and because they were the ones best suited for the task. But the damage had already been done, and there was little to stop William's demons from charging past the now painfully open front line. The more "standard" shadow warriors that Mike had summoned readied their weapons, and as soon as the wave of demons crashed into them the battlefield dissolved into complete chaos as demon and shadow warred against each other, both focused completely on destroying as many of the enemy as possible for their masters. Ironically, much of the actual fighting itself was much less chaotic compared to before, at least from Mike's side. Most of Mike's forces were now disciplined warriors instead of bloodthirsty beasts, and though they were slower in killing William's demons they possessed both skill and a sense of self-preservation that helped them survive longer. Despite this, they still killed their enemies brutally and violently whenever they had the chance; Mike watched as one of his more nimble swordsmen sliced his blade across a demon's chest over and over again, before finally stabbing the sword right into the monster's brain, all while letting out a silent, cruel laugh.

Throughout all this, Mike and William watched the battle unfold, tracking the progress of both individual warriors and the armies as a whole but not actually participating. Perhaps there was a twisted, unspoken agreement between the two commanders not to interfere, despite the overwhelming hatred that each had for the other. Perhaps they were intrigued that such a battle had come to pass in the first place, and merely wanted to see in what direction the fight would turn without any interference on their part. But regardless of their motivations, neither Mike nor William made any move to join their armies in the slaughter, preferring instead to observe from afar.

All too soon, however, the armies of shadows and demons slowly began to visibly decrease in size, and individuals who had desired to attack either William or Mike directly now had the opportunity to do so. There were many demons in William's army who wanted the glory of defeating the mortal soul who had proved to be an unexpected challenge, and none of the shadows had forgotten that their goal and purpose was to destroy William Afton, first and foremost. Several creatures had broken away from the main fight and rushed towards the two leaders, eager to achieve glory and victory while fulfill their craving for violence in the way that mattered most.

And in both cases, that decision would be a fatal mistake that the fools wouldn't live long enough to regret. The moment he saw some of the shadows charge towards him, Nightmare Springtrap's mouth stretched into a sickening grin. Ever since he had first started fighting Mike, he had longed to unleash unspeakable and horrific violence upon the man's soul. And though he might've failed to get his hands on the man so far, he would be more than willing to take out his frustrations on a few pathetic wretches that were powerless in comparison.

A shadow wolf lunged at William, and with a fluid motion he grabbed the creature by the neck and brought its pounce to an unceremonious halt. Savoring the look of surprise and panic on the wolf's face, Nightmare Springtrap chomped down on the shadow creature's head, tearing off the top half as it let out an agonized scream. Sneering, William spat out the essence that he had bitten off and kicked the corpse away, not even bothering to watch it disintegrate as he turned his attention to the other shadows. An axe-wielding berserker was the next to attack, and though he could have easily evaded the incoming cleave, Nightmare Springtrap instead chose to grab the blade of the axe as it swung downward, holding it in place as the surprised berserker desperately tried to push the axe down through William's claws. The demonic murderer let out a cruel, mocking laugh as he slammed his head right onto his enemy's, sending the warrior reeling backward as he ripped the axe out of his hands. Nightmare Springtrap took great pleasure in chopping off both of the berserker's arms with his own axe before he finally smashed the blade deep into the original owner's head, splitting it wide open and killing him instantly in a twist that was as ironic as it was gruesome.

After these two deaths, the shadows quickly realized just how much more powerful William was compared to them, and started grouping together to try and overwhelm the murderer with a concentrated, simultaneous assault. But William had both expected and prepared for this possibility. As the shadows began their charge, Nightmare Springtrap unleashed the full power of his infernal aura just as he had tried to do against Mike. The raging firestorm that William summoned around himself this time was far more effective than it had ever been against Mike or his Nightmare simulacrum, simultaneously incinerating the very essence of his enemies and burning away their strength, leaving them all helpless for William to brutally massacre them in any way that he pleased. As he strangled a shadow Outrider that had tried to ambush him from behind and viciously snapped its neck, he noticed one of the few chimeras that had survived the initial bloodbath. The chimera was one of the few creatures that didn't seem to be significantly affected by his inferno, which for William was merely an excuse to deal a more personal and violent death. As the chimera's snake tail snapped downward, its fangs glinting, Nightmare Springtrap reached out and grabbed it close to the head. Ignoring the creature's desperate attempts to claw at him, William swung his claws down and sliced the tail clean off, instantly killing the snake in the process. The chimera howled furiously as it reared up on its hind legs and unleashed several blasts of dark flames at William, who only laughed at how weak its attempts to fight him were compared to the devastating power that Mike had unleashed on him minutes earlier. Not even bothering to defend himself, Nightmare Springtrap grabbed the chimera in the chest with his left hand and began swinging his claw across the chimera's lion head over and over again, savoring the beast's suffering as he tore apart the lion's mouth, nose, and face, before finally gouging out its eyes and leaving only the goat head remaining. Ignoring the other shadows' fruitless attempts to attack him, William grabbed the goat's right horn and pulled, aiming to either tear the horn out of the head or even decapitate the chimera entirely. The chimera wailed as William ripped the horn out and impaled deep into the beast's skull, stabbing through both of its eyes at the same time and finally destroying it once and for all. **"A PITY…"** William mused as he watched the chimera's carcass dissolve into the shadows from whence it came. **"I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO ENJOY MY HANDIWORK FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER."** He turned his attention to the shadows that still remained. By now, some of the warriors had broken away from the carnage and were also attempting to attack him directly, an observation which brought another twisted grin to his face as he flexed his claws. **"BUT NO MATTER. THERE ARE PLENTY OF SHADOWS TO SLAY, AND JUST AS MANY WAYS TO SLAUGHTER THEM!"**

On the other side of the battlefield, Mike had chosen to fight the demons that were attacking him with sorcery over close-quarters combat, but his attacks and tactics were just as cruel and vicious as William's. The moment he saw his enemies start attacking him directly, Mike swung his arms from side to side, the purple flames on his blades deepening to a menacing crimson for a brief moment. A ring of energy with the exact same color formed around his feet as he did so, and as soon as he completed his movement, a host of shrieking spirits suddenly erupted from the ground beneath him. Blood red specters emanating a black aura with horrific and ghoulish faces, the spirits opened their mouths to an inhuman length and screamed their master's hatred in its most savage and unrestrained form. Wielding spectral falchions and scimitars with cruel edges, the nightmarish shades lunged at the demons, violently and brutally tearing their enemies apart with terrifying ease as the demons futilely tried to fight back, their own weapons harmlessly passing through the summoned spirits. Only the destruction of their physical forms spared them from the specters' rage, as the demons' souls vanished almost as soon as they were forced out from their dissolving corpses, inexplicably removed from the battle before the shades could try and attack them as well. Eventually, the horrific specters faded away, having killed many of the demons that had tried to attack Mike but leaving behind more than a few that could now pick up where their companions had left off.

Unfortunately for them, Mike had no intention of showing any more mercy to them than his summoned spirits had. Concentrating, he began to fly into the air, the flames flickering around his body transforming from purple to bloody red. As the demons grew closer, Mike's entire body began to crackle and glow with the same black and red lightning that he had used against William Afton throughout the second stage of their battle. Nightmare Springtrap might have suffered horrific agony whenever he had been hit with the lightning, and his demonic essence might have been stolen rather than natural, but he still had some of the power and especially the endurance of a Nightmare to match Mike's power. And the demons he had summoned were weaklings in comparison.

With a sadistic grin, Mike started to spin in the air as he summoned his corrupted lightning from the sky and blasted it onto the battlefield in a wide radius around himself, creating a devastating countershield that struck down any demon in its path while also protecting him from any possible attack. The demons, so eager to claw and hack away at Mike's soul, were soon howling in despair as they were thrown into a world of atrocious agony every bit as horrific as the Hell they had been so desperate to escape. They could do nothing but flail helplessly as Mike's lightning bolts flayed the skin off their bones even as it scorched the flesh and organs underneath. The remaining ones that had been far enough the radius of devastation watched in amazement and even dread as Mike's lightning reduced their fellow soldiers to piles of ash and melted skin that quickly dissolved into wisps of essence and sulfur, their spirits only given time to let out one last scream of horror before they were plucked out of existence and removed from the battle like all the rest. Their hesitation and stupor would prove fatal, as Mike was now the one charging _them_. His scythe blades whipped out from their handles on snakelike chains as he spun them frenziedly at his foes, attacking with such speed and ferocity that his weapons looked less like blades and more like fiery wheels of death and destruction. The demons had no time to react as Mike slaughtered them en masse with a viciousness that would have given the likes of William Afton and even Nightmare pause, though unlike the former Mike dismissed violent and brutal executions in favor of efficiency and simply killing as many as possible. Even when the demons actually began to fight back they stood absolutely no chance against the deadly force and skill that Mike now possessed. The massacre, for it was unworthy to even be called a battle, finally ended when Mike impaled the last surviving demon with his scythe and flung the unfortunate fiend behind him, the extra length granted by the chain giving more than enough distance to hurl the demon beyond the edge of arena and into the fiery abyss beyond.

Even as William and Mike utterly destroyed anything that dared to attack them, the battle between demons and shadows raged on. While the shadows might have been superior warriors on average, with archers and sorcerers to support them from behind, the demons had been able to match them in overall strength thanks to sheer overwhelming numbers. For a while, it appeared as though the two sides would be locked in a deadly statement, neither side gaining an advantage even as individuals butchered each other without restraint.

Then, a deafening bellow suddenly echoed from William's portal, and the demons not preoccupied in combat began to cheer triumphantly as reinforcements from the Inferno arrived. Five hulking, monstrous demonic steeds that looked like a combination of bull and rhino, yet larger and mightier than any such creature on earth. Their hides were covered with black metal armor, and the flames of Hell burned in their eyes and spewed from their mouths and nostrils. A demon rider stood at the top of these monsters, guiding them with chains that extended to the sides of the creatures' heads. As one, the beasts of battle roared their unstoppable fury into what passed for a sky, and began charging straight towards the shadows. More than a few of their own allies who failed to get out of the way in time were crushed underfoot, but it was a small price to pay for the devastation that they unleashed on the shadow warriors. The warriors, for all their discipline, lacked the raw power to deal anything beyond the slightest amount of damage to the beasts, and were easily trampled, crushed with humongous hands, or burned to a crisp depending on the whim of the beast. Even the sorcerers and archers fared little better, and some of the demons took advantage of the distraction to try and attack them directly with varying degrees of success. Only the creatures and berserkers from before were powerful enough to deal meaningful damage to them or cause them any visible pain, but there were few left and the beasts could destroy them just as easily as they could any other shadow.

The arrival of such reinforcements would have easily turned the tide of the battle in favor of William's army…if Mike didn't have an answer for his own. With a grin, he snapped his fingers, and an equally mighty roar answered from the depths of Mike's own portal. Out of the portal stomped five towering shadow creatures fashioned in the form of the dreaded Olog-hai of Mordor, each covered in black armor and carrying a humongous spiked mace, their scarlet eyes burning with both savage fury and primal cunning. Mike stretched his scythe out as a command to attack, and the shadow attack trolls roared as one as they charged with a speed rivalling that of Nightmare Springtrap's battle beasts. The shadow Olog-hai began wreaking havoc on the demon army to the same degree that the infernal steeds had on the shadows, their maces either crushing or flinging away their unlucky victims with such force that they were splattered upon impact or even knocked into the fiery abyss. The infernal beast deepest into enemy lines immediately focused its attention on the closest attack troll, which met the challenge eagerly with its mace in its hands. The moment the Olog-hai got close enough, the steed let out a huge blast of hellfire from its mouth right onto the creature's face and upper body. To both the steed and rider's surprise, however, the flames seemed to barely singe the attack troll at all, and in fact had only served to enrage the creature. The battle beast reared on its hind legs to slam its fists and claws down upon the troll, only for the Olog-hai to smash its mace right onto the creature's head. Such a blow would have instantly killed any animal on Earth, and still managed to stagger the beast and force it back onto all fours despite its supernatural durability, its head wracked with pain as its demonic rider struggled to maintain its balance. The infernal steed and attack troll began to trade blows, but it was clear from the beginning that the shadow had the advantage. The infernal steed's flames could only inconvenience the Olog-hai, and it could not use its fiercest attack of lifting its front legs to stomp on the troll. In contrast, the attack troll could freely attack the beast however it wanted, not just with its powerful mace but also with hands clad in black metal gauntlets. The duel finally ended when the attack troll, suffering nothing more than cracks and dents in its armor, smashed the infernal steed's head again with its mace, this time splitting its skull open and killing it instantly, before grabbing its rider and throwing it across the arena, over the edge and into the fiery abyss beyond.

Mike's shadows let out howls, roars, and cheers of triumph as they realized that their monsters were stronger than William's. The victorious Olog-hai was almost immediately swarmed by vengeful and desperate demons seeking to equalize the score, but the shadows almost immediately leapt to its defense, and the attack troll was able to claim several more kills before it was finally brought down and destroyed. But the duel had been enough for William to realize that, if he did nothing to aid the reinforcements he had summoned, they would slowly be killed one at a time by Mike's attack trolls. He had no choice but to join the battle personally, no matter how much he wanted to leave his demons to do the work for him. Nightmare Springtrap let out a terrifying bellow as he charged into the clashing armies, slaughtering any shadow that dared to challenge him with his scorching flames and lethal claws. His eyes fell upon another hellish battle beast and shadow Olog-hai dueling each other, and with another howl he leapt at the shadow troll, the impact of the collision forcing the attack troll to stumble away from the infernal steed. The attack troll roared and smashed its spiked mace down towards William, but Nightmare Springtrap was far nimbler and more intelligent than a hulking animal like the infernal steed could ever hope to be. The murderer effortlessly dodged the mace and swung claws wreathed in flame at the troll's armor, ripping through it and tearing at the dark flesh underneath. Moving far too quickly for the attack troll to properly react, William frenziedly attacked the Olog-hai, tearing gaping wounds in its body with terrifying ease as he demonstrated just how powerful he could truly be against an enemy unprepared to face him. The only time the attack troll even had a chance to strike back was when it unexpectedly grabbed the murderer with the gauntlet covering its left hand, but even then William was able to simply pry the creature's fingers apart and stab into its hand with his claws, forcing the troll to release him. As the Olog-hai struggled to stay on its feet thanks to the gaping wounds in its body, William saw an opportunity to finish it off once and for all. He clenched his hand into a fist and swung it straight into the troll's groin, the raw power behind his fist great enough to cause essence to spurt out of the impact even without needing his claws. The troll swung a punch of its own towards William, but it was too slow, and his fist smashed harmlessly into the ground as William snuck under its legs and sunk its claws onto the creature's hip. The Olog-hai flailed about as Nightmare Springtrap climbed up its back, taking great care to impale his claws deep into the shadow monster's flesh with every movement. Once he was on top of the attack troll's head, he impaled his claws deep into the creature's head. The troll tried one more time to shake him off, actually managing to throw Nightmare Springtrap into the air. But William merely turned around as he came back down, perfectly in position to sink his claws right into both of the troll's eyes at the same time. The Olog-hai screamed in agony as the murderer gouged out its eyes with one devastating blow, William grinning in triumph as he landed on the ground with both feet as the attack troll fell backward onto the floor, dissolving into wisps of darkness before it even hit the ground.

The demons howled in triumph and delight as William gloated over his triumph, turning his attention to the next Olog-hai to destroy. And in doing so, he had failed to notice the dark flames on Mike's body flare and intensify. The father of seven had been willing to simply act as a bystander so long as William did the same, but now that the murderer had decided to directly involve himself in their battle…it was now time for him to do the same.

A pillar of pure darkness suddenly erupted from the ground around Mike, causing the entire arena to shake as the man prepared to cast his most powerful and deadliest spells yet. The moment the darkness sunk back down into the ground, Mike threw his arm forward, banishing his scythe as he stretched out a hand wreathed in flames towards the invading army. A black vortex suddenly tore itself into existence in the middle of the demonic army, far larger than the one that Mike had thrown at William earlier. This time, the vortex was far more chaotic and destructive, an all-consuming void that hungrily devoured at anything that it could suck in with its howling, unstoppable winds. Most of the demons were utterly helpless to prevent themselves from falling into the depths of absolute darkness, and even a beast of battle unfortunate enough to be caught in its radius needed all of its strength merely to slow its pull into the vortex. But that was only the first half of Mike's spell. The man snapped his fingers before anyone could even think about interrupting his spell, and the vortex suddenly exploded violently, the radius of the blast extending far beyond that of the initial spell. Chaotic dark energies blasted through a huge portion of the demonic army, and Mike smirked as he heard the last screams of the demons caught both in the vortex itself and the surrounding explosion. When the aftereffects of the explosion finally faded away, nearly a third of the demonic army had been reduced to ashes and dust. The only creature that had survived the explosion was the infernal steed, and even it was on its knees, demonic essence spilling from its ruined flesh and its rider long since obliterated.

" **And now for your pathetic creature…"** Mike snarled the first words he had spoken since he had given the order to kill, not bothering to wait for the creature to keel over and die. Mike cast another spell, and the sigil of darkness engraved on his robes appeared in the air above the wounded steed, a wheel with four smaller circles at its spokes surrounded by large purple flames on all sides. The sigil and flames almost immediately vanished as soon as they had appeared and a malevolent, black miasma descended upon the beast, obscuring it from sight even as lightning made of destructive energies crackled within the depths of the ominous mist. The cursed fog disappeared, and both William and his demons watched in disbelief as the body of the battle beast decayed and collapsed into bloody pieces, the various chunks and segments of its corpse dissolving the moment they hit the ground.

/

Nightmare Fredbear roared with laughter as he watched the corpse of the battle beast disintegrate. **"HA HA HA HA HA!"** he cheered, applauding even as Charlie watched with growing dread at the malevolence that she had just witnessed. **"AN EXCELLENT SHOWING, MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN ANYTHING YOU HAVE DONE UP UNTIL THIS POINT. SHOW ME MORE, SCHMIDT! SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR HATRED AND MALICE UNLEASHED IN FULL!"**

" _How…how is this even possible?"_ she asked numbly. _"How was William Afton able to summon an army of demons in Dad's mind? And how is Dad able to defeat them so easily…and so viciously?"_

Nightmare Fredbear bared his teeth at her in an amused grin. **"IT'S QUITE SIMPLE,"** he explained. **"THAT SLIME VUCARIK MUST HAVE OFFERED WILLIAM THE SERVICES OF HIS ARMIES…OR AT THE VERY LEAST, WHAT'S LEFT OF THEM AFTER MY BROTHER ANNHILIATED THEM. NO SELF-RESPECTING DEMON LORD WOULD EVER GIVE COMMAND OF HIS MOST POWERFUL ARMIES TO A MERE MORTAL, NO MATTER HOW USEFUL…BUT NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE LIVES OF CANNON FODDER. THE BERSERKERS AND INFERNAL STEEDS ARE THE ONLY THINGS IN WILLIAM AFTON'S ARMY THAT ARE EVEN REMOTELY IMPRESSIVE…BUT WITH THE POWER THAT YOUR FATHER NOW WIELDS, HE CAN SLAUGHTER EVEN THEM WITH BARELY A THOUGHT."**

" _But how can there be so many of them in Dad's mind?"_ Charlie wondered. _"How hasn't Dad's head exploded from all of those demons crammed in it?"_

" **WHEN THOSE DEMONS ENTERED THE WORLD OF SCHMIDT'S MIND, THEY UNKNOWINGLY SUBJECTED THEMSELVES TO THE LAWS AND BINDINGS WITHIN,"** Nightmare Fredbear replied. **"AND EVEN IF THAT WAS NOT THE CASE, YOU FORGET THAT THERE IS ANOTHER BEING IS IN THERE. MY LORD AND BROTHER, WHO EVEN NOW IS CASTING HIS SORCERY TO STRENGTH THE STABILITY OF SCHMIDT'S MIND AND ENSURE THAT IT CAN HANDLE THE PRESSURE OF SO MANY DEMONS AND SHADOWS AT ONCE."**

Charlie glanced within the portal nervously. She just wanted this battle to end, not just because she wanted Mike to be safe and William defeated as quickly as possible. Before today, she had only seen glimpses and brief moments of Mike's darkness, and it had been enough to chill her soul to the very core. Now, that darkness was displayed in full, both by Mike himself and by the many shadow monsters that he had summoned to answer the threat of William's demonic army. She had seen more of Mike's darkness in this one night than she had in the days leading up to it, and the hatred, cruelty, and malice that emanated from the man who had always been kind and loving to them terrified her in a way that even her own brutal murder at William Afton's hands never could. _"Dad should've convinced Nightmare to come and save him as soon as possible…"_ Charlie muttered.

" **PERHAPS IF YOUR FATHER WAS AS HELPLESS IN HIS OWN MIND AS HE WOULD BE IN REAL LIFE, I WOULD BE INCLINED TO AGREE,"** Nightmare Fredbear countered. **"BUT MY BROTHER HAS HIS OWN CODE BY WHICH HE CONDUCTS HIMSELF. HIS WORD WAS CLEAR: HE WOULD SAVE YOUR FATHER FROM THE WRATH OF WILLIAM AFTON AT HIS MOMENT OF GREATEST NEED. BUT YOUR FATHER PROVED MORE THAN CAPABLE OF FIGHTING BACK IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. AND IF HE INTERRUPTED THE BATTLE** _ **NOW,**_ **NOT ONLY WOULD NIGHTMARE BE DEPRIVING HIMSELF OF SUCH WONDERFUL ENTERTAINMENT, BUT HE WOULD ALSO BE INSULTING YOUR FATHER IN WHAT HE WOULD CONSIDER THE GRAVEST AND MOST EGREGIOUS MANNER. HE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN FIGHTING THE BATTLES OF THOSE CAPABLE OF FIGHTING THEM ON THEIR OWN. BUT HE** _ **WILL**_ **DO WHAT MUST BE DONE TO ENSURE THAT A FAIR BATTLE IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE."**

Charlie's face roiled with conflicting emotions, but before she could say anything to either thank Nightmare Fredbear or expressed further doubts, a horn suddenly blared out from William's side of the field. Nightmare Fredbear and Charlie both watched as a second wave of demons emerged from the fiery portal, an army almost as large as the first. Charlie's eyes widened in panic and horror at the reinforcements, but Nightmare Fredbear's eyes caught Mike's expression. The man didn't seem disturbed or negatively affected by the sudden reinforcements at all. In fact, he seemed more _bored_ than anything else. **"ON WITH THE SHOW…"** Nightmare Fredbear hissed. **"LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE YOUR FATHER HAS PLANNED…"**

/

William grinned as he saw his new armies arrive onto the battlefield, letting out a howl of triumph that was soon echoed by all his followers. **"AHH…"** he growled in satisfaction once he had calmed down. **"IT APPEARS MY** _ **TRUE**_ **REINFORCEMENTS HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED. I MUST ADMIT, SCHMIDT, YOU AND YOUR ARMY OF SHADOWS HAVE IMPRESSED ME. BUT IT IS ALL OVER NOW. YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF SHADOWS TO FIGHT ON YOUR BEHALF, AND AS SOON AS THEY ARE DESTROYED, YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO HIDE BEHIND! IT WILL ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE MY DEMONS AND I FINALLY BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES, AND WE WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL ITSELF FOR DARING TO DEFY ME FOR SO LONG!"**

Mike's mouth twitched into a smirk, and his eyes began to glow with amusement and condescension. **"You really think that bringing in a second army will give you the win you so desperately want, when the first army was nothing more than a huge steaming pile of worthless cannon fodder with very few exceptions scattered here and there?"** he sneered. **"You're even more of a fool than I thought. I** _ **was**_ **going to wait and let our armies fight this out…but since you're so eager to get involved yourself, I guess it's time for me to do the same."** His eyes flashed menacingly. **"I could have wiped out your entire army from the very beginning, and I'm going to prove that to you right here and now!"**

" **STOP HIM!"** William bellowed, but even as his demons advanced, the remaining shadows reformed their ranks and created an impenetrable wall between the murderer's army and their master, backed by the shadow Olog-hai that were still surviving. Mike raised both of his scythes to the air and slammed the weapons towards the ground, impaling the blades deep into the arena floor. A massive fissure cracked into existence from the impact point, glowing with the same fiery light as the flames in the abyss beyond the arena as it split the earth and snaked towards William's side. Both shadows and demons were able to easily avoid the fissure and the flames that burned from it, but it had never been Mike's intention to attack any of the demons. The fissure tore its way to the fiery portal that had brought William's army into Mike's mind in the first place, and Nightmare Springtrap stared in blank shock as cracks began to form in _the portal itself_ the moment the fissure collided with it. He and his forces could only watch dumbly as Mike's spell shattered the portal completely, leaving only broken fragments of hellish energy that dissolved into nothingness. The man had not only cut off any future reinforcements from coming to William's aid…but also destroyed the infernal army's only means of escape.

" **Nowhere to run,"** Mike hissed. **"And nowhere to hide. Congratulations, William Afton. You have led your legions of demons to nothing but their own death."** With an inhuman roar, he swung his scythe high into the air…and the flames that burned in the pit surrounding the arena answered his call. Massive molten fireballs shot up high into the sky from the depths of the abyss, before plummeting down onto the battlefield with the force of unstoppable meteors. Every time a fireball struck the battlefield, it created a devastating explosion that instantly killed anything caught directly underneath the collision and severely wounded those unfortunate enough to be nearby. Spread out over the entire battlefield, the meteor storm that Mike rained down was even more devastating to William's armies than even the black vortex that Mike had summoned earlier; even some of his own shadows that weren't able to evade in time were destroyed by the impact of the meteors. Mike noted with vindictive pleasure that one of William's remaining battle beasts had been struck directly with a fireball and had been brought down to its knees, and he promptly summoned a Nightmare head that chuckled menacingly as it unleashed a blast of hellfire, searing the creature to cinders before it could recover.

The demons began to panic and look around wildly, realizing just how powerful Mike was in the world of his own mind. They desperately sought out any means to flee and were already beginning to curse William Afton for summoning them, but there was no escape possible, for the demons lacked the power to try and escape Mike's mind into the real world, and Mike had destroyed the only portal leading back into the Inferno. In the midst of his impotent fury, William noticed something off about the shadows. Even though the momentum of the battle had swung decisively in their favor thanks to Mike's actions, the shadows didn't seem to be celebrating or taking advantage of the demons' distraction. In fact, the shadows were jittering agitatedly without any thought to attacking their foes, almost as though they were just as afraid of their master as the demons were.

What Mike said next didn't help in the slightest. **"Retreat now, my forces,"** he commanded. **"Or die."** William watched incredulously as an army of shadow monsters and warriors that had proven equal in might to a legion of Hell turned and fled through the portal that had summoned them, a disorganized retreat as the shadows focused only on getting the hell out of the arena as quickly as possible. The shadows' actions made no sense considering their violence and relentlessness only seconds earlier…which only made William even more wary. What was Mike about to do that the _very manifestations of his inner darkness_ were fleeing in terror?

The man would answer that question the moment the last of the shadows had fled and the portal that had brought them to the field closed. Mike raised his scythes to the sky, and the sigil of darkness appeared in the air again. But this time the dark wheel was a fiery orange with _six_ spokes rather than four, and the sigil itself was much larger than before, towering over William's army with even more orange flames surrounding it. Just like they had before, the sigil and flames vanished, leaving the battlefield with a brief moment of peace juxtaposed with a sense of impending doom.

And then Mike unleashed Hell upon the battlefield.

A vortex of flame suddenly erupted into existence, even larger than the shadowy void that Mike had summoned earlier. This new cataclysm spewed out death in the form of scorching fire rather than darkness, and the demons' innate protections against fire proved utterly worthless as scores of them were incinerated to death almost instantly. Even as the demons desperately tried to escape being burned to ashes, the abyss surrounding the battlefield spewed out gigantic, swirling pillars of flame into the sky, some of them even feeding into the firestorm that had already been created by the first part of Mike's spell and making it even stronger. Nightmare Springtrap immediately began to flee towards the edge of the arena, throwing demons aside and behind him to put as much difference between him and Mike's wrath as possible without caring even slightly for the allies he had called to his aid. The murderer barely had time to hide behind one of the arena's pillars (ironically putting him dangerously close to the edge of the abyss) right as Mike closed his fist and slammed both the pillars and the vortex directly onto the demonic armies.

The explosion that followed could have been comparable to a nuclear blast if it had existed in the real world. There wasn't a single part of the battlefield that wasn't drowned in waves of hellish flame, the mighty roar of the spell drowning out any sounds from the demons caught within. In the center of the battlefield where Mike had thrown his spell directly, a column of flame the size of an entire building was spiraling into the sky with such height that neither Mike nor William could see the top. The two stayed perfectly still, the former immune to the effects of his own spell and the latter hiding behind the relative safety of his column, as the spirits of the demons caught in the conflagration begin to fly away from their charred and dusted carcasses, screaming in horror and primal terror as the extreme trauma of their deaths wiped away any sense of thought and rationality away from their minds, leaving only a primal urge to escape from the nightmare that Mike had unleashed upon them.

And then, almost as soon as they were appeared, they were gone, plucked out of existence like the soul of every other demon whose blood had been shed in the chaos of battle. When the fires finally died down and Mike's ultimate spell finally ended, not even the ashes of the destroyed demons remained – it was as if no army had ever been called to the field in the first place.

Before Mike could wonder where exactly the souls of the demons had gone – he couldn't sense them in his mindscape anymore and from the few pieces of information Nightmare had given him he doubted that any of them had escaped into the real world – he heard the sound of a frustrated snarl coming from one of the pillars. Nightmare Springtrap maneuvered around the pillar and back onto the arena. His actions before the spell had been unleashed, as cowardly as they were, had proven wise in the end – while all of his armies had been burned to oblivion, all he had suffered was a darkening of his skin thanks to his greater power and the fact that he had avoided the worst of the flames.

" **I AM GETTING REALLY TIRED OF YOUR SHIT, SCHMIDT!"** William snarled, enraged at the fact that his most valuable backup plan had failed miserably like all of his attempts up until this point.

" **WHAT AN ODD COINCIDENCE,"** Mike replied mockingly. **"I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY THE EXACT SAME THING."**

William was about to retort, but one good look at Mike caused his words to die in his throat. For Mike's appearance had changed again, and though his appearance was still largely similar to what it had been when they had first entered the fiery pit, the differences were enough to make him seem less human than ever. The flames that surrounded his body, which had previously been merely an unnerving purple and restrained in nature, were now permanently blood red and raging wildly around his body. Mike's eyes were also now permanently glowing with molten, unbridled wrath, instead of merely flashing whenever he cast a spell or spoke with particular venom towards William Afton like in the past. The shadows no longer covered his mouth either revealing a maw filled with razor sharp fangs gritted together in a hateful snarl. Even the sigil of darkness on his robes now matched Mike's new color with the same scarlet hue.

But the most terrifying changes were not on Mike himself, but on his weapons. The flames on the scythes themselves had also turned to the color of blood, and were raging just as wildly as their master's. And the skulls that had been carved into the heads of the weapons, which had seemingly served no purpose other than decoration, now had eyes that glowed with the _exact same_ loathing and malevolent intent as their master's. Chaotic red energy dripped out from the mouths of the skulls almost as though the scythes were bleeding from their mouths, and though William couldn't make out the details, he could have sworn that the mouths of the skulls were _snarling_ in hatred.

" **YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE BEHIND NOW,"** Mike growled, his voice echoing with unearthly power exactly like William's. **"NO MORE ARMIES. NO MORE TOYS. AND NO MORE DELAYS. COME, WILLIAM AFTON. LET US FINISH THIS."** He lifted one of his scythes and pointed the blade directly at William. **"YOUR SLOW CRAWL TO OBLIVION SHALL FINALLY COME TO AN END."**

/

A/N: I know I said this would be the final part of the battle, but I ended up writing so much that I couldn't fit everything that I wanted in this chapter. So next chapter will be the last part, and I really do mean the last part.

Unlike many of the arcs and chapters in this fic, the battle between William Afton and Mike is one that I've had in mind for a _very_ long time. But the idea of both Mike and William summoning armies to do battle in their name was actually a much more recent idea. Apart from the novelty of seeing two armies slaughter each other instead of two characters, the battle served the important purpose of giving WILLIAM some time to shine. Mike was able to handle himself perfectly fine against William throughout their battle, which diminished the credibility of Nightmare Springtrap as a threat. I didn't want William to just be reduced to a joke, so I decided to show just how powerful and devastating William could be wielding the stolen power of the Nightmares against enemies who _aren't_ at a similar or greater power level. There's a reason the Rockstars couldn't do a damn thing against him, and in the world of Mike's mind he doesn't have to hold back for fear of attracting unwanted attention from either Heaven or Hell. Of course, Mike can slaughter William's demons just as easily as William can butcher the shadows, and as the ending of the chapter indicated, his power is only growing…

The inspirations for this chapter have also shifted, moving more towards "God of War" and "Fire Emblem." Kratos is obviously a huge inspiration for this chapter, but I've actually split aspects of Kratos' combat mechanics to _both_ Mike and William. Fitting his murderous and violent nature, William got many of Kratos' Brutal Kills, while Mike got more of his "regular attacks"/combos and ESPECIALLY the God of War's Magic. The spells that Mike used when he slaughtered the demons that tried to attack him directly were based on Poseidon's Rage and Army of Hades. And yes, this is **God of War 1** Poseidon's Rage and Army of Hades, which are widely acknowledged to be two of the most brokenly overpowered spells in the entire series. Watch any GOW1 walkthrough that features these two spells, and you will quickly learn why those demons didn't stand the slightest chance to even land a hit on Mike, let alone beat him.

As for the "Fire Emblem" inspiration, those were mostly the spells that Mike cast when he got bored with all the shit and decided to just nuke the fuck out of William's army repeatedly and violently. The "shadow vortex" described was Ereshkigal, the powerful dark magic spell used by the main villain in Fire Emblem 7. The storm that Mike summoned to finish off the infernal steed was Gespenst, a very powerful Darkness spell also from FE7. And the massive flame nuke that Mike used to wipe out the entire army was based on Forblaze from FE7 (yes, all FE7 lol) with a couple of modifications thrown in. I **highly** encourage you to watch these spells in action on Youtube, so that you can truly understand the visual effect I was trying to go for.

The infernal steeds/battle beasts are based on Khornate Juggernauts from "Warhammer 40K", albeit toned down. And for those of you not familiar with _Lord of the Rings_ terminology, Olog-hai/attack trolls are the giant armored trolls with maces that started beating the shit out of the Gondor soldiers when the gate of Minas Tirith was breached by the wolf-head battering ram Grond in _Return of the King_. Finally, the Outriders are the beasts that attacked Wakanda in _Infinity War_.

That's what I have for now, hope the wait was worth it! The longer wait times will unfortunately have to continue, as my rotations aren't giving me a ton of free time to write a chapter every week, especially chapters as long and as important as these.


	80. Chapter 80 - Battle in the Mind Part 4

A/N: The battle between murderer and father is finally coming to a close. A battle in the depths of Mike's mind that has only escalated in both intensity and brutality ever since it began. Mike has unleashed all of his darkness, both literally and figuratively, upon the man who destroyed the lives of his children and turned them into a nightmare that has lasted for decades…

… **or has he?**

On an unrelated note, there were actually a few ideas for the battle between demons and shadows last chapter that I actually missed. For example, I had intended for Mike to summon a battalion of dullahans who carried their heads as lanterns in their left hands and wielded whips made of human spine in their right. The dullahans would be able to either trample William's demons or snap their heads off with their whips, while their lanterns would basically have Nightmare's "Bonnie" effect on a much smaller scale. Kinda wish I incorporated that, now that I think about it…but too late now. The chapter was really long as it was.

Rockstar Ballora: Maybe as a nightmare sequence (no pun intended), but otherwise probably not. The scenario you're suggesting would have fit better earlier on in the fic when the ghost kids were still distrustful and/or nervous that Mike still hadn't forgiven them for what they did back in 1993.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: Honestly I didn't really put much thought into Charlie having italic dialogue even as the Puppet. I guess it could be because she's even more supernatural than the others, but other than that I don't have much to say. As for Lefty, she might still use him from time to time, but Mike probably wouldn't fit in his body.

Dash: Probably not. Ghosts are forbidden from going back to Earth from the afterlife and this rule is STRINGENTLY enforced, with very few exceptions allowed.

Bill Cipher: While I appreciate the suggestion, what you're suggesting is essentially impossible. Not just because I know literally nothing about SCP, but also because a crossover of any kind would completely derail the fic and I try to adhere as strictly to FNAF as possible without directly incorporating any other media apart from references and/or fiction that the ghosts enjoy.

Phillip: Well, win-win is the "loosest" description, but technically the answer is yes.

AlchemyWriter: I plan to answer that question this chapter.

Chapter 80 – Battle in the Mind, Part 4

Unseen by either murderer or protector, Nightmare watched the ongoing battle from the shadows.

He had arrived soon after the second stage of Mike and William's duel, right when Mike had thrown William from the Freddy Fazbear-themed arena to the pit that even now reminded Nightmare so very much of home. From the moment he witnessed Mike unleash his first attacks, Nightmare knew that the man was entirely capable of dealing with William on his own. He hadn't entirely let his guard down, for he had every intention of honoring his oath to save Mike if William proved to be too powerful for him to handle. But as he watched the two attack each other with their fury and their hatred, that possibility had become less and less likely.

And then William had essentially cheated, summoning the remnants of Vucarik's army from the depths of Hell itself, spitting on the tenets of honorable combat without care. The demon lord had been enraged by this cowardice and had almost intervened…but then Mike had summoned his own army formed from the darkest aspects of his soul, and Nightmare had felt pleased and satisfied that Mike would be able to handle himself even in the face of William's treachery.

But it was the last few moments that had truly caught the demon lord's attention. Abusing the advantages provided by being in control of his mindscape and taking them to their logical extreme, Mike had unleashed ruin and devastation upon over a thousand demons with a level of power that only powerful entities like himself could hope to wield. The way that Mike had singlehandedly and effortlessly drowned William Afton's weaklings in fire and shadow had showed Nightmare just how much control Mike truly had over William's supposed "invasion"…

…and that what little patience Mike had left was slowly but surely drawing to its end.

/

" **YOU MUST BE** _ **SO**_ **FRUSTRATED, WILLIAM AFTON…"** Mike addressed his most hated enemy with mock sympathy that did nothing to hide his contempt. **"YOU SOMEHOW MANAGED TO GET AN ENTIRE ARMY OF DEMONS AT YOUR BACK, A RESOURCE THAT MANY FANTASY VILLAINS WOULD LITERALLY SELL THEIR VERY SOULS TO OBTAIN…AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT IS** _ **ANOTHER STUNNING FAILURE!"**_ he let out a cruel laugh at the frustrated rage at William's face. **"BUT I HAVE TO WONDER EXACTLY** _ **WHOSE**_ **FAILURE THIS IS…IS IT YOUR ARMY'S FOR BEING TOO WEAK…OR YOURS FOR BEING TOO STUPID TO KNOW HOW YOU USE IT?"**

William bared his teeth furiously. **"LAUGH ALL YOU WANT, SCHMIDT,"** he spat. **"YOU CANNOT CONTINUE THIS FOREVER. SOONER OR LATER, YOU WILL TIRE. YOUR POWER WILL EXPIRE, AND THERE WILL BE NOTHING TO SAVE YOU FROM ME!"**

Mike scratched his chin with his finger thoughtfully. **"AH, SO** _ **THAT'S**_ **YOUR STRATEGY,"** he mused. **"YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T HOPE TO BEAT ME, SO YOU'RE BASICALLY STALLING. NOT A…TERRIBLE STRATEGY, I MUST ADMIT. BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF PROBLEMS WITH YOUR PLANS, BUT I'll JUST ADDRESS THE BIGGEST ONE FOR NOW. ALL THROUGHOUT THIS BATTLE, MY POWER HAS ONLY GROWN. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT IT WILL SUDDENLY RUN OUT?"**

William sneered, but there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes that Mike could still see. **"MAYBE MY POWER WILL SOON REACH ITS END, AND MAYBE IT WON'T. BUT I WILL TELL ONE INDISPUTABLE TRUTH, WILLIAM AFTON: YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME. SOON, NIGHTMARE WILL BE HERE, AND IF I CAN'T BEAT YOU BY MYSELF, HE SURE AS HELL WILL FINISH THE JOB FOR ME. SO COME!"** he declared, beckoning at William with his fingers. **"FINISH ME OFF. CLAIM YOUR REVENGE…IF YOU STILL CAN."**

" **WITH PLEASURE,"** Nightmare Springtrap hissed, and with that he unleashed a blast of hellfire from his mouth right towards Mike. The man rolled his eyes at the pitiful attempt and caught the stream in his scythe, converting it from flame to corrupted energy. William charged towards Mike, having used his first attack as a distraction for the second, waiting to intercept the lightning with his claws now that he knew how to deflect it.

But Mike had an entirely different strategy in mind. Instead of firing the lightning back towards William directly, he impaled the blade straight into the ground, unleashing its collected energy. Nightmare Springtrap barely had time to wonder what Mike was doing when he suddenly felt a searing, horrific agony coarse through his entire body, stopping him in his tracks and forcing him onto his knees. In the midst of his pain, he could see the formerly black obsidian floor glowing with red and black energy, and he dimly realized that Mike had unleashed his tainted lightning through the _entire floor_.

William forced himself to endure the electricity coursing through him and slowly got to his feet, barely in time to intercept two flaming scythe blades, their chains writhing in the air as the blades swung directly at William's throat. The damned monster blocked the blades and tried to grab at them with his hand, intent on ripping the scythe out of Mike's hand or at the very least keep him from swinging it so freely. But the moment he latched onto the chain, it flared with the same fiery aura and William was forced to release it as it burned his hand, leaving a scorch mark that extended from one side of his hand to the other.

Mike retracted the chain of his scythes back to melee range, and it was then that William chose to strike. He barreled towards his enemy again, raising both of his hands into the air to simultaneously crush Mike's skull in and slash off his face. As he swung his fists down, Mike raised his scythes in defense, and swung them up with such sheer force that William was actually taken off-guard and staggered back slightly. He regained his senses quickly enough to block Mike's quick counterattack, and the two ferociously started attacking each other again as they had done before they had summoned their respective armies.

Up until this point, William had been the one with the advantage whenever he and Mike had directly engaged each other in close-quarters combat. His savagery and demonic strength had given him a significant edge in terms of raw power, an advantage that forced Mike to focus more on deflecting or avoiding Nightmare Springtrap's attacks with his speed and dexterity. But now, Mike's power had somehow risen to become equal to William's…and he had lost none of the agility that had carried him through in the earlier stages of their duel. Striking back with inhuman speed and might, Mike could now easily repay William's earlier savagery with a flurry of his own vicious attacks, and it was now William who was forced to protect himself from being torn to pieces. But Nightmare Springtrap was completely unfamiliar to a defensive fighting style after having been the aggressor for so long, and it didn't take long for Mike to overwhelm his defenses and shove William's claws to the side. With a snarl, Mike proceeded to ferociously slice his blades into Nightmare Springtrap's body, his scythes transformed into wheels of fire, shadow, and death as he struck his hated enemy over and over again. The false Nightmare howled in impotent rage as Mike unleashed his combination of unblockable attacks on William, before he finally lifted his weapons up, the crimson flames on the blades burning hungrily as they snaked in the air, and slammed them down upon Nightmare Springtrap's head at the same time.

The impact of this final blow was enough to send William flying backward a small distance, before he crashed unceremoniously onto the ground. The demonic monster let out a groan of pain, his first true expression of vulnerability, as he slowly got to his feet, his entire body burning with excruciating agony at the vicious beating that he had just received. He was certainly no stranger to pain, for he had experienced it many times both in life and in death. And none of Mike's attacks before now had done any _true_ damage to him, since the endurance his demonic essence had granted him had always been enough to protect himself from the worst of the battle.

Now, however, Mike's scythe blades had shredded through those superhuman defenses like tissue paper and cut straight into the wretched spirit within. William looked down at his body and saw that many parts of it had been blackened and burned where Mike had attacked him with his scythes. And worst of all, _none_ of the wounds inflicted by those scythes were healing, not even slightly. That was the part that worried him, more than anything. He was inching ever closer to the limits of his stolen power, and he did not want to think about his fate if his demonic essence failed him.

He forced himself to look at his enemy, and to his surprise, Mike was breathing heavily, his face contorted in exertion as he gritted his teeth in defiance of the oncoming fatigue. A slow grin began to spread across Nightmare Springtrap's mouth at the sign of weakness. It seemed that for all his big talk, Mike was reaching the end of his limits just as he was. If he could wear out Schmidt, either by beating him down or drawing out his attacks, then he would _finally_ be able to silence that irritating insect once and for all.

William lunged at Mike, intent on getting in a powerful attack for free before the man could recover. Almost as soon as it had begun, Mike's shortness of breath vanished immediately, replaced with a mocking grin to match William's own. He snapped his fingers and four massive tornados made of dark magic swirled into existence around him, spiraling around his body to form a countershield that would both protect him from attacks and punish those foolish enough to get too close. William's eyes widened in panic and he tried to slow himself, but he already had too much momentum and couldn't decelerate in time. As he got closer to Mike and his protective tornados, he tried to swipe at the man, but he was too slow and his body got caught up in one of the shadow tempests. Caught in the depths of the tornado, William was sent flying into the air and far away from Mike. But as intimidating as the tornados appeared, they were surprisingly unimpressive with regards to their actual power, and William was able to land on his feet this time with little difficulty or distraction from pain.

Still, the tornados were more than enough to stop him from making any direct attacks on Mike, and he needed a different strategy to get past them. Calling upon his demonic essence, William began to alternate between throwing fireballs and unleashing streams of hellish flame from his mouth towards the tornados, aiming to either weaken their power and force them to dissolve, or somehow go through them and hit Mike directly. But his attacks were disorderly and haphazard without any thought of proper timing, and all of them collided against Mike's tornados and bounced off harmlessly. Growing frustrated, William unleashed one last, particularly intense blast of flames from his mouth, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that this last attack managed to make it through the tornados. He began to laugh triumphantly, in his arrogance forgetting what had happened the last time he had tried such an attack on Mike. William's laughter cut off abruptly when he realized that Mike had once again caught the blast in his hands and fed it to his scythes.

" **YOU DON'T SEEM TO LEARN VERY WELL, DO YOU?"** Mike hissed. **"ONLY A FEW SECONDS, AND YOU'VE ALREADY REPEATED YOUR MISTAKE. NOT MUCH OF A SURPRISE, REALLY, CONSIDERING HOW YOU MET YOUR END THE LAST TIME."**

And just like before, he impaled his blade into the ground, and William instinctively leaped into the air to avoid what he was sure was going to be the electrocution of the entire ground underneath his feet. But Mike had something different planned. Instead of dispersing through the arena, the power began to spread in a cross-like pattern to each of the four tornados that had been circling around him. The tornados absorbed the energy given to them by Mike, transforming from mere whirlwinds of dark energy to nightmarish, frenzied tempests charged with the power of Mike's hatred and Nightmare Springtrap's own unholy energy. Before William could even process what had just occurred, let alone react to it, Mike let out a wordless snarl from his mouth and thrust his arm forward, pointing his blade directly at William. The eyes of the weapon's skull head flashed, and all four tornados suddenly broke formation and zoomed towards William, growing bigger and more chaotic with every second that passed. William might have had the speed to dodge one or even two, but there was no way that he could hope to evade all four. The moment the first tornado collided with his body, it flung him high into the air just as it did before. But now, the power within was far mightier and more malevolent than when it had been a part of Mike's defense, and William screamed, flailing helplessly in a futile attempt to escape as the empowered tornado blasted him again and again with the same corrupted lightning that was a hallmark of Mike's power within his mind. To make matters worse, the other tornados seemed to sense that one of their number had captured Nightmare Springtrap within its depths, and immediately converged on that tempest's location to coalesce their own power into one. From a safe distance away, Mike watched with a satisfied smirk as he listened to the now titanic cyclone's mighty rage and William's agonized screams. After a seeming eternity, the figure of Nightmare Springtrap was flung far away from the cyclone and crashed right into one of the pillars at the edge of the flaming abyss with a sickening crunch. William fell to the ground, his demonic body blackened and burned, as the pillar he had collided into crumbled to dust behind him.

Mike gritted his teeth and nearly fell to one knee, forcing himself back upright as he began to hyperventilate even more intensely than before. Controlling the tornados and unleashing their power upon William had been a resounding success in terms of the calamitous damage they had inflicted upon the murderer, but it had cost a great deal of energy for Mike to control them as he had done so, and this time there was no hiding his fatigue.

Seeing the exhaustion that Mike displayed was the only thing that gave William hope and the determination to carry through with his strategy, for he too was beginning to feel fatigue overtake his body. All the damage and destruction that Mike had unleashed upon him had strained his demonic essence beyond its ability to recover, and he didn't have much power left before he finally reached his own breaking point. All he could do now was endure, endure whatever attacks Mike unleashed upon him…and go in for the kill once that power was finally spent.

The fact that Mike didn't seem to be recovering as quickly as he had the last time emboldened William. The demonic murderer began to approach him, this time more cautiously, for he suspected that Mike might attempt another grand spell or attack of overwhelming force to try and stop him. To his delight, he was proven correct, as Mike raised his scythe towards him and a fiery orange sigil of darkness appeared above his head surrounded by flames, the same spell that he had used to brutally execute the infernal battle beast that had been crippled by the vortex of shadows. And for the first time, Mike significantly miscalculated how to wield his spell. He had previously used it against a crippled, slow, and cumbersome creature that would have been practically impossible to miss. And as wounded as Nightmare Springtrap was, he was still far faster than those infernal steeds could ever hope to be. The moment he saw the sigil, William rushed forward to evade, and Mike's eyes widened in surprise as the spell blasted the air harmlessly behind the murderer. Grinning with triumph at the opportunity in front of him, Nightmare Springtrap charged right at Mike, reaching with one hand to grab William by the front of his robes and tear his claws right into his chest. Too slow to block in time, Mike let out a hate-filled snarl as the wounds began to spilled wisps of blood red energy the same color as the flames on his body and scythes. He lifted Mike into the air and began to claw at the man's shadowy body with his left hand, ripping open more gashes all over his body that bled the same red essence. In his haste, William didn't notice how Mike hadn't responded with nearly as much pain as expected from a person grappled and mauled by the claws of a ferocious demon, so engrossed was he at the prospect of _finally_ claiming victory over Mike and brutally avenging all the irritation and frustration that the man had caused him.

" **FINALLY!"** Nightmare Springtrap cackled as he lifted Mike into the air. **"I HAVE YOU NOW!"**

To his surprise, Mike's only response was yet another condescending smirk. **"OH, REALLY?"** he retorted, his unearthly voice descended into a demonic snarl. **"I BEG TO DIFFER!"**

William had been so focused on Mike's face that he had failed to notice that Mike had banished the scythe in his right hand and transmuted the shadows around it into a cruel black metal gauntlet with spikes on its knuckles. He raised his left hand still holding his scythe towards William, who sneered at such an obvious and weak attempt to retaliate…only for his expression to morph into confusion when he realized that it was the _back_ of the scythe that Mike was pointing towards him instead of the blade, its skull head staring straight into William's soul with its malevolent burning eyes.

" **WHAT ARE YOU…"** was all William had time to say before a wave of scarlet energy spewed out of the skull's mouth and right onto the monster's eyes, as though it were vomiting the boiling blood of the Phlegethon. William barely managed to shut them in time to stop them from being burned out, but even with them protected he felt as if the entirety of his upper face was being melted off. He quickly brushed off the foul liquidlike sorcery with his left hand, all while keeping Mike tightly held in his grasp with his right. But when he finally felt safe enough to open his eyes, Mike was already waiting for him with his right hand clenched into a fist, the spikes on his gauntlet pointed towards William's eyes. The moment the murderer's eyes flickered open, Mike smashed his fist repeatedly onto William's face, pummeling the exact same spot where he had spewed the molten energy of his scythe again and again. William's head exploded into excruciating pain and his grip on Mike slackened, but not enough to force him o release the man entirely. Gritting his fangs, William endured each and every brutal punch that Mike sent his way, only daring to open his eyes once the punches finally stopped.

A mistake that nearly cost him his sight, for Mike still had one last, vicious trick to play. Stopping his punches hadn't been the end of his onslaught; it had been a change in tactics. Even as William cautiously opened his eyes one more time, Mike opened his fingers, revealing his own set of black metal claws that burned with his sinister flames, every bit as sharp as William's talons. With an inhuman snarl, Mike slashed straight at William's eyes with his claws to gouge them out, a twisted mirror of the main strategy that William had depended on throughout the majority of their battle.

If William had been even a second slower in slamming his eyelids shut, he would have lost both of his eyes to Mike's cruel attack. But even though he might have been able to save sight, it did nothing to change the fact that his upper face was being brutally ripped apart by a giant flaming metal claw. William screamed out the loudest scream of pain that he had given out throughout the entirety of their battle, for none of Mike's other attacks had him with this much savage force in such a vulnerable area. He stumbled backward, his grip loosening even more as he covered his forehead with his free hand and focused his demonic essence to heal the horrific wound left on his upper face at the expense of the rest of his body. As William floundered about trying to recover from the many attacks on his eyes, Mike re-summoned his scythe in his right hand. He raised both of his weapons in the air and slammed the blades down onto the shoulder of the arm holding him. With another pained yell, Nightmare Springtrap released Mike, who took the opportunity to viciously kick William in the chest inches below his neck as he fell to the ground.

Both combatants took a few seconds to recollect themselves, William still reeling from Mike's attacks on his eyes and Mike winded from both the wounds William had inflicted on him and the effort it had taken to break free from his grapple. It was clear that both of them were reaching their breaking point, and that the outcome of this battle would be decided very soon.

" **I'LL MAKE YOU A DEAL, WILLIAM AFTON,"** Mike offered, grinning in spite of everything. **"LET'S FINISH THIS BATTLE EXACTLY HOW YOU WANTED IT TO BE FOUGHT."** He switched his position into a battle stance, scythes held out in front of him. **"A DUEL TO THE DEATH WITH CLAW AND BLADE. I WILL USE NOTHING ELSE."**

William's eyes narrowed. He might have been oblivious of Mike's devious nature when he had first started fighting him, but now he sensed that something was amiss. His enemy was willingly giving up his greatest advantages, when he had shown no compunction whatsoever with using any advantage at his disposal earlier? There was something about this offer that felt false, a lie just like the one that had hidden the true nature of the trap pizzeria. But what other choice did he have, when Mike could do whatever he wanted as master of his own mind? He would accept…and watch for any sign of a surprise attack.

" **AGREED, SCHMIDT…"** Nightmare Springtrap hissed, flexing his claws, which still remained as sharp as several despite all the damage his body had suffered. **"IT'S LONG PAST TIME THAT WE ENDED OUR LITTLE GAME."**

For a few seconds, the two enemies looked at each other warily, their weapons of choice in position to attack or defend. Then, with two simultaneous battle cries, William and Mike charged at each other, both of them determined to fight with everything they had in what both suspected would be the conclusion of their battle. In a strange twist, the tempo of this particular clash was both slower and less predictable than their other physical combat exchanges. For the first time, William was attacking more slowly and more cautiously than before, focusing just as much on defense as he did on offense. He remembered very clearly the frenzied combos that Mike had unleashed on him last time, and if he got hit by one of those again then it would all be over. Mike, on the other hand, had ironically become more aggressive in his attacks, mixing in swift slashes and slower, fiercer swings in an unpredictable pattern that would have been impossible for William to block if he had focused solely on his previous mindless, attack-oriented mentality. Having adopted aspects of each other's dueling styles, the two combatants had effectively balanced each other out, with only the occasional attack connecting and dealing insignificant damage. On even ground, the course of the battle would be decided by who makes the first mistake.

And surprising even William, it would be Mike who would make that defining error. Having gotten tired of waiting, Mike began to unleash the same frenzied whirlwind of combo attacks that he had used on William after he had wiped out the demonic murderer's army…but William was ready. He held out his arms in front of him, focused entirely on protecting himself as Mike's scythes slammed across his arms and his upper body again and again. He could feel the blades and flames tear and burn into his body, feel his pain increase with every strike…but the worst of the attacks were being deflected, and most of his body remained relatively safe. Mike finished his combo with the same brutal slam that he had done the first time, and the blow was enough to force William's arms apart…but he had endured. He had survived.

And Mike now looked openly exhausted. He was breathing heavily, the flames burning on his body diminishing in intensity. His arms were slumped down towards his sides, and he was struggling to stand. For the first time, Mike Schmidt was truly vulnerable and exposed in his fatigue.

And William took full advantage of that weakness. With a triumphant roar, he leapt forward and sunk his claws straight into where Mike's heart would have been with his right hand, and sliced his other claws across Mike's throat with his left. Mike let out an agonized yell as he felt the full impact of the two grave wounds; combined with the other injuries that had been inflicted on him and his exhaustion from casting so many spells and fighting for so long, it was too much even for him. William, sensing that he had _finally_ achieved his victory, began to laugh maniacally, intending to raise Mike's head into his mouth and rip it off with his fangs.

However, he would not enjoy his victory for long. Instead of breaking down or begging for his life, Mike's entire body began to glow with a blood red aura, and William felt the hand impaling his chest begin to heat up and burn to almost unbearable levels. Realizing what was about to happen, he shoved Mike away from his hand and began to flee towards the safety of the pillars. But he had moved too slowly and too late, and Nightmare Springtrap was blasted backward as Mike's entire body exploded into waves of hellish flame that sent him crashing into one of the few pillars that had remained intact throughout the entirety of their battle. He let out a yell and held his arms out in front of him as he was hit with wave after wave of fire. It was only after he stopped being hit with the force of the explosion that William finally felt safe to open his eyes and look where his enemy had been standing. There was nothing there: he was alone in the fiery pit that represented the darkness of Mike's mind.

/

" _NO!"_ Charlie screamed in horror as he watched William impale her father's body and witnessed the explosion that came after. _"IT CAN'T BE!"_ Tears pouring out of her eyes. _"He can't have…he can't have…"_ she whirled around furiously to face Nightmare Fredbear, her rage increasing when she noticed how utterly nonchalant he appeared in the face of Mike's defeat. _"Your brother said she'd save Dad!"_ she snarled, looking every bit like the vengeful, murderous child that she had once been. _"Nightmare promised. So WHY THE HELL DID HE LET THIS HAPPEN?"_

To her surprise, Nightmare Fredbear didn't seem angered or surprised at her outburst. Instead, his mouth stretched into an amused grin that for some reason seemed more knowing and understanding, rather than mocking or vicious. **"EVEN AFTER SEEING THE COURSE OF THIS BATTLE WITH YOUR OWN EYES, YOU STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS OCCURRING HERE?"** he asked. **"I THOUGHT OF ALL THE GHOST CHILDREN, YOU WERE THE WISEST."**

Charlie clenched her teeth. _"Well excuse me…"_ she ground out, _"I'm not familiar with epic battles in the center of the mind and how they work!"_

" **YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE AN EXPERT TO APPRECIATE THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS BATTLE,"** Nightmare Fredbear retorted, his grin disappearing and replaced by a look of annoyance. **"THINK ABOUT IT, PUPPET GIRL. THIS BATTLE BETWEEN WILLIAM AFTON AND YOUR FATHER HAS PROGRESSED IN STAGES. AND IN EVERY STAGE, SCHMIDT BECAME MORE AND MORE POWERFUL, ATTACKING WITH INCREASING VICIOUSNESS AND UNLEASHING MORE DEVASTATING SPELLS AND SORCERY UPON YOUR MURDERER. HIS POWER GREW TO THE POINT THAT HE COULD WIPE OUT OVER A THOUSAND DEMONS WITH JUST TWO SPELLS, A FEAT WORTHY OF HELL'S INFERNAL LORDS. AND HE SUDDENLY, INEXPLICABLY GROWS** _ **WEAKER**_ **? ABANDONS THE STRATEGIES THAT HAVE PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO BE RESOUNDINGLY SUCCESSFUL AGAINST WILLIAM? COMMITS TWO GLARING, AMATEURISH MISTAKES THAT EXPOSE OBVIOUS VULNERABILITIES AFTER PERFORMING THE REST OF THIS BATTLE WITH NEAR FLAWLESSNESS? DISPLAY FATIGUE AND EXHAUSTION IN A WORLD OF THE SOUL THAT HE HAS** _ **ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER?"**_ He gestured towards the portal. **"FEEL YOUR FATHER'S AURA. FEEL FOR HIS PRESENCE. DOES HE SEEM TO HAVE WEAKENED? DOES IT SEEM TO HAVE BEEN BEATEN AND BROKEN?"**

Charlie closed her eyes and concentrated…and to her astonishment, she could feel Mike's presence through the portal, every bit as prominent as it had always been even though he had vanished. And it wasn't just present…

…it was _growing in power_. Far more than it had ever done throughout the battle.

" **A FASCINATING CONTRADICTION,"** Nightmare Fredbear continued. **"YOUR FATHER IS SEEMINGLY DEFEATED BY WILLIAM AFTON, YET HIS AURA AND POWER CONTINUES TO INCREASE? NO. THE MURDERER NEVER DEFEATED SCHMIDT. IN FACT, HE HAS NEVER EVEN COME CLOSE."**

He turned his burning gaze to the portal. **"FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, YOUR FATHER HAS PLAYED WILLIAM AFTON FOR A FOOL. HE IS LORD AND MASTER OF HIS MIND, THANKS TO HIS INNATE CAPABILITIES AND MY BROTHER'S GUIDANCE. ALL THROUGHOUT THE BATTLE, SCHMIDT HAS PLAYED A GAME OF DECEPTION. DANGLING OPPORTUNITIES IN FRONT OF WILLIAM TO ATTACK WEAKNESSES THAT NEVER TRULY EXISTED, HIDING THE TRUE EXTENT OF HIS POWERS UNTIL SUCH A TIME AS HE SAW FIT TO UNLEASH THEM. AND THE GREATEST DECEPTION OF ALL…WAS THE VERY IDEA THAT WILLIAM AFTON COULD HAVE** _ **EVER**_ **HOPED TO WIN THIS BATTLE TO BEGIN WITH."**

The grin returned, and _now_ it possessed the cruelty and the malice expected of a demon of his stature. **"WE SHOULD CEASE CALLING THIS A BATTLE, NO LONGER CALL THIS A FIGHT. THOSE TERMS SUGGEST THAT WILLIAM AFTON EVER STOOD A CHANCE TO BEGIN WITH. THIS ENTIRE SPECTACLE WAS MERELY A GAME ORCHESTRATED AND DOMINATED BY SCHMIDT, A GAME THAT WILLIAM AFTON INITIATED THE MOMENT HE CHOSE TO INVADE YOUR FATHER'S MIND."**

Nightmare Fredbear's eyes flashed scarlet with the impact of his next words. **"AND NOW…YOUR FATHER HAS FINISHED PLAYING WITH HIS TOY."**

/

William hesitatingly got to his feet, looking around warily. He had expected to gloat in his triumph, but after Mike had proven so much more dangerous in the world of his mind than in reality, all he felt now was relief that he had actually won at all. But that feeling of wrongness that shook him to his core was now stronger than ever before. It wasn't just that even in defeat, Mike had denied him his vengeance and satisfaction, forcing a quick kill and exploding himself instantly to prevent the prolonged and agonized torture that he originally had planned for the man. He could feel Mike's presence and soul around him, as powerful as it had always been…

…as though he had never defeated him at all.

A sudden rumbling interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up. The four giant torch-like demon head statues, which he had entirely forgotten about, were now activating for the first time since he had seen them. The burning fires in their eyes intensified in their glow, and William watched with growing fear as the flames burning in their jaws suddenly billowed out and shot like a jet towards the center of the arena. All four statues unleashed their flames in a similar manner, creating a cross as they fed their power to the same location in a ritualistic fashion. As soon as the demonic statues stopped spewing their flames, a massive pillar of shadow tinged with blood-colored energy and fire erupted from the ground at the convergence point, a display of dark power dwarfed only by the spell Mike had used earlier to annihilate the demonic reinforcements William had summoned. And as the pillar of darkness swirled and writhed, William could hear Mike's laughter begin to echo from its center. The laughter was soft and controlled at first, sounding almost normal, but with every second that passed, it became increasingly mocking, cruel, and inhuman, until it had escalated into a demonic and unholy cackle worthy of a Nightmare. "Heh heh heh heh heh…heh **ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…A HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

The pillar of darkness was suddenly thrown aside as if it were a curtain and vanished, revealing the unmistakable form of Mike Schmidt, looking exactly as he had been in all his dark glory just before the final stage of their battle had begun. There were no injuries, no sign of weakness or exhaustion whatsoever. It was as if Mike had turned back the clock for himself…leaving a weakened and wounded Nightmare Springtrap behind even as he stood tall, more powerful than ever.

And for the first time since he had escaped Hell, William Afton felt terror creep slowly into his heart and mind.

" **HOW…"** he gasped out, still struggling to catch his breath from the many wounds that Mike had inflicted before. **"HOW? HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE, UNHARMED AND UNBROKEN?"**

" **HOW?"** Mike repeated mockingly, his red eyes glowing intensely with malicious glee. **"FUCK YOU, THAT'S HOW."**

" **WHAT GAME ARE YOU PLAYING AT, SCHMIDT?"** William spat. **"I SUNK MY CLAWS INTO YOUR ETHEREAL FLESH. I WATCHED YOUR BODY EXPLODE TO WISPS OF FIRE AND DARKNESS! THIS SHOULD'VE BEEN OVER!"**

" **GAME?"** Mike repeated, tilting his head in mock thoughtfulness. **"THIS ISN'T** _ **MY**_ **GAME, BUT** _ **YOURS**_ **. AFTER ALL, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO INVADED MY MIND AND STARTED THIS LITTLE SONG AND DANCE. THIS GAME IS ALL YOURS. I'M JUST BETTER AT PLAYING IT, YOU FOOL. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT ONE THING, WILLIAM AFTON. IT'S LONG PAST TIME FOR US TO END THIS GAME. I'VE GROWN BORED OF PLAYING WITH YOU, DANGLING THE FALSE HOPE OF VICTORY IN YOUR FACE. THIS ISN'T ABOUT FIGHTING YOU ANYMORE."** His mouth stretched into his own monstrous grin, complete with razor-sharp fangs. Mike tightened his grip on his scythes, and the red flames surrounding the blades flared anew. **"NOW IT'S TIME TO MAKE YOU** _ **SUFFER."**_

With the fearless recklessness of a man who knew instinctively that he was doomed, William lunged at Mike and swung his burning claws straight at Mike's neck. The man didn't even bother to move or block, only watching with growing amusement as William slashed open Mike's neck with one brutal swing. His claws tore open a huge, gaping wound in Mike's throat…which almost immediately closed and healed until it was as though it had never existed in the first place. Mike only laughed again at the failed attempt, reveling in the murderer's growing fear.

" **ATTACK ME AGAIN AND AGAIN, AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!"** he hissed. **"NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU NOW."** William's eyes widened as Mike charged at him with inhuman speed, only barely having enough time to raise his arms to defend himself as Mike brought his scythes down upon him. And this time, the duel between them wasn't even close.

Power. Skill. Speed. Intellect. Defense. The five qualities with which to evaluate the worth of a fighter. In each of their past clashes, Mike had only allowed himself to surpass William in two or perhaps three at a time, and only to a degree that William would be able to handle. Now that he was no longer merely toying with William, he excelled in all five, and the murderer was doomed from the beginning. It took Mike mere _seconds_ to force Nightmare Springtrap's arms away and break apart his defense, and he wasted no time in attacking the demonic monster with yet another vicious onslaught of combos and attacks. His every movement flowed with inhuman and unearthly grace, as though he was the Grim Reaper himself. Mike's scythes tore through Nightmare Springtrap's metal body, tearing open more and more wounds with every slash. William felt as though his very soul was being torn to pieces, the demonic essence threatening to split apart entirely and leave his soul bare and open in the face of Mike's wrath, and in the midst of his pain he prepared himself for the final slam that he knew would soon come.

But Mike had something even more vicious in mind. Instead of finishing his combos the exact way he had done the past 2 times, he instead maneuvered his blades in an underhand swing that launched William Afton high into the air. Before the man could fall back down onto the ground, Mike shot the blades of his scythes out from the handles and impaled Nightmare Springtrap through the stomach twice in midair. Letting out a hateful snarl, Mike smashed the demonic murderer into one of the few remaining pillars again and again, taking full advantage of the extended range granted to him by his weapons' chains. William let out more helpless screams as he felt his body being slammed against the pillar, the impact crushing his body as though he were being hit by a truck. Mike didn't stop hurling Nightmare Springtrap into the column until it crumbled to rubble, and only then did he see fit to fling the all but defenseless William Afton onto the arena floor, now critically wounded and only a few strikes away from his essence falling apart entirely. Not content to simply leave him be, Mike banished one of his scythes and snapped his fingers, and rings of scarlet energy began to form on the floor all around William. William desperately tried to drag himself to safety, but even if he could escape the radius of one blast there was no way that he would've been able to escape them all. Pillars of black and red flame erupted from underneath his feet, and the murderer was engulfed entirely in this latest manifestation of Mike's hatred. William let out one more agonized scream, and this time he continued to whimper long after the attack actually ended. A cruel smirk appeared on Mike's face. With his "rebirth", William had relearned what it meant to feel fear. Now, he was relearning the true meaning of _despair_.

There was only one option left for William. He didn't know if the Nightmares had already arrived, nor did he care. Anything was better than remaining here, in a world where his enemy held supreme power over him. He began to dissolve into the form of corrupted fog that he had assumed when he first invaded Mike's mind and fled upwards, trying to escape back into the real world while he still had the chance.

An incredulous scoff escaped Mike's lips. **"YOU MUST BE JOKING."** He watched with amusement as William flew further away…and hit an invisible barrier. With growing panic and desperation, William's ethereal form tried to push harder to escape…and was met with the same immovable force. He was trapped.

" **YOU WERE SO EAGER TO VISIT MY MIND, WILLIAM AFTON,"** Mike called mockingly after him. **"WHY ARE YOU SO EAGER TO LEAVE?"** Not waiting for a response, Mike raised his hand up towards the sky and shot his iconic black and red lightning towards William, causing the damned shade to scream in atrocious agony as he was sent hurling back down towards the arena floor, his body solidifying and reforming back into the familiar form of Nightmare Springtrap as he crashed onto the ground. The man could barely move, his entire body racked with pain. He had believed that nothing could be worse than the many tortures of Hell that the Nightmares had proved him through…but for the first time, he wondered if Schmidt was about to prove him wrong.

As William tilted his head to look up at his foe with one last, futile act of defiance, he suddenly felt the ground tremble and quake underneath him. Cracks began to form in the arena, and pieces of the floor began to break apart and fall into the fiery abyss below. Panic filled William as he realized that soon he was going to pummel into the infernal pit of Mike's darkness so reminiscent of Hell…and that there was nothing he was going to do about.

As the cracks approached his location and the ground began to fall away, he watched Mike vanish from sight, although he had little doubt that his enemy was still there, reveling in the moment of his impending defeat. And as the last of the floor broke apart and he started to fall, he heard Mike's voice taunt him one more time. A voice that seemed to echo from everywhere and nowhere, without even the slightest trace of humanity left. A voice that emanate with the death of hope and the promise of vengeful damnation.

 **"̡̲͈̦̤Ị̣͙ ̣̗͙̥W͎̮̫̗͖͔̩ͅÌ͖̮̲̻͚̹̲͞ͅL̩̝̳̝̰̪̲Ĺ̵͏̠̠̞̼̪ͅ ̵̗̩̙̭̜̕F͖̝̠̣̖̩͎͎̀́I̧̛͇̮̺͙NI̸̴̛̹̤͈̩̹̲S̖͍̺͈̖͉̮ͅH̹̣̰̠̘̟̘͡ͅ ̸̘̦̯̼W͏̶̣͙̺̖̲̞H̷̬̟̯̼́A̵̪̘̜͔͙̕T̡̘̺̭͜͝ͅͅ ̧̥͇̪̞̜̘̳͍͡T̵̙̜̺͓͇̼̹̬͢Ḫ̘̘͉̰̳̺̠̘͜E͇̳͓̟̮ ̡̗͔̖̠̝̖NI̩͕͕̻̼̥GH̴҉̤͉͓͕̤T͔̹̯̖̤̠͘͜M̢̗̝͕Á̜̬͇̙R̠͘E̡̙͇̹͈͉͍̮Ș̬̘̞͝ ̛̦̤̥̤͇͇̣͡S͈̤͠͞TA͏͖̳͙̝̮̩̹͢R̘̗͎͈͘͢͝Ṱ͚͙̹͘E̢҉̯D̸͇͔̺͍̘̺̺͘ͅ.͇̙͉̪̘̻͜ͅ"̧̠̝͓**

 **("I WILL FINISH WHAT THE NIGHTMARES STARTED.")**

/

A/N: Hey, remember the last time I used bolded Zalgo text? Remember how the last guy who had it was a ruler of Hell powerful enough to slaughter the everloving shit out of over a million demons with like three spells? That alone should be more than enough to tell you how much of a good sign this ISN'T.

As Nightmare Fredbear so insightfully pointed out, this entire battle was a series of deception played by Mike as he slowly unleashed more of his power at a time. And the greatest deception of all was the very idea that William could _ever_ win in the first place. Think about it. Mike has total control over his dream/mind world, control that he has had literal _decades_ to practice and perfect. And he has spent just as much time being exposed to fantasy media to add to his arsenal of imagination to use against William, who in comparison has almost no fictional knowledge whatsoever and thus resorts to only the most basic of attacks and strategies. And when Mike takes his control over his mindscape to the logical extreme…yeah, William had zero shot of winning this. Especially since Nightmare was waiting in the wings to essentially cockblock him out of a win juuuuuuuust in case Mike somehow managed to fuck this up (which he obviously didn't).

I drew on a LOT of different inspirations for Dark!Mike in his duel against William. Sans, Darth Sidious, Kratos, Alucard from Hellsing, Thanos, the Grim Reaper, amongst others. Some of these were inspirations were more subtle and only used for one attack or so: for example, Dark Fawful's most dangerous attack from his boss fight in "Bowser's Inside Story" (only replace orbs of shadow with giant tornados of darkness) and the Snatcher's flaming pillars from his boss fights in "A Hat in Time." It was a lot of fun coming up with different ways for Mike to beat the everloving shit out of William.

But what happens now? What will happen to William now that the battle (if it can even be called that at this point) is over and that Dark!Mike has him entirely in his (lack of) mercy?

Well, that's for next chapter. But I will say this:

 **HIS FATE WOULD HAVE BEEN KINDER…** **I̶̠͚͈͈̳̗̕F̢͇̥̰̝͢͠ ̦̠̹̼̼̫͘NI̷͇̠̫̹̰G̶̲̻͔HT̩̞̹̕͟ͅMAR͍̗̻̲E̫̯̬̙̳ ͍͎̮̭H̙̼͔̜̬̭A̵̢̤̪̳D̮̖͓͇̖͖̮̻͘͟͢ͅ ̖̖̖͜G҉͓̖̟ͅO͉̞͔̙͇͎̼̕T̳̯̥̰̪TḚ̲̤N̲̗̙͕͎̼ ͕̥̠̭̩̼̳̀͜͞Ḫ̴͔̤̩̫͍̝̰I̷͉̖͈͕S̵̶͇̖ ̷̡͍̭͟ C̠̙̯͙̭̲͈̕L̜̠A͍͓̼̙̯̳͉͡W҉̥̼͉͘S͎͕̪̕͟ ̶̜͎̯̣̝͞Ó̶̥̕N̴̲͕̪̭̖̗͢ ̧͚͇H̛̗Ḭ̶̡̥̫̹̪̮̬̲̭̕M͏̝͖̖̟̯̭ͅͅ F̴̬͓̺͟I̛͎̤̗̜͙RS̘̮̲̭̟͈͘͠T̶̯̘̣̪͎̣͠.́͘҉̹**

 **("IF NIGHTMARE HAD GOTTEN HIS CLAWS ON HIM FIRST.")**


	81. Chapter 81 - The True Face of Hatred 1

A/N: Well, here it is, ladies and gents. I have made this claim in the past, but the following chapter may very well be THE DARKEST chapter in the entire fic. The battle between William and Mike has reached its conclusion, a battle that was nothing more than a grand deception orchestrated by Mike the entire time. William thought that by invading Mike's mind, he would be free to commit unspeakable violence and atrocities against Mike's very soul. But Mike was in control the entire time, and now he will show William why invading his mind was the last mistake…

 **"̳̰͠ͅ.̸̞̟̯..͟͏̻̻͖̪̥͚̥̰T̨̲͖̭̗͕̼H̸̫̰̙͙͎͍̬A͙͖̗̜̣͠ͅT͍̭̬̝͇ ̸͖̣̥̫̗͢H̱̮̞͖E̡̞̺̲̬̩̱̲ ͎̥̠͎W̝̖͙Ḭ̡̮̲̻͚͔L͚̰͖͡L̷̡̦͇̮̭̬̹̤̦̼̹̩̱͠͡ͅE̟̫̜͜͠V̤͕̺̝͟E̵̼̤̥͉ͅR̵̮͡ ̷̞̖̻̖͠ ̭͓̞̹̣͓̗͎̙́MÀ̝͔̀KẸ̪̻̖͇.̝̲̝̯̟̝̠͢ͅ"̶̝̜̗͉̱̥̯**

 **(THAT HE WILL EVER MAKE.)**

Tabby: It'll have SOMETHING to do with UCN, that's for sure.

FireFlamer: I just looked up a Zalgo Text Generator on Google. There's a couple that you can pick and choose from.

Guest: Nobody is saying that what Mike is doing is morally correct (even if it's incredibly satisfying). But here's the thing. You said it yourself: the GHOST KIDS are the ones who need to repent. The ghost kids are the ones who need to find peace. But Mike isn't one of the ghost kids. He never committed any great sins, and is not under any God-given quest or orders like the rest of them. He is under NO obligation to forgive or show mercy to William outside of what his conscience dictates. And do keep in mind, that William is a depraved monster who escaped Hell and attacked his house _specifically_ to harm him and his kids. Considering the atrocities that William committed AND are trying to commit right now, Mike doesn't give the single slightest fuck about showing any kind of forgiveness whatsoever. At the end of the day, Mike is human. And no human outside of Jesus Christ or Mahatma Gandhi, especially not Mike with how I've written him up to this point, is realistically going to forgive a demonic murderous monster trying to ruin their family's lives/afterlives.

Oh, and I actually forgot to write up Mike's skill/moveset for the last chapter, so here we go!

Rage of the Father (passive): Mike's hatred against those who would harm the ones he loves fuels his power, a hatred that grows with each passing moment. Mike gains a **permanent** boost to power, defense, and speed that grows as time passes, to a maximum of +250% power, +250% defense, and +125% speed. If enough time has passed or if Mike reaches critical health, he becomes enraged and the boosts are automatically maximized and doubled to +500% power, +500% defense, and +250% speed.

Unbreakable Will (passive): Mike is completely immune to all status conditions and instant death effects.

Unhallowed Ground: Mike channels his malevolent energy into the ground, blasting and charging the entire arena floor with his power. Any enemy whose feet is touching the floor will be attacked with the full force of Mike's corrupted lightning and stunned. Enemies in the air avoid damage.

Cyclone Countershield: Mike summons four massive tornados of darkness that swirl around him in a protective shield. The tornados deflect any attacks that hit them and any enemies who hit the tornados are blasted backward. Mike cannot attack his enemies while maintaining the tornados but can instead greatly empower them with dark fire or lightning. After a few seconds, Mike can unleash the tornados on his enemies to send them flying into the air and inflict calamitous damage.

WARNING: Brutal and graphic descriptions of torture and violence. But I'm sure you already knew that. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the next few chapters should be M rated.

Chapter 81 – The True Face of Hatred, Part 1

The first thing that William saw when his eyes opened was an empty void.

He remembered feeling the last of the arena crumble away to nothingness, remembered falling closer and closer to the fiery abyss as Mike Schmidt's cruel promise whispered into his ear. William had expected searing agony and horrific burns exactly like the time that he had first descended into Hell…but instead, his entire consciousness had been swallowed up by darkness, and his world had gone black.

A more naïve individual might have presumed that Mike had chosen to save William, that Mike had opted for the path of forgiveness and mercy at the very last moment. But William knew better than to expect things to go his way after the trap pizzeria and their battle seconds before had proven such a premise laughably wrong.

William knew that the only reason Mike had spared him from the flames…was because he had something much, _much_ worse planned.

 **"̨̟̤͢H̨̘̙̱͞E͍̜̞̖̤͟ͅH̠̙͍̙̞̜̩͈́̕ ̯̖͉̞̮̹͡H͚̮͞E̵̲̺͔̥̰̱͉͟H͎͙̭̺̀͞ ̟̰̲̙͙̰̪̼͘͜Ḩ̥̬̺̹̜ͅE̸̪̮̺̝͇̫̥̩͜͡ͅH̵̠̣͈̪̕ ҉̥̣͈̪̪̘͡H̺̭̱̝̞̥͈͉͡E̷̗H̰̝̪̠͟ ̸̴̮̮͙͟H͉̜̰̯̖͓̥͢É̙͉͕͢H̜̞̹̣͔͞.̢̢̱̦͙̘̭.̹̠͡͡.̴͠҉̪͖"̡̟̹̮̪͎͍**

 **(HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…)**

The murderer whirled around, his eyes falling upon the faint silhouette of Mike's form a few inches away. All that he could see was a black humanoid shadow save for the man's glowing red eyes and the blood red flames surging from his body. With only his desperation left, Nightmare Springtrap swung his claw at the shadow, only for it to dissolve into nothingness the moment it connected. Almost immediately, Mike's silhouette reappeared a few feet away to the left, this time holding one of his scythes. William conjured up a fireball in his hand and hurled it at the shadow again, only for it to disappear for a second time.

 **"̙̮̻͞͠S̨̡̰̗͇̺̬T̵͍̺̝̯̼̗̬̕IĻ̴̮͈̰ͅĹ̞͕͍̬̮͡ ͕̱̦̩̣̰̦͈T͟҉̥̗̣͇̮̺ͅR̶̡̝͙̪͈͚̺Y̶̸̢̫͙̝̙̺͔̣ͅI͏̬͉͙̪͙NG̷̡̘̹͍̜̜͇͢ͅ ̯̯͉̳̦͈̺T̙̭͚͔̼͍̩̖O͙̣ ̧̠͇̙͢ͅF̛̟͇͟I̴̷͇̝̪̤͈̣̞̜Ǵ҉̥̹H̡͇̫͚͇̲̙̪̠͝Ṯ̢̣͎,̰̖͡ ̲̫̪̳ͅẈ̷̮͙͕͚͕̻͝ͅI̸̞͎͔̩L̼͎̱͈̙̩͇͍͞͡L͇̘̰̖̺̣͎̖̀͠I̴̜͉̘A̵͇̥M̴̨͖̪̮͜ͅ ̼́A͏̵̘͈̜̣̹̫̀F̳͘͞Ț͉͕͡O̘͜N̶̜͈̣̼̯̻̜͝?̴̶̢͕̻̙̱͕ ̷̛̻̰̝̥͖͍̩͜O̹̠͜U̧͇͡R҉̦̼͔̜̯͖̣͙̕͟ͅ ̭̼ͅB̶͏̻͓̺͕̭̙͙͎ͅA̶̷͕̳̻͔̳̞ͅͅŢ̴̶̣͔̣̥̮Ṱ̸̱͕͈̳͟͞LE҉̱͉ ̜̭̗̳͖͈̖H͠͏̯̣̹̭A̡͕͎̣̩̗̝͞S̸̘̺͔̭͕̮̀̕ ̴̳̭̥ͅE̙̲̞̗̬̱͇̫N̡̩͍̙̩D͏̜̬̘̼̫͘E̡̧̛̤̘D̝̰̱̗̟̝̱̟.̷̡̤̦̟͈̭͇̼̞͝ ͕̹̖̠̻̱̯̣͢Y̸̨͉̜O̭̠̟̯͚͘͠Ù͙̯͚̣͢͝R҉̤̦ ҉̼͇̼̯̟̰͚͍TÓ̵͓̜͓̰͍͚͇͜Ŕ̨̘͡M̗̰E̴̥̹̺̯̯͈̗͡N̙̜̥T҉͕̣̹̗̻̟͝ ̢͉̥̱͡Ḅ̨̮͍̼͔̹̙̰͜E҉̵̳͎̗͓G̗͓I҉̖͙̩͚N̡͙̮͓̫̮͜͢S̴̛͉͉̫͇͓̖̤̫̀.̳"̧̗̭̝͈̺̬͠**

 **(STILL TRYING TO FIGHT, WILLIAM AFTON? OUR BATTLE HAS ENDED. YOUR TORMENT BEGINS.)**

Before William could respond, a mighty, blood-red inferno suddenly erupted into existence in front of him, a pillar of flame even larger and more powerful than the one that had brought Mike back to his full power during the last stages of their battle, or the one that had wiped out William's entire army of demons. But unlike before, the flames were wreathed around a towering figure that emanated power and malice from every fiber of its being. As William watched, the flames began to receded slightly, allowing him a clear view of who or what they were surrounding…and for the first time, the fear and insidious despair that had snuck ever so subtly into his heart erupted into full-blown panic and horror.

With every stage of their battle that had passed, Mike's manifestation in his mental world had become less and less human. At first, it had only been his eyes that had been shrouded in darkness and glowed with the intensity of his wrath. But as the conflict had raged on, he had adopted more and more of the shadows into his very being until the only thing left about him that could have been considered humanoid was his shape and size.

For the first time in decades, the darkness in Mike Schmidt had returned in full force, howling for blood and vengeance against the murderer of innocents. And for the first time in his entire life, the light in Mike Schmidt willingly gave full and complete control to the darkness.

And the result could only be described as a demonic monstrosity straight from the deepest bowels of Hell.

There was nothing about Mike's newest form that could be even remotely mistaken for human. His demonic aspect towered over William Afton, his size comparable to that of the dreaded Balrog of Tolkien's mythos or the Nightmares' true forms. Instead of the cloak and robes he had worn before, Mike was now fully dressed for battle, his body covered in black heavy plate mail that glowed scarlet with the flames that blazed around him. His hands were covered with the same black metal gauntlets that he had used to punch William's face and claw out his eyes, only much larger in size. Instead of carrying two hand scythes, like he had during their battle, Mike now carried a single, much larger scythe. It was more closely faithful to the traditional depictions of the Grim Reaper's weapon but otherwise a perfect mimicry of the weapons that Mike had formerly wielded, right down to the red energy bleeding out of a skull's mouth. But the father of seven's new form didn't need to carry any weapon to intimidate; merely seeing Mike's titanic claws was enough for William to fear them, knowing that he could crush or slice with them on a whim.

The armor that Mike wore was not the only thing that was terrifying or darkly awe-inspiring about him. His head had transformed into a gigantic black, horned skull, with eyes that blazed with unfathomable levels of hatred and a maw that seemed to open straight into the fiery pits of Hell. The flames that surrounded Mike's skull burned even stronger than those around the rest of his body, flickering and fluctuating as though they were representing Mike's anticipation to finally begin his revenge against William for all the evil that he had wrought upon his family. Two black wings almost as large as those of Nightmare's true form stretched out to either side, wreathed in flames that were a sharp contrast to Nightmare's darkness them but no less terrifying. And most disturbing of all, from the pauldrons that covered his shoulders, two massive spikes stretched out, each with three skulls stacked on them, one on top of the other. William nearly felt his bowels loosen when he realized that the skulls were all _Springtrap's_ , the decayed bunny animatronic skulls opened up in soundless screams, a grisly promise of the fate that Mike had planned for William.

And from Mike's demonic form emanated a black, oppressive aura that seemed to cripple and tear at his very mind and soul. An aura of hatred and malice that wore down what little was left of his already crumbling resolve with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

An aura that was almost exactly the same as Nightmare's.

 **"̛҉̵̩͇͔̮̖̹̟̞IM̷̗̤͢P̥̩̗RE̸̳̘̯͚̜̬̜S̶̵̘̙̖S̴̢͎̘̙͓͔ͅI̪͖̫͞V҉̶͓̗̥̝̻͇E̠͍̜̻̗̻̯̩̘,̝̞̗̘̦̩ ̲͈A͙̫̗R̘̣̞͉̬E̬̤͓̝̰͎͇͢Ņ̧̩̰͚ͅ'̝͙͇T̶͚͖̦͓̫̳̦̤ ̯̤͕̰̝̰́͢͝I̸̛̲̟?̨͏̞̱̲̮͉̬͔͙̦"̦** Mike's voice rumbled like a volcanic lavaflow. **"̡͎͔͔̺̹̺̼̀ͅA̘͔͙̻T̸̯͙͢͝ ̨͈͓̳̙͍̬̲̭͙L̞̀A̡̞̯̟͇̞͡S̢̡̠̗͎T͈̣̮̱̙͡,͚͜͜ ͚̲̱̝̝̖̰̪͘Y͉Ọ̭͇͔̻̫͉͖U͏̥̻ ̭͈̼̱͓̜̫F̛̬̹̲̩̮͕͚͟IṈ̨̻̥̠Ą̸͖̤͍͇͉͕̦͠LL̺̕͞͡Ỵ̬̖̮̰́̕ ̵̷͍̙͉̹͕̕S̨͙̱̖͝EE҉̥̯̩ ̴̵̨̩̫̘̙͈̺͖̣Ţ̭̭̩́Ḫ̴̭E̪͖͇̩̻̳͝ ̡͍̟͖̫̜̲͙̤͢͡T̝̱͙̀̕R̡̹̘̖̟̮U̟͓̠̤̗̻̮͇̬͘͟T͎̠̯̜̜͈͕̀͢ͅH̟͜.̼̰͕͔ ̺̟͇I҉̟̪̠̖̳͇ ҉͚̝̣̞Ć̵̰͎͠ͅOU̸̘̠͓̪̬̖͞L̤͔̠̭͕̥̙̞̝͘D̶͈̹̕ͅ ͉͓͙͓͇̜͔̣́H̵͖̺̬̯̰̖A̶̡͈̺͚̩̜̣V̵̸̞̩̙̬̻̫͜E̶̛͎̬͙͖͍̫͞ ̷̨͔̙̜C̸͖̩̲͚R̲̯̹̝͖̘͓̩͝U̠̙̩̰̹̻͢Ṣ͖͕̹̜̭̕Ḩ̴̼̬̜͙͈̥̮͝ͅͅED̘̤̠͇͇ ̯̲͕͍̕͝Ý̵͈̗͍͓̠̯͝Ò͖̗͈̱͙͍̤̫͟U̗͔͍̳͞͝ ̴̞̗͢T̖H̖̳̣͎̞̻̻̹E̘͖͜ ͓͙̟͘͞M͙͍̟̬̘͉̣͚̙͡Ó̴̧̝̳M̴̯̤̩EṊ͉͘T̼̘ ̹̙̹̀͞Y̸͈͙̣͎̮͜ͅO̢̠͝͠U̝̮̬̠̻̱̟̗ ̴͉̱̳̥͙̖̦̪͇͞F̧͉̤́͘I̵̵̝̱̣͚̣̱ͅR̨̗͖̟̩̫̙̞S͇͍T̥̫̳͍̪͉ ̛̞ͅḌ̵̼͖͓͡͡ͅAR̯̻̪̺̕E̷̜̥͍̟͎̝̫̫̳͘D҉̵͙͚̤̦ ̴̨͉̺̥̩̻̻͎͢ͅT̟͉̻̤̺̖̪͞O̸̷̻͈̙̟̯̤͍ ̵̛̛͓͔̮̟̫E̷̛̥̦̜̭̜̯N͍̫̩̖̫̺̩͜T̨͙̝̣̟̹̱̤̬͡Ḙ̼ͅR̯̹̰͎̻̦͓̠͚̕ ̴̨̗̱͉̫͍̫̬̟̯͟M̛̜̱͘Y͕̺̫̻̖͙̗͝ ̵̪̮̘̣̪̞͞M̧̨̘͍͓̘̺̙̻̤ͅỊ̘̯̗̰̜́ͅŅ̨̤͉̜̺͇̠̜͈D̤͚̀.̰̱͇̙͎̠̀́"̷̰**

 **(IMPRESSIVE, AREN'T I? AT LAST, YOU FINALLY SEE THE TRUTH. I COULD HAVE CRUSHED YOU THE MOMENT YOU FIRST DARED TO ENTER MY MIND.)**

Nightmare Springtrap gritted his teeth in a futile display of rage. **"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU?"** he spat. **"WHY BOTHER WITH THIS WHOLE CHARADE TO BEGIN WITH?"**

Mike let out a chilling laugh in response. "͘ **҉̬̗̪̰T̴̶̠̤̱W̨̖͚̭͈͡Ǫ̵̼̖͙ ̴̱̰͞R̯̼͉̀̕͟É̢̪̺͝A̤͉̜̼̪S̩͓OŅ̻̜̳̠̥̮̙̙̤͟S̡̝̬̻̠̦͙̖,̩̮͇͇͢ͅ"̢̦͚̲̠̣̥͝** he hissed. **"̡̠͙̲̝̖̪͍͇͟͡T̵̪H̡͇̫̗E͖̰͓̙͓̥̗̦͠ ̛̼͉̬͔̮͞ͅF̙̜I̛̘̬̖R̸̡̲̝̳̱̟͚S̵̡͉̗͈̥̕T҉̙̣͖̯ ̱̮̭̻̪̤̰͞WAS̨͔͎̺̩̜̥̟͠ ̺̗́͘Ḇ̮͔̜́EC̶̛̜AU̧̡̠̹̹̭̮̟ͅS̰̺̻̫͍͜͡E͏͈͕̜̩̼ ̸̴̛̪̝̪͇̰I̮͈̼̠̮̱̖͘͠ ̟͈̮̠̹̺̣Ẁ̯̞͎̗̳̘A̱̰͍̫͇͕̙̯̩͜͜N̶̬͢T̴̛̹͢E͉͕̠͇͓͝ͅD̡̢̞̖̗͇̣̀ ̖͎̺̕T̞̰͇̞͉̩̀O̴̢̧̩̹̮͎̟̪̞ͅ ̷̳͍̟̱S̶̡̻̮E̸͍̗̣͙̥̪E̖̣͍̤̟̜̞͉̫͢ ͏̧̺͈͟J̧̻̜͎͎Ư̸̭̳̰̺̞̫̮͚S̯̼̤̳̩͇̥T̳͕̪̣̪̳̲̠͈ ̧̡̪̰̩W̵̢̲͙͓̞͔͝H̤̘̗͠A̛̠̲̹̲͡T͍̣͉̪̙͚ ̴̨͍̦͇̮̼͚̕E͓͍͕͞X͇̯͓̥̮̫͟͡A̢̢̼̘͍̳̹̱C̗̱͝TL͉̘̳Y̧̡̢̻̜̟͇͚͈͓̞ͅ ̟͉͎̣̮Y͉̪͓͚̙̰͔̲͞O̥U̝͚̞̻̕ ̢̝͖̺̳ͅ W̸̥̬̬̰̼È͇̺͇̗̫͘R̢͏͚̲̤̦̜̰͎̖̀E̷͖̖͈̤ ̶̨̨͇̥̗̘̠C̻͉̹̹̩͘͡A̶͘͏̝P̭̬̭͖A̜̻̞̻͟͠B̠̘͙̬͔͕̮̼͓͡͞L̥̣̻͙̲̥͝͡E͖̙ͅ ̸͉̖̞O̴̬̟̭̩͔̹̲ͅF̬͝.̳̳̣̼͖̞̪͔ ̶̵͕̙͇̱̝͇̠I͇̙̰̤͕ͅ ̩̬W̨̩̤A̷̳̮̭̠̙̩͍Ņ͢҉͚̝̻͎̮̬̘̮̪T̡̬̮̣E̘͖̩̙͈̣̼D̨͍̙̺̯͇̮̦̬̠̺͉͓ͅT̸̡̟͍̗O͏͔̗͕͇̟͠ ̵̛͓͟S̱͕͟E̴̤͈̳̙͜E̖̝̻͉͠ ̪͚̘͉̻̯͢H̵̛͍̫̼̟͈Ǫ̷̙̮̩Ẃ̢̼̫̣͍̹ ̮̺̹̳̺̤͞P̝̹̖̜̗͓̳O̡̙̙̳͟W̮͚̭̼RR̬̣̩̣̩F̵̣̱̺̥̳̖̺͘U̸̫̳͈̖͎̗͍̗Ļ̛̣͘ ͏̠̪̰̙̣Y͡҉̙̬̗O̷̷͎͇͔͚͔̖̯͎͝U̝̜ ̪̣̳͜͡R̺͕̙̯͘͝E̙̲̹͈̯̟̺A͚͇̫̙͚͕̳̬Ļ̭̻L̢̛̰̳̗̥̻͘Y̬̘͓͈͍̰̠̺͞͠ ̹̯͔̕͜W̥̺̲̼̥̮͕̙Ȩ̥̰R͇͞E̸̝̜.̘͘͝ͅ ͕͙̩͚́ͅĄ͙͉̪̹͉̰̘Ṋ̶̴̙͓͓̖̪̖D̢̹͡ ̗̦̹̠͙̰͜͢N͜͏̪̫̼̮̟̯̞̱͎O̝̯͎Ẁ̷̢̰̞̤͎͍̺̼ͅ ̵̧̩̱͎̱͚̱̬̤T̯͕̞̥̫͚͝͝H̶͎͍̕A̶̫̜͎̹̹̯̻T҉̣͍͕ ͖͉͖̯͖̯̺̪Ì̷̶͎̪'̥̫̤͇̺̭̠͍̠V͈̭̱̟̝̣̫̼̣E͕͎ ̧̘͎S̪̳̳̗̜Ȩ͙̠̪É̪̯̺͜N̜̝͖̯̖ ͈̯̩T͞҉̡̮͍̮͖̗H͎͙̟̞̳͉̩È̛̜͍̥̳ ̴͓̺͈̫͕̮̣͉A̛̜̮̣͕̖͚̗̕ͅN͡҉̡̝Ş͖͎̯͔͟͜WE̻͉̥͔̼͡ͅR̵͍͉̩̣̱̠͈̥̞,̶̣̖͈̺͍͍̪̣̕ ̷̯͇̝̯̫̗͢I̫̱͇ ̗̪͔̗̖͚M̧̱̘͎͔͚̭̮͉̀U̠̰͈̺̼͠ST̷̘̼ ҉̰͖̳͠ͅC̷̨̢̭̗̰͓O̩͕͇̩̕N̞͞F̷̧̪̲̻̝E̛̛͓̙̻ͅŞ̨̡̳̗̙̳͎S͍̦̯̼͉̥͖̀ͅ ͉̝I͚̩̹͈̕͝ ̧̖̩̩̼͈̙̺͖͞ͅF̯̜̠̬͉̯͟I͏̛̩͇͈͖̱͉̱ͅN̟̫̭̯̣̪̖̺̲͜͜D͕̠̝̗̗̕͠ ̲̝͢͠M҉̢͈̞̙̬̱̲͉Y̨̤̱̻͟͡S̢̫̭̝E̝̝̹͓͈̕L͕͔͖̹̲̕F̮̳͔̳̣̖.̷̵̶͈̫̬̖̩.̱̣̬̬̪̱͘.̢̮̦̤̼͝.̷̞̝̜̲͖͕͍T̵͇̠͖͟͜H̛̲̺̳O̶̵͓̫̥̻̲̭̺͜R̤̗̻͕̣͍͓͝O͇̳̖̗̬̻̗͉U̬̯̟͎͎̭͙̰͢G̴̛̰͇̩̝̜̗̘ͅH̵͔͔̗̼͙̣͔́͝L̫͎̜̲̯͚͕̹͚͜͡Y̤͞ ̧̜͕̹͙̠͎̙ͅD̶̳̣͙̬̰̤͇͞ͅÌ͇̮͚S̢͓̬Ą̭̤̞͡P̫̝̝͖P̤̣͎̼̫̗̱͇̘͞OI͡҉͖͈̼̟͈̤͘N̙͉͎̘͈̯͓͜T̜̘͇̩̜̺͍Ḙ͔̺̭̝͍̜͞D͚̯͖̲̝̰̻͜.̶͉͢"̧̥̬͘**

 **(TWO REASONS. THE FIRST WAS BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE JUST WHAT EXACTLY YOU WERE CAPABLE OF. I WANTED TO SEE HOW POWERFUL YOU REALLY WERE. AND NOW THAT I'VE SEEN THE ANSWER, I MUST CONFESS I FIND MYSELF…THOROUGHLY DISAPPOINTED.)**

William sneered. **"I ENJOYED EVERY SECOND OF KILLING THOSE BRATS,"** he sneered. **"THEY WERE FAR MORE USEFUL DEAD THAN ALIVE. I DON'T REGRET ANY OF IT WHATSOEVER."**

 **"̙̭̞͟ͅÒ͔͈̪̯͟͞H̢҉̲ͅ,̯̯̖̖ ̴̜̗̯͠͡I͏̨̮̮̺̜̭̣͇ ͉͖̘͈̘̻͟͟K̢̝̟̫̜̯̺͘Ń҉̝̺̰͇̮̲̭̣Ó͕̮̝̬͕̮̩̬W̛̤̝̯ ͙̱̩̻̦͟Ṯ̸̳͕͓͔͈͘H̶͈̥̣͘A̴̹͖̭̣̠͢͠T̼̘̘̤̯̖̱͙͜,͘͏͚̙̻͓ ̴̶̲̥̼̦͚W͙̥͎͚̟͔͖̣͘I̛̭͢L̘̺Ĺ̵̜͉͖Í͟͞ͅͅA͖͠M̴̢̡̤̩ ̨̛̪̝̟̯̖̯̖͞A̟͉͈̲͓̘̳͙F҉̧̛̭̝̻̼̙̠̻̱T̢͕̞͕̭̼̗O͚̠̺̥̘͘͡N͍̬̮̠͟͜͡,̡͙͍͓"̶̷͔͎̝͍̞͝** Mike growled. **"̧̞̘I̙̻̭͘ ̡̡̣̼K̷̺͖̫̺͈͈̩̮̖͠N̠͕͔̻͖ͅO̻̻̪͘W̴̲̪ ̵͈͔͈̬̬T̡͓̪͔͜H̴͖͎̤̞͡A͕̺̗̜̭͢͞Ṯ̰̠͍̮̪̰́́͟ ̷͇̲͝͡Y͇̰͈̕OU͖͈̬̹̘̻͟ͅ'R̴̸̙͈͔̹͇̙̖E̻͚͕̤̝̕͝ ̶̢̳̫̳̱̲̗̳̥͝A͉ ̷̛̝̭̠͙͉͉̬RÈ̷̳͍͔̝̮͚͚M͉͈͇̞̳̹̱͠͞͡Ớ͔͚͈͚͔̖̰͝ͅR͙͕͔͝ͅS̸͞͏̩͙̟̜͍E͉͚͎̞͙̮LȨ҉̪͉̗̦̪S͏̫S̵͉͇͍̙̪͡,͞҉͓̙͙̜̝͍ ̮̯̯̥̠͠I̺͓̼̪̙RRE̮̙̺͟D̢̧̗͙̥̣͙̺ͅE̞͈͘E͍̙̼̬͘M̻̙̩ͅĄ̶̰͡Ḿ̶̡̼͕͚̭̺̱̝B̶̮̝̥̜̥Ļ̩̣̀͘E̸̢҉͚̘̫̱̝̪ͅ ̬̕Ṕ̝̝̲̝͎Í̸͈̰̬͚̼̝̘̯E͍̭͢C̴̡̪̼̰̤̲Ḙ̡̲͞ ̵͉O̺̺̮̼̭͕̙ͅF̨̝̳̩͔̪̯͝ ̺̣̼̙̯̲͝S̺̣̩̖̹̯̜H̠̣͜Į̛̱̘̮̯̰̘̱͘T̞̠̲͜.̸̜̜̲͓̤͔ ͈̳̮̙͓̥̞́ Ţ̟͍̱Ḩ҉̡̻͉̼͍̝A̤̬̕T̷̫̬̝'͟҉͎ͅŞ̙̰̩̙̟͔͓̦͘ ̱̻͎N̢̰̹͢Ǫ̣̰̰̳̬̖͟͟T͏̯͔̻̺́͜ ̴̧̞̗͈̳͍̣T̩H͏̵͚̪̻̖̰͙̱͖ͅE̼͚̬̻͈͎̳̭ ̸͇̯͖̞̜̠͔͉̜͠R̞̳͍Ę̲͈̖̩A̢̫̬͔S̩̞͟͞O̵̼̥̟N̠͕̗̗̰̜̖̘͟ ̭̜̯̲͕̞ͅẂ҉̪͚̬͇̣͇H͕̜̩Y̭̼͖̳͉͠ ̴̬̹̫̝͞I̤̼̼̕'̧̹͔̺̘̥͍̳̘͝M̧̢̲̪͚͍̣̪ ̧̯̝͈̝͝D̴̺̹̝̜͡I̧̨̜͠S͏͖̟A͙͈̰̠̺̞͕͙ͅP͏̜̯͍̖̭̜̪P̝̮͖̣̕͡O̲̻͕̬̜͔͍͕͢͞ͅI̴̪̮̖͖̖̹̱͜͟N̛͈̹͙̪͖̱ͅT̨̞̱͖͉̖͞ͅÈ҉̟D̵̡͎̻͈̖ͅ.̤̳̳͙̜͎̪̣͟ ̵͇̫̯̩̼̝̹T̡̗̪͙͞ͅḨ̠͈̗͢A̸̙̻͎̟̙̘ͅT̝̱̤̜͉͙̭'̨̘̜S̬̱͕̜͡ͅ ̥̙̗̻Ṭ̡̙̜̰̦̰̗̺̰̀H҉̪̘͈̗͖̭E͉ ͈̳͞R͎̹͕̟͕̟͔E̷̶̡̼̭̹̟͎̜͈͇̬A̜͘ͅS̡̥O҉̠̣̩̱N͏͏̢͔͚̪ ̷̬̩̠ͅW̮̹͘͠HY̰̲̩͉͔̜̱ I̴̹̩̹͈̫̦͙'̵̹̩̗̤M̬͈̻̫̰̹ ͚͓̹͔̗̖̻ _EŅ̡̩̖̝̫R͔̺̥͎̭̭̮̕A͏̬̮G҉̷͈̗͔͖ED̷̡̮̼̗̜͇̙̠_** **!̙͉̺̱̪͎̲̖͎̀͘"̥̞́͟** Mike furiously roared the last word, and the flames surrounding his head and body erupted around him in a rage before he managed to calm himself down. "͉̱͔̹̺̀ **T̨̞̮̻͟H̛̱̮̀E͏̣̘͚̙̠̟̗̥ ҉̳̞R̖͈̩̗͟EA̛̬͈̼̞̼̫͘͜S̶̮͔͈̙̪̥͈͚͖͠Ó̢̬͓͙̳͟N̷̨̻ ̣̝͖͙̳W̛͎̣̼̺̣͜͡HỲ̶̡̖̫̼̭̯ͅ ҉̵̯̱̜̱I̸̬̪̦͍͢͞'͇̤̙̺͙̙͖͓ͅM͍͜ ̢͇̝͖̪̳͍͈̤͕͞D̗͕͓̱̗͠I̸̞͉S̙͔̥͇̹͔͙͈A͏̬̖͙̲̲P̨̭̳̭͍͡Ṕ̖̪̰OI̶͎̺͈̯̬̫N̢͍̗̫͞T̴͙̠̼̜̺̻̺E̞͎̻͉̫̤̤̖D̵̷͎ ̝͕͚̦̞̰I̩͘͝S̤ ̴̙̰͡B̫̱̣͉͎̻̫̣̕͟E҉̶̱͍̱̜͇C̤͇͚͈͇̜͍̰̫͘͘A͏̹̲̬̝̱̠͠U҉̦̲̀͞S̹E҉͎̩̖͚͕̙͙͘ ̼̪̰Y̷̠̠̯͓̜̲͢O҉͍̤͇̭͉̕͢U̡̧̬͕̙͈̳͜ ̖̩͍̣͢͞W͕̣Ȩ̷̪̳͕̣̪R̡̨̙E̷̻͢ S̸̛͉̟̮͘O҉̟͇̮͙̻̘́͞ ́҉̲͎̜͔̻̮͎̣͉Ṕ̸̣̫̼̰͟A̴̲̩̫̗͈̰͖̰T͇̀H̸͇̖̭̳̞͕̟ET̜̫̟̖I͖̜̗͇͙͙̹̱͝C̸̙̮̻̠̘̝͕̕A̴̤̯̲L̴͕̤̤̥͡L̨̠̘̀Y̛̥̘̩͔͕͈ ̸̮ EA̛̠͟S̬̠̤̖̭̝̀Y̴̰ ̴̺̻̝̱Ṱ̰̪́O̠̱̣͕̖͢ ̵̳͎̼̪̱̟̕ͅ D̷̟̪̥̤̩̱̱̺̥͡͞E̡͈͉̫̖̕F͏̺̮̹̺̕Ẹ͓̟͔̻̖͞A̵̞̤͜͠Ţ̩̖̲̮̭̼̺̀͝ͅ ̰̳̝͉Ȩ͕̞͉̖͍̥̥V̳̭Ẹ̬̝̮͖͡N̥̳̥͙͇͕̩̖͟ ̶̳͍̤̥͡Ẉ̠͔͇̺̪̻IT̘͜H̢͙̼̺͎̙͇͢ͅO͇͉̞̰͚͓̺U̶͖̻̳̗̜̩̠̕ͅȚ̟̤̫͕̀ ̺͈̪̯͈͎͙̫͖Ọ̸͓͈͞͡ͅUŔ̥̻̦̹̕ͅͅ ̴҉̡̘̱̪̣D҉̶͈̰͚̹Í̴̵̳̬͕̱̱̳̬F͓̼͇̪̫͟ͅF͈̬̬̜̞ͅE̟̝R̴̲̬̥͈͢EŅ̹̙̝̻̩̠CE̴̡̦̙͔̤͜ ̼̮͘͞ I̯̼̲̲͟N̛̘͓͍͍̦̙̯̼̪ ̶̛̜͔P̫͉͕̕͡ͅO̘͇͕̯̗͟Ẁ̳̣̙͇Ẹ̶̛̮̯͓̘̺̠̻R̙͔̞͕̘̘͍.̰̫͈̤̀͜ͅ ̰̼͈̙̮̜͎̰ͅ N̷͈̲͓̲O͏̴͚̫ ̡̳̭̻͙̬͖̺̩ͅT͓̼̳͓͚̥̠ͅÉ̺̣̮C̭͈͉̜̱͘͘H̹͚̲̻̮̘̥̘̺N̤͉͉̥I̸̳͎̕͞Q̨͚͇͜U͙̲͓̯E̢̨̪͙̹͚̖,̵̼̞͈́ ͏̭̠̖̫̱͡͡NO̩̙̘̙̮͇͙ S̬̤̠͢E̢ͅN̻͈̠͉̤̥̕͝S͉͈̯E̳̬͓̤̘͍ ҉̰̱̯̫̝͉ͅǪ̷͇F̸͓̮ ̷̱̲̼̹̖̗͍͙̘̀͟S̮̙̮̬͚͈͔͖̮͜Ţ̶̛͓̘̯̹̬̟R̼͖̫A̢̢͔̣̲T͇̝̰̦̦̪͞E̸̡̞̖̣G͖̙̫͕̀Ý̭̰̟͈̯͔͍̪ O̷͖̯̪̤̰͡͡R̺̞ ̴̡̫̺̗̰̳͔͍̺̭T̛͓̣̤͓̬̙͎̕A̴̵̘C̭̥̯̞T̮Í̸̙̻C̦͍͙̝̫̤͡,̛̛͘ͅ ̨͉̲͓̠̫̟̱ N̗͚̼̳̗͔O̩͡T͚H̨̞͈̺̫͍̙͞Í̼͔̪͡NG̶̡̖̹̦̬͔͍̳ ̸͔̪͈̣̻͇͕̖͈͠͝EXC͕̪̤̱͝PṔ̵̩̝͞Ț͙̙͈̣͘ ̜̼̲͜͡ͅͅF͏̖̱̫̜O̞̱͖͇R̷͈͍͚̕͞ ̝̦͕̩͎̺̫A̪͔̙̯͖͠N͏̩͚̪ ̵̻̼̰̲͉͞͞Ư̲̹̟̤̠͖̕͟R̵̘GE̥̣̟̙ͅͅ ̞̜͎̬̜͞T̟͉͉̙̻̩͢͠ͅO̗͈̟ ̵̹̥̜̙̝̟͈͠ͅK҉̛̪̜̲̺̱̝͚̤I͎͖̥̩̟L̡͉̣̗̼̀ͅͅḼ̙͕̣͓ ҉͏̟̮͉T͈̙͎͈Ḩ̥̣̗͘͡A̶̹͎͎T͈͖̜͞ ̷͕͉̱͎̣͓̳͈́̕ͅY̧̻̣͇̕͢O̩͇͙̜̫̯̯U̠̳̮̩͖̤͙͝ ͡҉̩͇̯̙̤̼̩͖M͓͔͡IN̡̛҉̰̳͓̻̤̹D̗̳́̀͢L͔͕͘E͙̗̬͓̳̝̥͕S̬̗̻̟̝̫̘̹S҉͕̼̮̦L̨͚̜̳̫͞Ý͍̪͍̹̤̪̫̯͜ ̬̯͓ I̲̮͇͔͇͓͙̳N̸̙̫̳̘͍͈ͅD̢̞͎͙̮̩̝Ú͇̮̻͟L͚̩̩͕̰̗͇͟G̺̟E̛̠̖̤̖̲̩͝ͅD̶̻̟͎͖͚͎͎ͅ ̱͇̝̩̗͈̞͢I̴̧̯̕ͅN̶̷̺̰̣̬͚ ̦͈͠͞ Ó͔̻̱̬̭͕V̢̱̺̻͚̖̮̳̻̕͝ER̞̟̼̻̖͈͢͡ ̹͔͟͡A̷̸̴͇͙͈̣̞̲̺̣N̢̙͠D̢͈̯̩̜̯̬̥̳͘͞ ̟͍̫͈͟͡͞Ǫ̣͘VE̵̲̻͚̜̗̼̝ͅR͏̶̧̦̣̠͚̦͖ ̯͈̹̳͇͕̱ͅA̧̧̫͈͇͍̫̗͉͟G̡͇̻̲͖͔̪͞ͅAI̷̡͏̜͕N̵͙̠̫͍̳̘̤̺͢.̣̝͈͔͕͜ ̠͈͍B̷̝̪̥͘͞U͏͖̙͓̺͖̘̻͚T̳̘̯̻̞̦̘̕ ̰̭̞͙͟T͙̬͓̺͕͞H҉͉̜͕A̫T͏̢͍͈ S̸̝͚͈̲̜͔͠H͉̮̻̟̗͘Ò͓̭͈͉̭͚ͅͅU҉̜̻̜̘̞L̸̪̲̜̠̯͖D̘̳͈͉̥̠̱̩̱N͏̣̟̟̘͔̘̮ͅ'̰̬̖̝̼̗T̶̴̞͙̖ ͖̼͚̝ R̴̬͘Ḛ̬̘̜ͅÁ̩͖̗̮͖̟̘Ĺ҉̠̗̲̬ͅL̡̖͈̳̙̞͈̣̞̞Y̗̼͡ ͏̼͙̥̱̥͓B͎̫͘͢Ȩ̸̗̣͈̠͍̝͡ ̘̥̻̘͈̩ͅÁ͓͍̘̞̕ ̢̙̩͈ͅS̷̹̫̱̼͉̀͢Ù̲͎̰R͎̹͇͡P̶͚̹̦̞͎̝̝͠R̺͈͙͓͠ͅͅI̷҉̧̺͖͕S̞̹̘̯͈̻ͅE̵̲̦̰̳͎̺̝̗ ̲̤̭̥̯́N̬͇̹͈̻̻̻Ò̢̧̮̭̪̭̫̥̪W̡͔̝̮͚͝,̧͇͈̟͉̣͙͚̕ ͏̜̪̖̣̰̟͠I̡̠̜̪S̠͇͓̙̟̯͙̘̮͜ ̧̻͖̥̟̞͡I̧̝̟̪̬̮T̨̲̻̱̞̫̀͟?̳͎̝̀ ̻̩͇̙̲̰͟ͅ Ą̼̯̮̝́F̖̭̼̪̖̥͎̦̕T̡͙̤̯̩̩͚Ḙ̴̫̗͙̖͍̬͖͇͝R̦̳̪̥̮̖͙̬̪ ̠̲̮̖̤̘͟A̢̱̳̺͙̠̠̜͍͕͞L̗̘̗͈̮̜͉̰L̵̞͇̞̻͘,̢̨̰͓̲̦̹͓̬̕ ̧̢̖̞̩̥ͅͅY̡̬̭O̵̺̱̖̣̜͓̯͘ͅU҉̜̱͙̞̭̳ ̷̰̲̥̲͎̹̩̕Ẁ̷̬E҉̵̬͙͙̺̬͍R͞͏̯̹̮̀ͅE̺̬̬̝̺̦͞ ̳̲̰̼̙A̶̯̮͙̲͕͍̬̞ K̡̛̼̱̞̼͕̞͝I̵̞̹̹͈͜ͅͅL̴͔̩͠L̴̘̯̩̬̥̩͉̯̭̕E̺̫̺̜̫͢͠͠R̪̝͘,͏̗͈̪̖̦̣̳̯͙͢ ̢͔̘̳͈̬B̭͜U͓͚̥̜̰̝ͅT̥͉̤͈͔̮̬͞ ҉̸̮̙NEV͏͇͝É̺͙̼͈̖̱̕R̤̠̪̩͍̖͡ ̧̦̫̮̲́̕A̢̪̣̮̝ ͖̩͕̯̀F̛̘͕̘̜͕̹̰I͚̬̕Ǵ̩̞̫͞Ḩ̨͔̥͈͉͙̪̥̠̠͘T̠͖͙̪͜E̼͔̕͢R̨̬͜.̙̗̤̮͟͞ A̢̠̝̻̣̪͚͢N͓̘̕D̖̩̀ ͓̲̰̺̣̜̺̝ͅÀ̵̳̱̘͢S̷͕̱͈̭͖̀͡ ̸̨̗̩̙̖̬̟̗̯F̛̖͍͠͡O̼̳̗̤̟̯͘R͎̯̳̖͍ ̷̹͕T̴͙̳̲͇͖̤͔͘H͚̳̳͜E̞͔̬̯̗ ̵̢̘̹̘̼O̻̜̜͚̥̩̪͍ͅT̜̞͎̙͙͕͘͠H̬͇̰̘͉E͎̰̘̱͢R̞̼̹̖̩͕ ҉͙͚̞͎͡R̨͖E̛̯̣͕̱̱͉̺ͅĄ̩̥͟S̳̥̦̗̬̩͕͞O͚̟N̫̼.̵͓͎̦̲̺̞̖͈.̩͓̪̞̫̣̕͞.͔̥̭̱̝̣̣̣͜͟ͅ"͓̰̳̥͓̻͢**

 **(OH, I KNOW THAT, WILLIAM AFTON. I KNOW THAT YOU'RE A REMORSELESS, IRREDEEMABLE PIECE OF SHIT. THAT'S NOT THE REASON WHY I'M DISAPPOINTED. THAT IS THE REASON WHY I'M** _ **ENRAGED!**_ **THE REASON WHY I'M SO DISAPPOINTED IS BECAUSE YOU WERE SO PATEHTICALLY EASY TO DEFEAT EVEN WITHOUT OR DIFFERENCE IN POWER. NO TECHNIQUE, NO SENSE OF STRATEGY OR TACTIC, NOTHING EXCEPT FOR AN URGE TO KILL THAT YOU MINDLESSLY INDULGED IN OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BUT THAT SHOULDN'T REALLY BE A SURPRISE NOW, IS IT? AFTER ALL, YOU WERE A KILLER BUT NEVER A FIGHTER. AND AS FOR THE OTHER REASON…)**

The glow in Mike's gaze suddenly intensified, as did the loathing in his voice. **"̷̸̬̟̘̥̜̮ͅI̪̹̳ ͓̰SA̡̳̺̰̲W̷̬̬͟ ͔̬̝̰͖͢ͅḤ͓̙̯̫͚̲͚̣O̱̖̠̰̖̯͍W̸̡͕͘ ͓̪̗̘̯͜͜Y̨̭͎̭̼̩̜̝O̹̜͙͔͘͡ͅͅU̶̵̺̻͈ ͉͔̹͇͖͡L҉͍̱̯̯̪͇̯͢E͏̬̲̬͓̬͢D̢́͏̫̞̜̼ͅ ͈̻͍̮̻̤̬͔̀͘ͅM͙͙̪͔͖͔Y̸̻̞̳̹̼̹͟ͅ ̢̗Ḳ̤͞͞I̬̭̘͈D̜̲͖͎̟̠̬S̝̩̞͖͙̱͍̱̤͞ ͔̞̭̘̮̣̺͘T̶̛͓̯̱ͅO̥͙͇̭͎̘͢ ̶̗̠̹̪̰̦̻Ṱ̱̳͡Ḩ̛̭̩͍̺̟͎E̷̯͢Į̲́R̮͚͉͙̼͔ ̥̦͎̞D̞̳̞̀̕E͔͓͍̝͈̬̬͖̕A̩̻͔̩̫T͖͎H̴͓͇̘̞̖͎͙̖.͞͏͇̟͖͍̤̘̞̮ ͍̺̭͖̹͝I̝̣̖̮͜͠ ̨̫̠̯̹̣͇͇͖̀͡S̸̠AW̭̣̩̗̫̭̣̰̯ ͙̩̖͠͡H̨͎̻̀̀O̶̮͖͔W͇̺̜̹̻̩̤͎ ̵̷̦͓͢Ţ̣̣͍̰͚̯͝H̷̶̢̬̱͙͍̪̼̗̯E͉̭̝̘̻̠͖͇ ̲̺L͓͕̭͕̺̞I̧̭͎̪̟̲͈̟̘G̛͈̙H̝T̵̮̮̜̣̳̙͈̫̕ ҉̪͓̠͈̦̻A͔͎̖N̶̨̬͙̲̹̜̘̕D̴͎͈̯̗̻̯̬̳̩́͜ ̷̰͈͙̠͎͟I͙̠͔͘͜͠Ṋ̙͡ͅṆ̷͞O̴̗̙͔͈͎͘ͅÇ̸҉̲̮͔̮E͇̻̝N̺̜̖͈̜Ç̘̘̠͖E͍̮͎̯͖̬̺ ̧͉̬̱̣̗̜͖F҉̮̲̤̠̱̱̙Ą̴̹D͖̕ͅE̸̵͙͙͇̗͠ͅD͚͚̲͚̦̝ͅ ͏̶̝͈̹̗̤̣̬̙F̸̘̮͈̣̳̘̯́ͅŔ̯̹̰͍̩̮͕͍͟͡O҉̖͕̯͙̬̝͖̝͢M҉̨̫̜̮͎̝̙̭̻̺͞ ̛̻͉͎̗̰͎̯͇̮̀T̛̺͔͉̼́HE̡̻̕͝I͜҉͇̱̳̣̻͙R̸̡̧̙ ̟̭̳̗̬͕E̥̤͉̟̠̕͡͠Y̯͓̠E̮̠̖͈̣S̡̜̺̝͔ ҉҉̵͕̹T̶̝̣͈͘H͍͕͈̼̬̮̠̯E̴͕̮͚̖̠͔̹̫͟ ҉̢̞͖M͈̼͢OM̪͉̠̼̻͉̮̟E̪̼̰Ń̵̼̜͎T̬̘͇͎̭͉͓̀͜ͅ ͙͉̩̟̙̥Ý̱̮͎̭͓O̷̝̥U̪̠̺̣͚͈̠̣ ͍͍̳̻̯B̻͚̭͔͈̀͠͝U͏͓̭̙̭̠̩̣ͅT̡̺̱Ć̫̜̮̳̳̙̰͠H͙͈̣͚̀͘E҉̥̼͍͓̟R̳͡E̡͚̣͔͉̗͢D̵̸̗̫͙̣̝͉̥͠ ̡̛̜̳̰̣̠̥̝̺̲͡T̶͈̹͉̣H̼͇̯̜͚͎̮̙̯͠Ę̸̹̣͈͎͙̙͝M̷͈̜̀͠.͖͔̘͎̮̹̣̥͢ ̰̣̱A̮̭Ṉ̡̦̯̻D͏͔̭̰̮͖͖ ̷̨̗S̛̹̩̼O͏̫̻̻ ̯̗̪͢I̧̛͔͎͕͠ ̴̹̖͓D̝̜̝̤̥̣͕͍͝I͚̖͈̮̻͉̲͉̙͝D̵̩͈̩͇̠̻͉̞ ̷̩͢ͅT̠ͅH̷̗̭̜͈͚̫E͇͠ ̨̙̳̖ͅSA̢̪͓͢ͅM̵̹͔̯Ḛ̹̘͔̪̘̺̀ ̺͖̳͝T͙͓͈̮͜O͕̱̳͖̥̹̭ ̢̘͇͚̫͡Ỳ̡̟̘̪̤͕̩̞Ợ̥Ú̴͍̯͝.̜͇͍̻̣͉̕ ̟̰͈I͖͍̲͡͞ ̛͕͖̩̦͓̘͜͝Ḍ̺̥̪A̶̘͙̗̮͝ͅǸ̡̢͈͕̥G̨̞̤̰̗͚͠͡L̶͏͍E̸̗̭͚̦Ḑ̥͉̲̼̲͖ ̳̩̳͙̱͝V̮̼͔̠I̵͏͓̣͡CTO̟̼̮̳̬̥͕͝R̡͍̩̹͔̗͖Y̨̼͕̲̣̰ ̸̨͙̖͎̤̮͎̬I̸̺N̶̢̮̜͎̝͞ ̨̰̪̼̀̀F̝͓̳̟͝͞ͅR̟͖̕͟͡O̡̩̫̭̕NT̙͇̟̤̭͎ͅ ̜̮̫̭̙͔̞Ò̧̮̺͡F̞̺͕̮͚ ̧̱̣̲͉̖͍͡Y̴̩͓͓̝͍̥̳͈O̻͘U̶̴͎̙̳͖̼̮̫̟ͅ,̵͇͖̳̺̠͝ ̛͍͎B̧̹̘͟AI͘҉̸̱T͕͇͖̪̤͚̭̝E̷͏̰̤̼̜̝̤͎͉͠Ḍ͍̙̬̞͖̹͜ ͎̭̤̻̝̩͞Y̴̰͈̪͎̼͜͟ǪͅU̺̙̝̱͙̘̳͕͠ ̸͟͏̙̺̗I̷҉̱̹Ǹ̛̥̪͙̳̲̪̺͡T̖̰̝̰̠O̬̻͔͟ ̳̭̠̥͈͇͔F̴̛͇͔̰̻̳̬̻́E͇Ę͖̜͔̠̫̝̥̞ͅĻ̴͎͎̪̤́I̼̼̦͙͎̖͈N̡͎̝̺̟͢G҉̛̦̺̩̞͕̺̼͈̀ ̙̥͉̝̹͚̀͢TH̴̢̺ͅA̵͍̘̤̭͠͠T̴̳̦̮̯̙̺̺̙ ̴͠҉̫̜͚S̵̸͎̙̘ͅA̳̗̩̲̗̥M̷̝͕͎E҉̙̫̮ͅ ̧̡͈̮̲̪̠̫ͅN̨͔͠A̷̛̳͙̟̟͍̘̩͢ͅI̝̹̣V̵͉͚͕̖̝͕̹̳͢͞Ḛ̰͕̺͇̘̣̕ ̠̥̕H̪̞͝Ơ͖̝̳̟̱̺̹̝P̱̳͈̲͠͡Ḛ̴̻̻͖,̢͏̯͓͚̹͎̣̘̪̙ ̷̫̜̙͘͢T̛̙̻͎̟̠͇̻̥A͔͚̫͎̫̼͢I̸̛̖̲̱N̨̻͖̗͓̩͉͕͔͜͞T҉̴͈̫̻̯͈̱E̷̢̺̞̦̳̱̮̯ͅD̯͖͖͍̼̞͜ ̛͓̠͍̤̤̀T̫̜́͡H͈̠O̻̣̠̘͍Ư̝͉̘̻G̜̭͍̪̠͉͞H̨̩̕͢ ̴̧̺͖̭ ̵̺͇͖̪̪͔͎̼I̛̺̣͖̲̮͈͞T̫̪̦͙̞͖ ̡̟̘̮͍̀͡M͈̖͔̤͈̳͘Ą̙̩̖͠Y͙̩̭̪ ͎̺Ḫ͔̗͍͕̩̪̳̀͡͝A͢͏̤̖̠̭͓V͎̲̖̺͓͟Ę̜̻̟͢ ̴̜̟͎̗̣̀B̛̻̭̥̜̪͞ͅE͍̖̺E͙̬̙̻̹̗ͅN̡̡͕͙̦̜̩̞̮͇.̡̺͔̠̫͎̫̩̀͝ͅ ̫͚̲͖̹̪̝ͅͅA̲̙̱̠̘̗͉̩͢N̸̘̠̗̤͎̗D̗̩͟͟ ̴̠͉̼͖͍̦̼̼ͅJ̼̱U҉̝̼̞͙̱S̴̳̬͕̺͓̩͕͓̬͜͜T̡͏͓̳̝̞̲̰̘̙ ̢̗̜̖̤̲͖͇̭͡L̶͕͇͉͕I͇̱͕̟͠K̛͚̣͟Ȩ̸̫̣͘ ̥̠̘̱̼͓̕ ̵̨̤̖̬͇H̡̱̤̝̟͚̤͢Ơ̱̮̳ͅW̥̘̭͟ ̯͓̬̤̥͔̖́͡Y͏̨̤̺͔͚͚̙O̶̱̭̪̘̙͖͉̭U̳̺͙̭͍͙͖̩͍̕ ̸͖̬̰͓͔́S̨̹̼͔͚͎͝N̷̳̞̝͜U̴͙̲̙͇̩͈͈̟͙F͏̭̖͚F̨̲̜̯̞͈͞E̫̳͉̤͙͉̱̫͠ͅD̸̢̙͓́ ̣̹͈͖̣̘O̤̭̰̞̯̜U̼͍͞͞T̵͉͚̗̪ ̸͈̰̞̮̮̤͖̰́͠T̶̬̱̜̜͟H̵̳̜̬̥̼̳̥̣̺͝È̹̟̼̣͉͉̹͢ ͚̗̹͉̥̗Ļ̷̤̳͇̦Į̘G̢̮͇̗̦͉͡H̶̨̟̦̬̹̮͢T͘͏̝̲͕ ͏̧͓͜ FŖ͖Ó͕̘̰̮M͏͏̥ ͏̤͕̜̻̦͝T̖̫͎̜͇͖͉͈H̷̢̻̙̝̟Ḙ̷͚̟͙̜̙̀Į̲̜͈̭̙R̡̗̗̣͘̕ ͟͡ͅE̷̤͈͎̤̻̰͜Y̶̶̜͔̣É̠̤͘S̮͔̩͔̻̼̱͡,̢̫̦͘͝ ̴̖͕I͔̬͖͎͎ ̻̼̙̜͖͕͡W̰̙̰͎A̸͏̵̖̼̤͓͕N̛͔͓̲̜͇̠̙̭T̢̹̟͈͕̗͔̕E͚̗D̨͇̟́ ̫̖̻́͟Ṱ̢͔͈͍̪̝̮̟̞͞O̡͓̩̗ ̤̰̺̕T̩̫̱̩Á̤̖̘̫̮̬̬͢ͅKE̢̩̫̤͚͖̥̩ ̨̲̩͠Y̛̫͎͘͠O̸̢̘U̸͖̙̝̹R̫̟ ̞̠̱̕F̶̡̬͉A͡͏͓̻̭̱͕L̵͙̣̼̞̭̥͝S҉̜̟̱̰͕̣̝̰͡E̛͍̼̫̬͈̗̻̜͚͝ ̳̮̹͔̱̠̲͢͞H҉̲̻̹̕͝Ó̢̲̟͢P̷̵̦̰͉Ȩ͏͔̺ ̴̡̭͉̙͍A̧҉̤̩̼̲̰̝N̛̛̘ͅD̛̼͓͚̪̼͓̘̭ ̮̠̥͍̤ͅS̩͉̝̕͜T̷͉̬͝Ṛ̨̛͉̥͈̠AN͜͞҉̼̳̙͈̗̝G҉̢̥͈̟͍̹͠Ļ̡̤̭̠̲͓̻E̪͙͓͚̞̯͍̖ͅ ̴̱͚͢͞ I̱̮̥̯̟ͅT̡̛̻̹̣̻̟̱ ̡̤̯͓̖̟̭̺̕͞I̷̸̡̤͈̭̱͎̘͖̗N̸̺ ̲̬͍̯̳̱̲̮F̠̗̘̩̱̰ͅṞ̛̬́͠Ơ҉̖̺͍̫͚̞N̞̤̘̣̱͎͖̞͜T̳̝͎̻̟̥̰̘̖͞ ͕̬͍̰͕̰͘O͟҉̫̗̲̤͢F̸̡̹̻͙̥͎̩͡ ͕̪̼͝Y̸̨̢͍̹̙̥̲̦O҉̺̥Ù̡͕̞̼̺͈.̷̳̼"̴͉͖̤̖̪͚͘ͅ**

 **(I SAW HOW YOU LED MY KIDS TO THEIR DEATH. I SAW HOW THE LIGHT AND INNOCENCE FADED FROM THEIR EYES THE MOMENT YOU BUTCHED THEM. AND SO I DID THE SAME TO YOU. I DANGLED VICTORY IN FRONT OF YOU, BAITED YOU INTO FEELING THAT SAME NAÏVE HOPE, TAINTED THOUGH IT MAY HAVE BEEN. AND JUST LIKE HOW YOU SNUFFED OUT THE LIGHT FROM THEIR EYES, I WANTED TO TAKE YOUR FALSE HOPE AND STRANGLE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.)**

Mike swung his scythe downward, and the moment the blade made contact with the ground, it unleashed a tsunami of unholy flames that William would have had no chance of escaping even if he wasn't chained to the ground. The wave of fire crashed into William's body, causing him to scream in searing agony as he writhed desperately to free himself from his chains. The demonic essence that he had thought would make him unstoppable was now proving to be nothing more than a final safeguard, the only reason why the ethereal flesh of his soul hadn't long since withered away and burned to nothing.

William felt his knees give way, the chains ironically being the only thing keeping him upright. He felt an invisible force shove his chin upward to look at Mike's demonic aspect, who was no longer standing alone. The ghostly imitation of the Marionette that had accompanied Mike right before he had dropped William from the Fazbear-themed arena into the fiery abyss had returned, its eyes glowing hatefully at the murderer as it pointed a finger accusingly at him. Chains were extending from its fingers, and even though they seemingly vanished a short distance from its hands, William had little doubts that this manifestation of his first victim was the one keeping him ensnared.

 **"̮͙̘͖̕͟N̷҉̤̠̠̫͓I͉̰̹̩̥̥͎̙̪G̴̙͇̙̤̪̣͕͇̕͡HͅT̢͓̥M̰̰̻̻̦̣̰̠͞A̧҉͕̫̯̹̘R͢҉̨͙̲̖̙̖̳̳͖͚E̝͎̲̝͘ ̵͍̖̣͇͜T҉̺̥̺̀O̷̵͖̬̫̥̥̲Ḽ̫̝̱D̟̞̫̞̤͘ͅ ̷̛̳̭͢M͇̘̙̤͕̲͘͠ͅḚ̸͕̟̠̥ ̢̛̦S̷͍̰̪̩͎̭O̵͠҉̞̞̯̩̻̱͙M̭Ḛ̷̠͇̞͈̻̣̪T̰H͘͘͏̩̱̰̲̺̙̳I͏͚̥͢NG̵̯̼̫̺̗̤͠͡ ̧̢͉͕̯͔̜Q̳̹͈͘U̷̝̰̭̖̭̪̮̭͜I҉̨̝̤͔̞͇̩̜ͅT̗̥͇̲͕͢͡͝E̗̩̣̪͍̬̤͝ ͕̼̻̟̰̦͈͢F͕̟̳̙̬̗̘ͅAS̜̗̹̀C͕̱̜̯̙̝͎͓I͓͇̱͎N̻̲͞A̛̛҉̬͓̻̺̠̯͎T̢̙̯̘̱͍̙I͔͡͝N͓̰ͅG̬͍̙̫̼̀͜͝,̢̛̦̯̯̹"͝͏͓͉͝** Mike's guttural voice snapped William back to him. **"͙͍͙̺̼̻̀͜͡H̶͙E̶͎̟͎̫̥̲͠ ̶̼̞͟T̸̙̳̮̜̪̺̲O̷̲̠̳͡Ĺ̴̠͍̕Ḍ̵͕́͝ ͔͓̟̲̤͜ͅM͓̳̫͜͢E͈̟͇̦͓͠ ̶̴͚T͏̷̴̱̲͇̫̼̞͈̠HAT̴̻̠͙ ̻̱̥̖͎͚͡T̸͈̰̰͚̖͘ͅHE̵̹̹͉̞ ͕̪̺̥͉͘͟SOƯ̠̝͇̳̥L̹̹͍̰̗͍̲ ́͏̙̘̫̺̗̳̲̣͞IS͔͉ ͇̬͘ͅB̷̻̖̥͎̳̰̟̖Y̺͇͓̖̻͙̭͖ ҉̯͍͚͓̗͝I͡҉̟͇̜̞̣͙̹͍T̷̶͏̜͉̪̣͕̬̜̜S̷͍͕͙͉̣̼͎͜ͅ ̡̟V̴̴̰̯̟̮͠E͘҉̡̣̘̣̝̞̗̜R̵̞̭̤͙̥Y̸̗͇̠̫̲̭̺͡ ̶͇͕͇ N͓̱͔͔̖͎̲͢ͅA͍̻̩Ṯ̡̮͕̳̥͘͢ͅU̲̪̲͖̦͍̭̝͢R̴͓E I̛̬̫ͅMM̷̧̪͎͠Ò̧̭̳̠͉̹R̵̪̯̫̱͙̥͝T̘̱͘A̸͞҉͇͉̺̫L̷͇͔̭̺,̡̡̰̜͕̯͍͚̀ ̷̖̀T̶̲̼͔̺͓͇̕ͅḤ̶̢͔̹̻̙A̷̢̻̫͟T̸̘ ͈͎̳̜͚̖I̹͡Ţ̶̭͖͓̺ ̠̼̣̩̠͙̠͠Ç͇̬̙̘͚O̧̪̟͔̦̫͎̕͜U͔̺̗̻͍̭LD͞͏͉̤̭ ̭͚͈͔̹NOT̺͍ ̶̨͎̻̭̭͝B̵̝̥̻͈͍̙͞E̛҉͕͎̲̟ ̛̹̥̣͚̩̪͉̖F͓̺̤̠̟͝͠U̗̲̞̣Ĺ̼̼L̛̞͇͢Y͕̮̰̬̜̝̯ͅ ̧͙D̸͇͇̺̼̖͓E͘͏͇̤͍ST̴̬̺̹̭͇͞R̷̷̜͓͓̱̻̘̥̜̣O̶̴̖̪̤͇ͅY̨̺̣̰͇͚̰͉̱ED̴͈͎̹̜̻͖͘ ͏̷͚̯̫̮͠B̧͕̠Y̷͔̹̹̠ ̟̦̹̞͕̹̝̖͟A̯̳̘̲N̪͞Y̢̛̰̠̥͈̰̻̱̲ ̗͔̘̣̜͡ͅ P̢̬̖̹̜̱̤̻͈̩̕͝Ó̰̱̻͖͎̟̀̕Ẁ̢͕̝̜̬̥̞̭͙E͓͕͍̕R̛̤̝͙̞̪ ̨͕̙̯̺͟ͅI̴̪͈̱͠N̡̳̣̞͈͉̪̳̦ ̩̝̪̩̀͞H͏͕͞E̹A̴̛̦̝̪͍̲͚̪̱V̵͕̹̱͖̀EN̳̯ ̶̭͢OR͚̟̫̩̟̺̤̪͟ ̢͉͓̙̬̰͎͇̖͔͘H̵͇̝̳͘̕E̵̤͎̻̺L̨̮͍̭͍̰͢L̵̡̦̬͉ ̴͓̝͔̝̠̠̠S̡̯͈̠͘͡À̷̛̮̻̞̪V҉͚̦͘E҉͔͇̬̙̳̩͎ ̳̰̪̤̱̼̬͡F̪͕̯̰̫̯͜͝O̜͍̜R̶̶̵̺̠͚̘ ̤͈̦̀͢͠Ǵ̳̖̲̯̲̤̹̗͢O̸͖D̢͓͖̳͠ ̡̰̞̼̮͔̫̻HI͉̥̥͝͞͝M̷͏͙̭̫͇̥͠S̰̜̦͕̘̜̝͈È͍̜͖̬͙̣̺̩L͍F͈̻̹͟͝.̶̧̖̮͓͕̖̜̘͟ ̳̟̩̺͝Á̗̟ͅT͖̳͓̥̝̮̮͞͠ ̜̙F̸͍̼͍͕I̘͔͡͡Ṛ̵̺̰̺̱̫Ş̼̻̟̕͡T̶̥͟,̨̯̤͕̭̱̠ ̼͎͈̪͠I̸͍̤͞ ͏͔͈͇̭T̰̰͖̮̼͈͕̕H̸̶̜̫͙͔O̡͕̟͇̖̫͟U̷̡̺̠GH̦̯͚͈͡T̶̡̢̗̪̺ ̵̶̝̻͈̜͖͉̹͞Ṭ̴̰͙H͏̤͇͔̖̀͟A̧̬͎̣̙̳̳T͏̜̱̫̩͙̥̲ ̗̯̖͍͕̟̳̦N̙̝͕̥͝I̢̛҉̖̩G͇̫͡H̟̥͈͜͠T̸͖̰̠̀͜M̷͓͖̘͠A̵̪̩R̴̖̣͝È̸̹̣͍̮̺̞ ̯̞̹̹̞͇͎͎W̸̷̸̳̤A҉͚͔̮̗̘̩S̗͙̳̘ ̸̬͖T̖̖͕̞͟RY͈̤̱̘̱I҉̩̮̫̜̰̹N̷͙͔̖̩̱G̷̛̭ ̟͎̘̗T̩̭̯̹͖̤̕O̢̰͕͈͎͈̦̟̗͞ ͕̞̗̬̗̘̠W̯͍͙͘͢Á̧͖͓͉Ŗ̛̠͍͎͕̲̤͕͉͜N̡͓̖̹ ̀͏̻M̩̯̠E̴̘͙̞ ̼̺͈̱͕T̡̧̖̫̖͉́H̡̟̩Á̧̙͈̺̱T͏͇̬̪ ̜͕̻͠I͚̟̥̳̝̪ ̦̞͢͞W̻̰͢͢O̯͉̤̜̺̖̣͔͢͝U͜҉̥͇̩̘̳̕L̷̢͎͉̳̠̲̠͚̳͟Ḑ͏̫̻̮̹͔N̼͎̼͔̪̼̯̭̤͠'̢̫̗̝͈Ṭ͍͎ͅ ͏̡͓͇̥B̡̻̳̳̥͇̠E̴̢̳͓̱͔̲̕ ̵̗̳̠͖͚͓͇̤̕A̮̝̘͍̩̙B͏͍͓̜͉͚͙ͅĹ̛̬͔͚͖̱̬̮̜E͍͓͓͈̼̥ ̵̢̫̱̘̻̟ T̴̞̮̱̻̬͙Oͅ F͙͕̥͇͍͚̝͜Ú̼̟͉͚͉L̵͏̘̠̻̹̯L̵̷̜̗̣̲͖̹̜̺Y̳͚̯͓̖̺͍̠ ̶̢̳͙̮̰̗̞ͅEE̘̬̜͈̘̘͇͍̥͢Ș͓̳̩̰͇̙̜̀͘̕T̴͕͎̹͖̰̖̠͘R̢̡̝̬̩̰O̡̮̬̭͚̺̞̩Y̸̩͙̮͙̲͘̕ ̴̳̣̫̘͓̲̲͚͙́Y͚͎͍͎̪̜͙̭Ọ̲̮̗͙̱͎͕͡U̟͎̖̺͕͎̠ ̜͍̦̟͜N̸̜O̵̧̱͚̹̟͙̯̹͎ ̶̤̭̞̲͍́͡M̵̧̲͉̼̟̰̠͇͚Ạ̸̞̹͢T̸̹͖̘̰͍T̵̹E̸̪͕͠Ṟ̼̻̟̹̠̬̙ͅ ̜͕̜̮͈̮̰̀H̸̩̭̹͉OW̩̱̮̬ ̤̬ͅH̷̛̗̝́A̺͙̻͔͚̟̞̫ͅṞ̡͔͕̤̟͕̺͞D̨̲̻̥̕ ̫͚͎͢͡ͅI̦͖͔̹͞ ̳̣̼͍͙̲̟ͅT̛͈̦͎͕RI̶̺̯͝ͅͅE͚͙̰̤͖̦̙̯͟͝D̫͉̲̹̖̞͈̺̞.̶͏̛͉̗"҉̬̖̳̞̥̣** the demonic aspect's fangs spread upwards in a churlish grin. **"̧̧̨̯̭͓̫̥̟B̗͇̠̬̣̱͎͟͞U̷̧̧̙̼̱̻̞̺̰͔T̲̮͢͜ ̨͙͕͜N̬̲̟O̷̡̨̼̱͍̹W̸̰͈͓͕̫ ͜҉̯̬͙̞I̻̻̩̖̼̦̙̪ ̶͔͓̗̦͔̲͡S̴͔͜É͏̙͇̝E͏̤̞̮ ̨̯̞͚͕̪̯̺̭̲T̨͍̮̬͈̳̣̀̕H̟̝͡Ą̥͔̗̠̙̰̻̠͜ͅT̵̬̼̤͎̬̻̀ ̭̫͎͚̀HE̦̖̼̖͙͚ ̴̮̣̫̭̖M͕̣̞̙̗̣̫͝E̷̠̥̻̮̞̰ͅͅA̦̘͖̩N̵̴͙̪͟T̪͈̀͘ ̧̥̫̞̪̦͈̬̙́ͅ SO̴̶̵͉̹̩̳̭M̠͚͚̹̳͍̯͘͡ͅE̱̹͍̰̰͎̱͔T̴̟̻̼͡Ḩ͞͏͔̳͖̺̟̥I̮̱̠̖̦̙͝Ǹ̜̩̮͍̩͕͚̳͟G̗͓̜̘ ̭͈̥̲̩̭͡͡D҉̘̬̝̱͘I̸͈̬F̸̴̬͔͓͙̹̳̤͕̺́F̺͚̣͝E̛̻̠̙̱͖͈͙̕R̶̨̭̫̱̮̝͕̠͞E̸̜̖̱̠͉͔͔̤̕͟N̯̩̭T͍͖̠͓͚̦͈͈ ̵̝̳̗̀̀È̟̭Ṇ̶̷̝͕̺̤͙̞T͚̭̙̫̣̹͕I̼̘R̳̯̬̣̭̺̮̖̩E̘̥͔͔͖ͅL̴̡͔̰͎̖ͅY̦̱̤̟̘̯̳.͏̝̗̤̣̺̻͔̗͉ ̲̰̥̞H̰̮͇̖͔͎̺̘͠E̙̩̯͞ ̫͙̳̮̝̻̥͘͞W̛̟̮̺̤A̕͏̜̖͕̞͍̞S̝̮̬̻͇ͅŅ̛͕̝̮͖̣'͢҉̣͙̣̗̮͍͝T̡̮̠̥͉̞̺́ ̛̞͎͡͡G̘̮̼̣̻͢͞͞ͅI̴̧̜̣̞͔̭̳̭̱͎V̙̣I͎̤N͠҉̗̘̯̩Ģ̴̦ ̯̞͖̖̥M͍̫̙̖̩̩͈͡͝͞E̴҉̱͎̙ ̰̯̠͖̙̗̘̦͟͝A͇ ̡͕̠̝̦̗͝W̠̥̙̳̰̲͞A͙̯͔̱̮̙̕RͅN̖̙͔̥̱̥̪I҉̱̮͘N̵̩͍G̛̤̮̤͇͙̫̣̣̦͞͞.҉̤̮̙͙̙̪̦͍ ̴̬̦̖̖̲H̴̳̟̞̼̟͘È̱̟͔̬̦̹̰͖͘͞ͅ ̺̹̹̙̗̙̫͔̀W̭̬̣͉̗͎̝͟Á͈̫̺̠̝̗S̝͖͍ ̤̙̫̮͇͍S̖̫͍̩̞͟͡H̵͚̠̮̳̥̯O̘̥̠͡W̘̹͉͇̫̘͕͡I̸͎̙̠̳Ņ͚G̡͈͓ ͏̦͚̥M̭̫͙̟̝̤̹̗E͔̳̝͟.̬̖͉͙̺̞͞.̦͘.̶̻͘Á̙́ͅN͈̝͇͓̜̭ ̠͙̣̩̦̥̳̝͉OP̴̧̻̞̹͉͓͈͕̬̠͝Ṕ̴͉̕O̮̯͙̹̼̞̜R̛̮̙̗̯̜̗͈͔̹̕͡T̫̳̳̮̥͕͜Ú̩̠̩̣N̵̡̹̠I̷͈͈T̵͓̦̪̟́Y̷̡͕̲̺̥͕.͉̠̤͖̩̬̥"͖͍͉̠͚̘̝̰**

 **(NIGHTMARE TOLD ME SOMETHING QUITE FASCINATING. HE TOLD ME THAT THE SOUL IS BY ITS VERY NATURE IMMORTAL, THAT IT COULD NOT BE FULLY DESTROYED BY ANY POWER IN HEAVEN OR HELL SAVE FOR GOD HIMSELF. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT THAT NIGHTMARE WAS TRYING TO WARN ME THAT I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO FULLY DESTROY YOU, NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED. BUT NOW I SEE THAT HE MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT ENTIRELY. HE WASN'T GIVING ME A WARNING. HE WAS SHOWING ME…AN OPPORTUNITY.)**

Mike held out one of his metal gauntlets and clenched it into a fist. Nightmare Springtrap's entirely body glowed scarlet, and suddenly he felt himself being lifted into the air, until he was staring right into the burning pits that Mike's eyes had become. **"̨͖̱͇͇͔͘Y̶̡̳͔̪̙̪͜O͓̟͕̼̠͘͡Ṷ͚̣͙̬̭͔'̶̻̟͉͝L̷͏̤̪̞͈̥̙̦L̢̟̦͎̕ͅ ͍͎À͕̹̩̯͈̺͇͟͠ͅL͙͚̖͕̪W҉̢̩A̧̰͓̘̙̭̘͜͝ͅY̵̹̬̬͜͢S̸̸͉̙̤͉̦̲͇̬͢ ͓̳̭̖̭͖͔C͞҉̶̘̤̭O̸̮̲̯͖͘M͕̣̳̤̘͜E̸͔̫͖ ̸̲̻̘̟̟̰̭̦͜BĄ͔̯̱̼̟̱C̡̤̩͕͖͇̘͚͜͟K̹̱̞̱͉̥ͅ,̛͏̱͝ ̼̱̖̜̥̹̙͍͟WI̢̙̱͎̼̬̟͓͍̕LĹ̪̗̲̞̼̞̭͢͟I̠̱͕A̴̢̬̹͜ͅM̭̫͍͎͍ ̴҉̰̟̤̺̲̮A͚̱̭̞̰̘͠͞F̬͙̻́T̴̜̗̱̀O̩̺͎͡N͓̰̦͈̲̗̯̯͡?̸͖̻͜ͅ"̶̸̢̱̻̩̬** the father hissed, his voice repeating the mantra with mockery and scorn. **"̫͎͚̩̱͟͠ͅŅ̳̞̜̰͈͜O̲̥͙̳̫̞̹̼ ̛̞̘͔̪ͅͅM̨̗̭̬̀͘A̱̼͘͜Ţ̸̝̞̙̲͡Ţ̛̬̫͈͇̫́E̟̮͍͡ͅR̛̻̠̰͜͠ ̴͍͙̯͔̯͙̤͔H̶̶̥̲̝OW̛̱̘̣͎̱͔̕͞ ̧̘̦̻̼͎͖MA̰͘N̨̢̛͔̼̭̥͕̙͍̤Y̶̗͜͞ ͟͏̰̩̲̰͉T̠̮̠̟̱̤I̸̶̤̺͎̹͖̬M҉̱̦͍̺̟͎̱͉̹E̳̩̲̖̫̘͚S̨͓̥̜̩͢͜ ̭̠̜̱͘͜Ì͉̠͓̱̯͜ ̗̗̤́B̧҉̧̦̫̻͔̥͓͇̗̮E͎͇͔A҉̶̡̞̼̺̜T̩͇͚̖́ͅ ̧͓̪͉̠̞̯̳̕Y͕̪̝̘O̧̗̩͙͚͔̯̲͖͝͠U̵̶͏͎̳̟̤̜ ̨͓̜̘̗D̲͕͖̰̦̟͈̟̕͜O҉̲͓͞W̪̰͢Ṉ͡?̵̢͚̻̫̞͔̙͈̪͉͝ ̜̳̹͍͎̣̳̫̀͜͢** _ **G̶̛̯̝̹̪̮O̧̜̰̺̹̞̮͟͝ͅƠ̸̳̣̥̹̤͖̗D̵̶̝̝̥.̶̸̭̭͉**_ **̢̟̫͔̯͕͇͝I̸͚͍̟͍͉̯̟̺ ̵͙̝̪̹̟̯͓H̷̼̼͓O͝҉͖̝̫͈͔̜̜̮P̫̟͍̗̟̬͔͟͝Ḛ͔̰̗̺̬̻ ̳̮̱̩ͅT̡̛͖̩H̞̘̟͉͢ͅA͍̜̞̟͠T̨̲̩͚̳͓̞̫̦̺͈̱̘̘͘͜͟͡Y̜̦O̺̲̮͠ͅU̵͍̦̘̠̰ ͏̗̞͚D̨̧͙̱O̷̘.̸̛̬̱͚͙̣̹̺.̶̨̯͇̭̩͟.̴͇̻̬"̣̯̯̰̟͠** The red energy surrounding William's body suddenly transformed into a burst of flames, consuming the murderer in fiery agony once more. **"̶̪͉̮̯̹̖̝͝.̧͍̟̖͖̼̜͕͕͜͟.̴͕͖̙̪̀.̧͏̬̰͙̠͕̺̻̟S̵̮͙̜̜̠̘͘ͅO̴̷̯͈̝̺̹̣͝ ̶̝̻͍̥͖̻̣̕͜ȚH̨̤̹̫A̷͓̬̣̙͚T̞̣͉͜ ̴͚̣̼̕I̧̥͎͕̻͈͚͜ ̧̯́CÀ̭̮N͚̪͙̳͎̯͚͞ͅ ̸̣͙̮͢͠S̞̟̠̠̯͕̫̕L͏̗̩A̧͙͖Ṵ̷̫͕̫̜͇̗͘G̘͓̙͚̣̜̰͎H̸̳͕̜̪T̻̟͈̞̕E͎̖̠͔̜̬̺͡R̺͇̩ ̶̢̧̳͚̪̼Y̡̩̺̮͓̤̘̖O̺̥̻̜͢͝Ù̫͙̹̺͇ ̵̝̬́A̧̨͔̣̗̱̞G̩̥̕ͅA̖̻̫͘I͠͏̣̻̘N̮̫̠̪̳̻͝,̴̴̹̮̥̠͓̦̖ ̝͙̮͔̙͈͕À͍͈̞̪͙̺N҉҉̶̱̖͔̮̫̯̙̰D̨͚͇̥̱ ̷̦̺̯̖͝A̢̖͙̰͖̭̰̕͠G̢͎̫̗͟͢A͏̘̳̭͝I͔̺͜Ǹ̢̰̱̰͔̠͈͟,̰̳̝͚̭̖̀ ̷̩̦͉̟̘A̛̠͚̣N҉̧̲͙̱̭ͅD̛̜͉͙̬͔͕̻̜̕ ̟̞̀͟A̡҉̥͍̮̩̮̗̼G̭̤̼̫̯͔͢͜ͅA͎̮̭͇ͅI̴̦̩N҉̤̦̼͇̤̲̠̥͠!͏̩̮̠̼̭"̫͔́͘**

 **(YOU'LL ALWAYS COME BACK, WILLIAM AFTON? NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I BEAT YOU DOWN? GOOD. I HOPE THAT YOU DO…SO THAT I CAN SLAUGHTER YOU AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!)**

He threw William to the ground, and the murderer collided onto the ground with a thickening CRUNCH. Mike had hurled him with such force that he could feel his spiritual "bones" shatter on impact, even as they healed and knit back together ever so slowly. For the first time, William let out a whimper, feeling truly helpless for the first time since he had fallen into the depths of Hell. His gambit for revenge had not only failed completely, but backfired in the worst way positive. Just like Henry before him, Mike was the one who held all the power over him. And he knew that Mike had the ruthlessness to use that power in ways that Henry would never even dream of.

 **"̷̵̡̤̪̩LET͖͉͎̮̥̪͍̕'҉͓̻̝̩̩̮̞S̢̝̖̙̺̀ ̺̹̦͟͠S̢̳͎̕͘E҉̨̘̟̳̠̲E̥̲̞̬͜͠ ͏̘̬͎̣͈̬H͚̭̭̖͖̗̬ͅǪ͓̞͚̲͎͓͕̙͞Ẃ̼̻͔̙͖ ̭̭̬̺͉̪͔́M̵̧͍͙̱̫͇̺̪͙̕A̸̴͉̦͉͉̪N̜̰̮̯̗̯̤͞Y̧̠͠ ̷̳T̢͔̹̻̫Į̶͕̠̠̯͉̤̘̟̙́M̴̷͚̬Ę̴̠̘͟S̸̳̳͈̤ ̢͝͏̤̪̯̬̠I̢̢̛̭͖̘ ̨͏̬̩̦C̫̞̲̤͇̀Ḁ̱̺̝̫͇̗̟͡͠N̵̰͕͕͉͙̖͞ ̻̻̕ ̙͔̪͡Ț̫͔̼̞͇E̶̝̣̙̙̠̜͠ͅA̵̵̙̺̼͞R͔̰̻̮̖̀͢ ̷̧̲̪̭̝̥̟̜Ý̨̤̟̭̬͈̹͙O̫͎̫̳͉̺U͉̻̦̹͘͜R̯ ͕̙̮̟̞͔̝̻͡S͇̬̯̙OỤ̷̘͖͎̳͈Ļ̹̼͓̦̤̪̟̟̹̀ ͚̥̪̙ͅT̢̟͓̬̥͈O̜͓̖ ̺͍͔́Ṕ̭̩̘̩͕͍I҉͉͖͚͎̯͎̺E̵͏̜̗̤̥͚̼C̮̰̘̘̝͢E̷̠͎̱̣̱̲͖̯͟S̨͏̙̳̗̜ ̹̼̘̺͟͡Ḇ̰͖̹̟̥͕EF̴͔̜̜̬̲̣͎̤̘Ó̰͚͠͡R̺̞̖̭͖̹̲̜͘͡Ḙ̡̤̰̱̯̼ Y͓̘̜̥͍̟̤͖͞O͏̗̫̟̪̻̖U̸̧̪̱̬͎̮̠ ̻̙̫̟̰̳̳̱̦͘F̴̳̖͍͈̻̥͈̣̺INA̬̹͙̰͕L̯̖͔͕̟̺̤L̷̡̠͓̱͎͍̩͖̩̼͘Y̫̜̼͖̞ ̪͇͎͍̦B̶̟̬͈͚̪̣͕̳͠Ṛ̬̣̰͙͢ͅE̖͕͝A̢̡͙̮͎̱͔̬͠Ḵ̖͈͉͕̪͡ͅ!҉̼͚̦̀"̷̢̢̜̦͔̥̭̩̯̺͉**

 **(LET'S SEE HOW MANY TIMES I CAN TEAR YOUR SOUL TO PIECES BEFORE YOU FINALLY BREAK!)**

William found himself being forced back into the air, but this time it was because of the Puppet's chains dragging him up as opposed to the dark telekinesis utilized directly by Mike. **"YOU THINK YOU'RE SUPERIOR TO ME?"** William shouted one last insult in defiance, one last attempt to weaken Mike's resolve. **"YOU ARE TORTURING ME JUST LIKE HOW I TORTURED THEM. YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN I AM!"**

The cruel, mocking laughter that echoed from Mike's mouth quickly proved how worthless this attempt truly was. **"҉҉̡͓͖̜̮A̛̰̼͖̞H̵͉̲̯ ̶̲̮̮̦͘͡Ỳ̡̢̘͙̝̠ͅĘ̳̞̜̗Ș̥͈,̝̞̪̯͓͜ ̴͔͓̪̦͎ͅT̶̠͓̤̰̖͔̩̦͈͘͢Ḫ̶̨͖͍̤͍̼̩́E̸̡̟̫̰̼͇̳̰ ̶̸̤͔̖͉͖̱͔C̵̶̰̰̹̪̩̗̟͝L͕͎̹̖̼̘̠͝A͏̞̘̟S͏͏̭̪S̫̯̱̲̹͜͟I̧͕̥̥̮̩̻̪C̮͎͞͡ ̨̛̻͓͍̜̪͎̙CḼ̶̺̣̳̀͘A̵͉͈̤͚̣̩̤̕͡I̸̛̩͖͔̟̲̣͝M̸͔͉̳̺͉͢͞ ̛͙̮͎̭̕T͘҉̯̘̼͔͉̲ͅḨ̣͉A̵̴̟͇̠̬͔̘̼Ţ̖̮ ̥͎T̟̣H̼E̴̛̤̲ ̴̷̛̩̹͎̩͖̫̪H̶̪̼͇̗͙͖̠̱E̳̱͓͖̘̜RO̩̫͖̞͎̳̺͔̭̦̙̮͢͜I̛̯̟S̘ ̞̻͓͚̖̣̹͠N̵̡̡̝̠͖͚̙̳O̟̱͖̰̝̦͕̟͘͠͞ ̴̤̹͇̘̘D̵̗͟͡Ị̸̸̬͕̀F̮͢F̶͢҉̘͎E̴̫̰͘R̛̤̻̲͓͚̪̤̮E͈̳͜N̛̫̞̣T̵̖͠͠ ̵̹͕͎̝̼͚̀F̸͉̺̙̱͔̝̼̕RO̶̕͏̲̬̬̗͈̮͎̘M̵̫̤͇͓̟̱̠̬̤ ̧҉̢̖͕̲̞͇̗̬T̷͇̕͡Ḫ͈͔͔̼̻̯̀E̷̡̪̠̙̞ ̵̧̗̟̬̗̟̙VI̢̖͈͍̰͍L̢͇̝̣͙͢L̢͏̴̟̳͕̞̫̥Ą̹̥͇I̭̰͈N̷̛̪͎̼ͅ.̫̭̯̥͔̳̞́͘"̴͏̲̩͉͖̬̼̣ͅ** he drawled. **"̴̧̰̗̳̙͟A̡̩̳͎̤̭̘N̦̮ ̨̮͚̪̲͔̬̠́͝A̴͞͏̗̝͙̗͈̟ͅRGU̵̧̨͈M̷̴͓̯̠͙̟̠̕E͏͕̠͇͔̕N̶̮̜̤̖̞͖̭͟ͅT̵͓̱̱̤̗̹̥͘ ̝̀T̶̟̗̹̘Ḫ͉̥̳̱͚͉͜AT͡͏̜͙̦̼̭͉̝̭ ̡̟͇͎I̼̣̱̳͈̖̠S͓̜͎̠̬ ̷̶̞̹̹̘̤̀ͅA̘̞̻͉͢S͚̖̭̫̩̲̩̱̥͡ ̖͈̜̀ͅP̡҉̸̜̩̤̹R̖̣̬͈̩̯͜ͅÉ̷͍̘̱͉D͇͕̖͕͎̟̖͠Ị̛̣͘C̶͕̣͍͙̩T̶̶̟̰̬̪̳̮͎̭̳͠Ą̭B̧̡̛̖͈̹͚̻̣̳̪̟L͘͏҉͕̬̣̣̩̩͖͔E̡̛̖̦̞͓̙̦̜̝̭͖͓ͅÁ͍̰̱̮̞̠S͇̠̹͇̕͜ ͏̛̝̣͎I҉͖̩̜̣̱̘̠̝T̰̜̯̥͉̕ͅ ̵͉̦͓̠̺̺̹́I̢͔͎͔̳̲͉͓S̷̢̠̜͚͎̱ ̡̘͙́ͅWO̞̞̜̩̲͇͡Ŗ̩̬̪͖ͅT̖̯̙̝͉̗͔͜͞H̼̖̦͔̝̯͙̝L̸̡̙͚͕̱͝E͏̯̪̰̞̯̘͉̀S̢̝̟͙̥̲̞̻͞ͅS̬̲͙͈͈̩͢͡.̜̬͞ͅ ͡͏̵͇̬̯̣̖S̢̤͕̭͇̰̳̥̻͟Ó̺͉̩̮͈̭̕͡ ̸̷̛̺̫̺̞̫͓L͙͕̙̳͕̙̥̕E̺̰̫T̜̙̫̗̣͡ ̡̭̥͙̙͇̤͉̜̪M̥͍̯E̷͈̤̺̻̭̕ ͇̱͉̣͓͞ A̟͉̲͔͙̘͍̻͢͢N̵̨͎̲ͅS̘̩W͏҉̤̲͚̖́E̶̳̻̺̻̪̜̞R̡̝͙̩̜̣̝̕ ̤͔̟̕T̵̲̲Ḩ̜͚̕͜I̛͇̜̱̤̥̘͡ͅS̰̰̟͚̲͎ ͓̥̝̝͚̰̩͇R̢̟̩̭͍͎͠I͘͏͙̻̙̣̗G҉̴̮̯̙͎͘H̶̼͇͔̗̪̪͡ͅT͓͈̯̩̦̦͢ ̗̥̠̭͓̞H̸̭͓͟E̢̛͔̟̲̮͓͎̹͉R̮̘̹̯̤͚͎͓̀͘E̷̦͟ ͏̪͔̪̲̮̭̮͘Á̱̩̹͍̯̤N͉͚̰̝̰̖̩̱D̷̬ ̧̨͇̳̲̩̯̜͜ͅNOW̷̟̩̣.̢̛͎̜̫̭̥̘̮ͅ ̣͖͖̯̺́͜͠U̻N̸̳̯̕L͎̹̭̜̖̰͉I̵̩̼̺̻͓̲K͇̙̰̟̲̘̞E͕̳͝ ͏͓̮̥͇̯̻Y̭̳̼͢O̢̗̜̝̣̼̲U͏̦̝,̞̱̬ ̴͓̱̝̻̗ͅĮ̨̻̱͉͙͟ ̺̪Ḑ͍͈͕̖́Ǫ̘̙̹̺̻͎̜͚̣͞N̴̺̦͎͖̞͉͘'̗̹̠̭̤̮͘T̳̥͠ ҉̫͎͖E̴̟̩N̬̩͓͍̙̫͕͙͟J̶̧̖̞͈͖̺̣͞O̡͈͈̠̳̝̞͜Y̢͖͎̻̯̲ ̟̟͍̖͈͍̼̤͡TH̝̫͙̭̪͇E̵̡̤̫͎̥̻̱͜ͅ ҉̼̘̜̹̯̘͜͝ͅS̴̼̯͘U͖̗̠͓̰̺͔̳̼F̶̛̙̤̥̳͓̮͡F̨͇̣̺̮̱̪E̬͚̹̕R̶̢̝̫͍̙Ị̡̩̩̯Ń̮̬̮̥ͅͅĢ͖̳͚͈̩̖̼ ̙O̳̭͉F̸͉̯̗̹̝̤̦̻͟ ̼̣ͅ I̢͙̙̫ͅN͈̖̜̻̰̬̜̤͘N͘͏̙̣O̡͏҉̼̩̺̪͍̠ͅC̻͔̫̫͈͜͜ͅE̶̵̖̰͚̗̟͔̱͡N̳̳͔̻̰̗T̢͉̩͎S̷̡̺͙̯̣̜͇̦͙.͙̲͢ ̢͈̩̱͡U͏̰͉̟͇͖̲N҉̣L̷̶̪̻̘̥͠I͏̲̭̹KẸ̗̮̘͎͕̪ ̷̦͓̦̣͝͝Y̨̡̖̻͍̖̪̯͇O̪̮̳̯̳̫Ų̛̯͓̩͞,͎̺͔͇͕̦̻̰͖͘I̼͉͓̘͇̟̩͙̟͡ ̹̥͓͔D̛̲͚O̤̭͎̠̖͕̹ͅN̞̦͚͠'̼̝̲͈͍̖̯̖͞T̺̺͚̞̝̫̭͢ ̻̳̘̘̺͇̖͜͢EN̵̖͢J̝͚͍̙̱O͏̡̣̯͚͈̥͡Y̛̩̼͍̞͈͇̺̥͍ ̡͍̹̰̦̖͘ B̵̹̣̩̺͇̪̣̟͓U̡͏̼͚͕̀Ṱ̮̲̪̞͈ͅC̸̛̝͖̜̥H́͞҉̠̝̱̰̹͎ͅE̙̫ͅR͏͍̳I̯̪̩̙͕̫̼ͅN̗̘͚̤̼͎̯̖̳̕G̴͔͎̹̯͖̺ ̸̜̘̠̠C͠҉͎̳H̥͔̩̤̳̖̙͕͍͘͠I͔̬̮̞̙̟̦͓L҉̼͟D͔͉͢͠͞R̷̬̠̱E̫͍̱N̘͚͚̤̙̙͖̮ ̷̱̘̥̘͓͉̭͘ A̶̰̼̪͡N̵͍̹̕͝D̼̮̬̻͖̠͙̲̦̀̕͞ ̷̬̬͕̣̣̙̯ T̮͔̟̗͓̬̣͚͢R҉̬͙A̡̱̳P͕͕͚̙P̨̟̮̱̜̤͍̲Ị̜̺̦͇̼́N̴̩̖͔̳G͈͕͖͓̲͞ ͖̺̻̰̦̟̩͡T̬H̢̩̣̳͖͙̭E҉͙̥̀I͔̖̮͈͍Ŗ̸͈̬͎̞̮̪ ̸̶͖̘̞͎̙͉ͅͅS̷̴̘̥̖̣̬̙͢O̯̖̹̫U̯̺̬L̡҉҉̟͕S͟҉̵̼̮̱ ̸͍͎͡I̩̰͍Ņ̸̵̠̮͔̜̖͔̜̠̱ ̺̬̺̠͖̳͓R̬͉͢O̢̙̥̣BO̶͚̭͍̠̺̕͟T̤͉̺̥̺̯S̶̻̭̘̱̖̭̟,̴̩̭̤̬͓͖ ̖̦E͉͕͈͔̱̙ͅI̷̻̰̘̪͍͇͖͈̖T̕͏̠̗̼̗̩̼̱͠H͏̻̫̱E̵͇̩R̴̲̟̻ ̸̗̹̣͕̻̤͍̞ͅF́҉̯͖͕O̡̰͍̠̙̗͔̻͇̩͜R͇̪͡ͅ ̸̤͚̫̹͇̫́S͔̜̬̰͘͝O̵̘̥̖̮̣͙Ṃ̢̘̥̻̟͕͘͡E͎͓ ̰̞̙͔͖̱̦̤F͇̭U͏̪̗̮͍C̬̘̖̘̀ͅK̶̮̠͍͙͙̮̜͚ͅȨ͚͍̞̜̫̗̼̻̕Ḑ̶̯̙͞ ̧̩͠U̴̴̢͕̯̘̩̙͚͔̯̖P̧̱͎͟͝ ̪̱͔̥͇͚̠̖ E̸̡̺̺̯͖X̵͈̲̭͘ͅP̧͈̙͕͖͉̜͘ER̵̛̼͉̜͎̟͖̗Į̸͇̟M̧̻̟̤̠͕͇̰̳͜Ę̱̗̰̙̱͈̬N͚͙̖̬̲̳̹̺ͅT̨͚̱̬͡ ̵̺̩͓̥̬̘̕O̫̝̩̖̘Ŕ͎͓͓̦̺̰͜ ̵̛͍̖̼ͅA̲̝Ș̦̝̰̞̀͜͠ ̫͇͘͜A̢̰̘̲̭ ̧̛͕͖̤̖̪̜̼͢ͅŚ̷͔͓̟̪́I̬̮͕̳̲̤͕̫̮͜C͇̹̦̖͎͎K̵̰̗̤͚̳̪̮̬͝ ̱̤̠̥͘͝I̶͏̤̙̘͉̺̫̣̥D̨̳̲E̶̷͇̯̠̯̥̜̭̬À̰̥̺̬͓̲̯̰ ̟̀F̵̶̖͕̥̲͙̙̘O͔̪͙̠R̹̹̘̞ ̦̠̀́ͅA̛͔͍͡ ̨͉̟̹̙̮J̛̰͔̘O̫̖̞Ḵ̯̫̺̞̥̪̯͞ͅE͍̤̺̺̩͉.̵̧̜͚̯̲ ͖͕͍͞A̸̗͖̹̭̠̱͝N̛̻̫͝Ḓ̩̹͚̣̦ ̷̧̳̪̺͈̤̲U̩͇̪͓̙͎͙N͏̴͔̗͙̰̖͉̘͝L͍̩̤͎̞̬̤̰͘͠I̖̙̰̼͜K̙͇̖̱̜͍̠͟ͅE̷̛͇͍ ̨̞͚̺Y͏̵͕̣̫̬͎̙͡O̡̱͓̗͈̱U͈̫̙͘̕,̴̡̖͖̘͖̲̕ͅ ҉̡̻̳͢Ì͎̠͕͎͇ ̢̝̺̺͘D̯̤̠͍͔͙̬Ò͈̱̕͢N̟̦͚͎̙͍͈̻͟'͙̰͙͕͚̗͇̻̻͟Ţ̛̹͕̟̭͞ ̴͖̲̭̬͔ A̗̭B͇͕̥̕̕U̸͖̖̻̭̥̕͢S̴͏̯̻̜̖̦̫E͏̫̳͇̗̙͈͕̬ ̪͓̪̫̘͎͈A҉̟͓̫̰̺͢N̸̠̝̬̳͡ͅD͇̻̦̳͠ ͡҉̫̩̮͍̠̩M̥̙͍͓͍̫AN̸̳͇̫͞I̷̹̳P̴͙̮̝̰̭͙̺U̳͕͔͙̲̱͔͇̜͟Ĺ̶̴̙̯A̷͏͙̯T̰̝Ȩ̷̞͚͜ ̶͍̹̯M̵̡̝̣̙͍͍ͅY͓͕̟̹̹̗͖̺͟ ̫̠̩͉͈Ḳ͖͙̜̤̭̭I͓̭͞͞DS̩̙̺̰͙̻͢͞ ̫̠̭͙ T͓͘͢O̷̟̰̲̗̬͓͕͠ ̡̦̝D҉̩̪͈̘̖O̸̟̼̤͓͉͙ͅͅ ̵͞҉͈̺̙W͏̵̲̰̣͕̩̻̘͇͠HAŢ̢̣̼͉͔Ȩ̷̨͚̜̬̞̗V̨̞̭͔̪̙̜̻̟̼͝É͖̞̩̳̼͜R͏͈͍ ̵̗̤̳͕̥T͏̮͇̱͎̠͢H̨̼̙̬̼̱͕͖̺̰̕E̡̨̝̞͙̬͝ ͎̼̟͇͓̪͠ͅF̸̮̝͓̲̪̦͓̙̪̕U̴̳͓͕̗͟C͖͖̫̘̮̺̥̀ͅK̷͖͖̪͔̺̕͟ͅͅ ҉̭̩̖͢Ị̫̣̺̱̕͞͞ ̨̻͚̥̼̞̲W͜͏̮̠͍̘Ḁ̛͕͉͙͚N̳̯̝̗͢͟Ț̛͉͚.̡̝̖͓͙͈ ͖͚ S̗̰̩O͍̖̝̼͙̗̕͜ ̦̝̼͙̫̝̞̕͜S̨̼͢P͕͎̀́A̻̪̩͓̣͚R̺̺̹̥̀͢͜E̶̗͇̕ ̡̙̩̣ M̦͙̙͍̲͓̕ͅẸ̷̶ ̙̬͍̦̭̳Y̸̠O͎̖͎̰̹͉̣͔͙͡U̸̳̬̟͎͎R̤̮͍̤͞ ̶̧͙̪͉͙͉̹̳̞͢F̪̗̣͢U͍͕̭͎̜̞C̷̴̵͓̳̺K̙̫͕̖̙ͅI̴̫̥̜͈̼̻͎͇̙N͓̼̮͎̫̤̟͙̤͢G҉̺̠̹̣̥ ̶̖͔͉͚̪̭H̳̟̹̰̞͉̞I̶̧̼͇̗̤̟̤̝̻S̟̬̥͖͕̙͙̥͘T̴̪͉̞͔̭͘R̢̫̬̝̭̱̲I̷̻͍͢͢O̻̭͚̲͍̹͎̕N̶̦̳͎̺͚̖͘̕I̘̰̗̣͕͖̻͘̕ͅĆ̥̰̮͕͈S̹̪̱̱̝͚̬͔͝ ̸̡͍͉̠̥̼ A̙͖͔̲N͕̥̙͚D̸̴͇͖͈̩̻͔̗ ̹̱̩́͠S͎̫̣̼̤̜H̷͚̺͟U̻̜̕T̠̲̭ ̷̨̧̯̙̣̱ͅÝ͏̩̣͕O̝̻ͅU͏͙͉̗̬̻̭͔R̟̘͇͜͝ ͏̙̠̞̹̜̬̩͟ F͏̦̗̳͕U̘̝̺̬͓̬C̶̯̪̗̲͓͟K̮̪̟͜͡Í̸̜̝N̢̰̣̪̖̭̩͖͍̜Ǵ͓͜͝ ̬̦̻̙̻̖̻̙͝M̴͖͚͔̞͚͢Ơ͓͎U̸̩̺͡T̼̭̼̭H́͏̼̱͙.̡͉̜̳̺̼̞ ҉͏͙͉̩̲͖̭͍̘Ẹ̷̰̥̀͝V̨̧̛͇͓̯͔E̶̢̬͚̠̪̥̮̥N̨҉̗̖̜̹̳̤̯̙ ̧͈̤̺͈̗̼̠ I̵̲̜̪̣̣͓͈̯F̵̸͓̯̯ ̶̳͓̥͇̖̙͔ W̵̴͇͉͎͎̯̮̣͚͘ͅH̴̻̳̩ͅĄ̝͔̥̜̞͇̯̟T͔̱͈̯̰͎͢ ̷̮̖̮͞ͅ Y͢͞҉͕̖̲̖̞̯͕̦O̴͎̞͖͘U҉̺̟̜͉͠ ̩̰̦̖̘̫̠ͅS͇͇͞A̷̫̥Y͉̠̝ ̳͠I̡͇̼̘͇̩̬̻̠͡ͅS̵̜̲͔̭̱̯̹̘ ̴̡̹͎͍̩T̼̗̣̩̩͈̰R̙̲̯̯̣̥̺̕͜ͅU̩̭͠͝ͅE̛͏̰͓͕̭̬,̴͙̗͇̕ ̷̷̡̘̰̳̘̞̲̮ͅ T̤̰̥͉̰͢͝͡H̡҉̷̫͖̪̻A̪̠̞̬̩Ţ̱̗̺͓̹ ̸̬̯̳̘̥́́ I̸̜̺͕͔Ń͎̩̻͟͞ ̢̛̟͢T̙̼̜H̴̖̳̀͞Į̞͍̹S̢̺̯̤̤̫ͅ ͍̯̺̤͔̻ M̷͍̦O̠͖̮̲̝͙͢M̸̛̘͇͔̬͙͇̣̹̕ͅE̘̞͜͠N͎T̷̡͖̬̥͕̰̫̮̹̞ ̨̫̺̞̩̺ I͎͞'̡̼̙M̶̼̻̣̟̟̯̰ ̖͚́͠E̸̺VE̪̺͈͔̯͕̕R̛̟̘͕Y̻͇̼͇̗̕͞ ͏̨̙̯͍̳B̰͈͜͠I̻͔̪͕̠͎͉̞̩T̘ ̧͎̰͚̫͔͔͔͉͍̕A̖͕̼̲̩̼Ș͔͇̱̜͞ ̵͕̺̗̤͓̝̹̳̕ E҉͏̠̟̻V̷̢̞͎̮̬̫͉͟I̸̞̰̠̘̩L͏̳̬ ̜͇͎̙͓̥A̗͕S̴̵̞͚͕̞̝͚͍͡ͅ ͏͎͖̥̳̻́͘Y̡͕̱͔Ǫ̱̮̖̘̳̼̕Ù̶̟̼͠҉̢̖͎̫̥̯.̷̧̪̺̫̫̪̩̤̻͟.̸̪̕͢.̺̺̝̜̜̳̳͔̗"̧̝̳̭͇̟͙̬͢**

Mike's sneer grew larger. **"̸̬͠.̟͖̞̙̬̮͍͚̝.̟̠͇̞̖͕̞̕ͅ.̶̥̣̠̲̮̫͕͝I̢̩͍̦̣͔̥͘ͅ ̶̟̮̗J͇̰̼̫̹̳͍͇Ų͔̩̖͘ST̸͉̥̦͝ ̸̗͙DO̸͖̦̭̕͜N̤̺̙̕͘'҉̣̼̳͍̘̟̬T̻͓̱͔̙͞ ̖̞͠F̷̫̪͇͔̖͢͢U͚̠͠C͇̘̗̱̳̪KÌ̸̵̼̲͈͎̣̭̫̳N҉̧̥͍͍͓̹̗̣̲G̸̛̩̩͙͖̭͈̞͡ͅ ̸̴̥͇͖̼C̰͈A̙̖̺̜̠̙̺̻̖̕͢R̙͓̩̞E̵̢̦͚͚̰͟.̵̬̺͔͞"̼͎͜**

 **(AH YES, THE CLASSIC CLAIM THAT THE HERO IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE VILLAIN. AN ARGUMENT THAT IS AS PREDICTABLE AS IT IS WORTHLESS. SO LET ME ANSWER THIS RIGHT HERE AND NOW. UNLIKE YOU, I DON'T ENJOY THE SUFFERING OF INNOCENTS. UNLIKE YOU, I DON'T ENJOY BUTCHERING CHILDREN AND TRAPPING THEIR SOULS IN ROBOTS, EITHER FOR SOME FUCKED UP EXERPIMENT OR AS A SICK IDEA FOR A JOKE. AND UNLIKE YOU, I DON'T ABUSE AND MANIPULATE MY KIDS TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT. SO SPARE ME YOUR FUCKING HISTRIONICS, AND SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH. EVEN IF WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE, THAT IN THIS MOMENT I'M EVERY BIT AS EVIL AS YOU…I JUST DON'T FUCKING CARE.)**

He snapped the claw of his gauntlet, and all around Nightmare Springtrap's immobilized body, giant black pins began to materialize. Sharp black needles with skull heads that crackled with corrupted lightning. William's eyes widened in horror and he flailed about as he realized just what Mike was about to do.

 **"̠͚̺̼̗Į̢͖̪̣͕̰ͅ ̸̜͕̦̖̗̬̮̕T͓͔̣H̷̨̯̥͇͝OU̖͇̗Ǵ͙̻̤̰H̷̬͈̤̘̖͕̀T҉͎̱̝̠͝ ̸̻͉̬̙̹͉̮̹͟W̴̼̦̹̥̯͇̰ͅE͟҉͖̬͚̗̹'̸̢̦̰̪̱̺̗D̷͈̜ ̸̯̖̗͕͕̘̼ͅS̯̟͕̮̣̩̼̞͈TA͖̞̯̞͍̹͢͞R̝͖̭T̨̲̬̠͔̮̣͉͍͚ ̙͎͙̪͞W̶̡̺̱̻͍͍͚̩Í̴̳̼̱̺̲ͅͅTH͏̦̙̳̯̗͓͈̗̯̜̼̦̜͕̺͟͝Ş̼̪͕̼͘͡O҉̧̩̗̮̫́M̠̩Ẹ̶̼͎̝̯ͅT͉̭͍̙͈̳͔̙̣͞H̦̖̜̭̀͡ͅͅͅI͕͙̰̱͟N͈̮Ǵ͙̯͎̱͉̣̩͝ ̸̨̮͕̖̣͇F͖̹͓̭͢͞A̬͔͖̩̫͍̖M̛̞̟̤͇̥͈͟͝Ì̧̭̩̱̺̻̞̼L̢̨͓I҉͏҉̹̼͓̖̩̰̲À̱͔͇̳̳͖̲́͝R̞̰͓̀͢,̩͙̜̱̠̖̖̱̟"͜҉̯͓͇̰̠** Mike began, his tone now almost conversational. **"҉͏̛͖̤̩̩̪̰̹̼Ẃ̱̩͓̲̘͓͘͡H̥A͇͖̖̳͡ͅT͔̟̟̯͍̮ ̶͏̭̹̠̻̙͙̳W̵̯̜̲̣͇͠ͅͅA̡̡̤͞ͅS̱̭̟͎̀͝ͅ ̸̙̱̯̠̖̥̱̝͢Ì̶̤̬̥̭̯͜Ṭ̢͜ ̟̩͓̳̞LI҉̪͈K̶̺̟͖̹͖̣͔̳É̛͉͈͝ ̛͙͉̬̬̞T̟͚̝̬̕O̗̤̞̯̗̙̤̰ ̴̹̳̮͙͔͕͘͜Ḇ̨E̥̤͈̘̯̣̭̼̕͢ ̨̺͔̱͙̞̕Ş̢̞͕̜̻̼P̡̨̮̼͉̟̗̠̻R̴͓̪̯̤͈̀̕I͕͍̤͡N̷̰̼̺̕G͉̭̗̭̙͍̀L̴͍̲̯̯̦͙̼̞͍O̡̡̘̞̣̰̫͞C̢͚̮̱̺͍̹͢ͅK͕͓̪͚̲̰̟E̴̛̼̝̯͖̰D̺̱̜͚͝,̷͈̩͍̮͍̞ͅ ̨̥̙̠̣͜ W̢̨̮̤̯̘̖̦̫͟I̜LLIÁ̭̣M̷̬̩̝̪͈̮̺͝ ̦̯̼͙̬̙͇͞A̟͕̻͘F̸̰̹͓̘͜ͅT̀͏̱̭͠Ó͓͙̲̲͓̼͉͚͔N̲̺?̯̻̭̕ ̧͏̙̦̪̞̬͠Ẃ̳͕̪̞̗̥E̫̲͙̩͍͢ͅR̸̝̖͕̞͎̲͞E̴̗͔̺̕ ̲̪̰̹Y̯̲͙̻O̜̤̞̮͡ͅU̶̜̬̦̠͕̗͉͙̺R̴̼̺͖͇̤̦͟͡ͅ ̥̻̦̻̘̥͘I̵̵͏͈̘̭ͅN̮̞̙̤ͅN͈͍̣̻E͍̪̝̬̮̘͚͞͞R̡̩̮͇̘͇̘͖̰ ̟̮̬O̴̖͔͓̫̟͘Ŗ̹̝̼ͅG̜̳̱͙̖͚A̩̣̘Ń̳͔͖͎͓̥S̹͖̪̹̩͖̹̰ ̡̺̼̲͉̣̞͖͖͞S̴̩͙̰̀͝K̼͙͠Ȩ͉̟W̷̳͎͎͎̼̘̹͜͜Ȩ̰̟̺̼̘Ṟ̬̻̟E҉͇͉͔͕̤D̢͈̗͝ͅ,̪̝͡ ̫̦O̵̷͎̖̼̤̤̟̺̙R̵̘̞͉̬̯̣̥̤̟ ̙͠͞W̢͎̪͕͙̜͖̱̘E̼̲Ŗ͔́͝E̛͖͍͕ͅ ̳̮̲̻̀͝͝T̘̟͚͉̳̩͙̯͘Ḫ̴͖̹̭̮̺̕͘Ȩ̶͈̞̤̺̱̠͓͘Y̶̢̮̠ ̡̦̻̭͈͜C̜̯̜̙̼̳̱̲R̗̻Ù̢̱̫̱̖͍͓S̨̱͉͇ͅH̸͔̥̱E͎̝̳̠̠͔̪͔D̡̩͔̫͘ T̜̜O̶̴̢̠̹͖̤̖ ̶̨̙͓̝̠̰ͅͅP̖̬̥̲̭̲̘I̙̙͘E҉͇̱̠͍̕C̩͎̰̪̯̫͓̥E̛͔̟̜S҉̵̡͈̝͚̤̙?͍̙͡ ̧̫̪͇̭̣̱́ͅF̪͇͎̝̖̤Ŗ̴̫̻̲̫̳̩Ơ̗̩M̴̠̱̜͎̘̮̣̣͙ ̛͔̝̹͎̗WHA̩͕̜͕͔̭̩̱͞T̢̖̼̠͢ ҉̢̝͎͉̜̪̱ͅI̧̬͖̕ͅ'̶͙͔̫͎V̢̻̟̜̗̮̩͔͜E̴̸̫̘͓̬̫̹͙̯ ̷̰͖͔͖̠̤͞H̡͔̩̟͔͓̥͝Ȩ̸̭͙͖͎͕̫͚̀A̰̳͍͍͙̝R̵̼̱̫̥̭̺͝D̫̪͔͚̪,͖͔͙̕͟ ̡҉͍Y̻̤̭͕̭͚̮̱Ờ̘̯͓U̶͍̞̝͘R̶͎̜͈̰̰̳̕͡ ̣̞͓͎̤͟͝L̶̴̡̖̻ͅỊ̛̦̥͔̤͓͔TT̵̤̫͇̲͝L̵̡̫̩̫̩̠̪̟E̻̲͖͎̺̫̝̰͢ ̷̮̥̝͉̼ͅA͎͔̝̙̖̕C̙̥͚̟̗͝͝C̙̣̕I҉̼̞D͏̮̪͓̬̣E̷̞̫̰͈̬͉͡ͅN̸̢̻̥̥͝T̵̨͉͍̦̭̰̀ ̗̥̳͘S̛̯͔̪̖O̸͉U͏̱̣̠̻̹͠Ń̷̪̬̪̱D̳͉͚̫̳̫̗̫S̫̤̫̼̩̹̪̯͝ ̛͉̘̤̪̘͚̩̩L̡̛̦͓͇͚̳Į͎͖͝͞K̨̩͚̥͕̺͔̦É̦͍̮̹͙̱̣ ̷̡̩̮͇͘T̸͚̣̝̪̮͠͞H̛̬̟͚̜̗͘E̺͎̪̦̪̱̱͙̭͘͢ ͔͘͢F͇̬͉͙̟̕O̭͖R̙̬̼͓̕̕M̵̠̲̮E͏̠̲̤̫́ͅR̻͞.̢̞́ ̛̩̬̟̥̲̝͜S̸͉̲̹̲͈͎Ờ̤ͅ ̫͚̲͔̥̟͎͘A҉̥̮S̮̫̜̙͍ͅ ̨͕̹F̨͞͏͕̟A̼̼͚̱̜̮̕͟R̗ ̫̝̙̯̘̲̰͘A̟̖̪͘͡S̝̕ ͙̻͓̹̗͓̬͕͝I͉̘̟͜'͖͕̤̟̕M̻̙̻̬̤̜͢͞ ̴̛̤̜̙̱̞͚͔C̘̗̺͢Ó͍͔͖͚͓̮̬͠Ṇ̷̹̗̼̪͉̙͢C͙̝̖͉̙̼̟͚E͏̢͏̪̪̳͓R̢҉͎̼̹̮̟̥͔ͅN̷̨͖̮̼̘̠̳E̼̤͓̪̟D̷̹̼̻̟̤̦̀,̗͞ ̷̜͇̗͙̞Ṯ̡̟̰̹͢͟H̙̜̮̗͙̠̬̞E̥̭̺̤͙̝̰ͅR͏̩̻́E̱̪͠'̱̩̩͈̠͠͠S͞͏̙̹̮ ̸̜̮Ǹ̨̧͙̺O̜͓͔͖̺͞͡ ̲̝̲̙̯̻B͙͙̼͙͎͢ͅE̜̥̘̥̕͠ͅT̩̙̤̩̞̩͟T̷̟͈̯̮͚͙E̲̻̼̼̝R̝̼̬̟͔̜͝ ͏̶͉̣̗̱͙̤͉͉̣ P̲̞͓͙͜Ĺ̤͓̲̕͝A̢̯̼̖̜̫Ç̡̦͇͙͝É̶͖̞̩͔̗ͅ ̸͕̣͈͘͜F͏̰̗O͈̭R̩̰̞͕̺͉͚̰̕ ̯̼̬̀Ư͕͇͙̣̦̹͠͝ͅS̴̛̩̥͈ ̵͈͕̼̥T̡͈̫̜̯̳̜́O̷҉̨̦̝ ̵̳̠̜͘͟B̘̘̲̫̹̮̮͎E͏̹̫G̮͎̼Į̣͇̫̭Ń͍͚̟͉͓̙͍̮̕͠ ̺̟T̖͈̞͙͕H͎̞̭̠̗͡A̛̩͔̲͙̥̦͖̤N̵҉͉̦̯̲͈̠ ͎̱̥̻̖͞ͅẂ̴҉̞̠̮̜̩̫I̪͖̰Ṱ̖͉̖͈͘H̛͉̯̣ ̦̟͙̭̯͕͚A̴̸̞̣͕͓̺̼̗͍ͅ ͖̙͚̟̼̀͜͟B̭̻ͅͅĹ̫̝̘̰̼̥̯̳̀A͏̴͎̘͔̻͘S̨̫̲̠͔͇̟͍͘T̴̶͖̲ ̴͚̘T̮̖͖̹͇̜͔͉̜̀O̪̜̻̕ ̶҉̻̙̝̤T̷̡̰͖͚̝̼̝͢H̡̫̦̞̱̙̯̩͝E̥͙̝̙̯͟ ͓̲̻̬͖͢P͏̗̕A̬̣̬͖ͅST͔̼̯̦̱̀́̕!̨͖͔̕͝"͜͏͙̖̬̝**

 **(I THOUGHT WE'D START WITH SOMETHING FAMILIAR. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE SPRINGLOCKED, WILLIAM AFTON? WERE YOUR INNER ORGANS SKEWERED, OR WERE THEY CRUSHED TO PIECES? FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD, YOUR LITTLE ACCIDENT SOUNDS LIKE THE FORMER. SO AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE FOR US TO BEGIN WITH THAN A BLAST TO THE PAST!)**

The first pin jabbed itself straight through where William's heart would have been if he were still mortal, and the murderer screamed the loudest, most agonized scream yet. As brutal and relentless as Mike's attacks had been, none of them had penetrated so deep into the core of William Afton's soul.

Mike forced William to look into his eyes again. **"͉͕̞͠I͏̦͙͉́͠ ̸̘͘W͖̺̩̖̗̱Į̤̘̯͈̠͍͙̣͔L̠̩͜L̮̮͓͟͞ ͈̣̻̗̬̬̪̭̕͠C͏̰̤̼̯̟Á͓̣̹̱̫͈͡R̛̟̜̣̘͢Ṿ̢̳̜̯͓̕E͉̞̙̣ ͚̜̹̥̞̭͚̱Ṱ̵̷̛̞H̶̲̖̰̮̫E̴̹̳̼̰̤ͅ ̶͔̙͚̬͓̼̝͙̤͜͝FE͏͏̱̣̰̮̣̙À̖͕̦͖͖͈͠R͈͖̫̱̫̜͜͞ ͈̞̲̼̘͎̹ͅO̵͇̜̤̲͇͈͈͢F̷̫̱̰͔͎͜͠ ͕̩͚̲̭͙̘̻̣͞M̱̹̤͜͡E͇͚̻͜͜ͅ ̛̻̬͙̲͝Í̶̷̗͖̤̺̻̠̜̝N҉̛̳͈̠̰͈T̨̬̮͍O̢̙̟̲̜͎͢ ̶͍͕̞̝̝̭̣̤̘͟ Y̡͚͚͉̙̝̯̠̗͠O̷͇̠͚̻͓̗̲̮̯U҉͔̜͎̞ͅR̖͕͙ͅ ̗̙̗̗̗͜V̡̖͓̱̪̼Ȩ̻̥̦̀R̹͙̭̹͞Ý̢̫͖̖͜ ̜̟̰͍̬ͅS͎̼͉̻͖O͇̫͚̼͈̖̘͎̘͜͠U̡̖͔̫͇͔͓͘L̜͚͎̬̻̫͖̬,̸͙̟̦̪̳̜̲ WI̶̤͖̲L̷̠̲͖̜͇͉͖͡L҉͓̟̲̥̭̫̪͟ͅĮ҉͉̮̗͇̻̠͉A̝̯͙͘M̩̤̰̰̤̰̖̻ ̡͉̙̜̗̫͙̭͟À̩̣̺̯̗ͅF̘͙͔͕̳̙̤̼̳͘T̢̨̺͙̕Ǫ̼̰͡N̛҉̠̜̬͉,"** he swore. **"W̬̪̮H̷̡͇͍̪͎͕͢E̢̛̖͔̰̭̫̩͙͡Ņ̪̺̮̖͝ ̸̰̘͈͍͢͠I̪̤̯̬̖͢͡'̡̼̙̀͡M͇͖̱͓̙͎̟͢͝ ̲F̨̡͉̲͜I̳̤Ņ͏͇͈Í͉͇͇̟̙̱S̡̗̥̲̲͡H̟̼E̷̙̙͕̙͖͙͜ͅD̴͖̗͓͍̺ ̵͎̬͖̜̪̞̹͡ͅ W҉̸̬̭̩̮͈͔̪̻̱I̺̱͙̞̹̼̰͇͞T̶́҉̥͎͙͉̦̥̬H̘ Ý̴̼̪̬̙̬̝̺͔̝́O̷̯͙̺̘͙͘ͅU̸̵̜̙͚̞͟,̸̭̻̱͔̰̜͍̦̕ ̲͠I̢̝͎͇̯͔͕͈͍ ̸̩̭̩͉̥W̳̥͉̩̳͖͝I̢̲̳͠LL̡̲̮͡ ̴̰͓̗͙͙͔̭M̷̡̩̠̹̣̳̰̖Á̗͎̲͕̫̜͡K̷͓̀̀E̶̶̮͉͇ ̼͚̹͢Y̻̤̳O̧̹̘̞̝͘͞U̧͈͍ ̧̻̰͠B̻͕̬͢͠E͏̱͖͍̱̘̣͉͙G̸̝͈ ̧͉͖̪̳̫͎͠F̭̗͉͔̬̬O̴҉̱͙̫͎̻̲̣̤Ŗ̣̭̜̻͇͎͎ N̵̝̪͙̣̖̘̼̩IG̢̰̫̹̬H҉͢҉̹T̟͍͍́̕M̼̳͈̙͢͡ͅA̛̞̳͕͙͝Ŗ̼̯̱͇̼̘̹̙́͘E̡̞ ̵̺͉̙̪̪̼̘͟Ț̸̲̰̞͇̰̗̣O̷̗͍͝ ̺͎̬̮̦̠͘͜͠S̗̙A̛̯̮͉̯͖̞̫̤͞ͅV̤̰E̛͕͈̘̘ ̢͇͜ Y̥̳̬̺͢O͏͚͕̕U͎͈̣̳̺!̭̩̯̜̕"̧̲͎̣**

 **(I WILL CARVE THE FEAR OF ME INTO YOUR VERY SOUL, WILLIAM AFTON. WHEN I'M FINISHED WITH YOU, I WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR NIGHTMARE TO SAVE YOU!)**

The moment he finished uttering his malevolent promise, more of the pins and needles began to shove themselves into his hated enemy's ethereal flesh. And the first of William Afton's many screams began.

/

Charlie stared numbly at the scrying portal in pure horror as she watched her father impale the fourth needle into William Afton, this time stabbing it straight into the murderer's forehead. She had known that her father possessed a hidden dark side, known about how much he hated William Afton for the crimes he had committed both on principle and on a personal level. But never once had she imagined that Mike Schmidt was capable of the nightmarish cruelty and violence that she was now witnessing. She nearly turned her head away in fear when William's demonic essence splattered from the point where Mike had stabbed his needle. Even after being a ghost for several years, Charlie still remembered how sickened she had felt the day that William Afton had brutally murdered her in the cold, black night. And the aura of hatred and malice emanating from Mike's demonic form, an oppressive darkness that she could feel even through the scrying portal, made her feel _exactly the same way_.

The immoral delight on Nightmare Fredbear's face didn't help matters in the slightest. **"AH, I SEE THAT SCHMIDT IS STARTING WITH THE VOODOO PINCUSHION METHOD,"** he remarked with an amused smirk. **"A TRIED-AND-TRUE CLASSIC AND AN EXCELLENT WAY FOR US TO BEGIN. MY BROTHER MUST BE SO DELIGHTED TO HAVE FRONT ROW SEATS TO THE SPECTACLE ABOUT TO UNFOLD!"**

Catching the sickened look on Charlie's face, Nightmare Fredbear curled his mouth into a sinister grin. **"WHAT'S WRONG, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL?"** he hissed. **"ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED? YOU WANTED WILLIAM AFTON TO SUFFER AS YOU HAVE SUFFERED, DID YOU NOT? YOU WANTED NOTHING BUT VENGEANCE FOR DECADES, TO THE POINT THAT YOU AND THE OTHER LITTLE BRATS SLAUGHTERED INNOCENTS JUST SO YOU COULD GET YOUR HANDS ON ONE MAN. AND BEHOLD! YOUR FATHER IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH A LEVEL OF BRUTALITY FAR BEYOND ANYTHING THAT YOU COULD HAVE HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH, VIOLENCE THAT WILL MAKE WILLIAM'S SPRINGLOCK ACCIDENT SEEM LIKE A MERE SCRATCH IN COMPARISON."** He let out an amused laugh. **"IT IS THE DUTY OF A FATHER TO PROVIDE FOR HIS CHILDREN, AFTER ALL."**

There was nothing Charlie could say. She couldn't claim that she had never wanted the horror show in front of her, for both of them knew that there had been a time when she and the rest of her siblings _had_ wanted this. They _had_ wanted to unleash violence of their own against William, had laughed at him as the mechanisms of the Spring Bonnie suit tore open his insides and splattered his blood onto the floor, leaving him to a death as slow as it was agonizing. But now, after the red haze and lust for blood had long since passed, seeing her father carry out his own unholy and horrific retribution against William, especially since he was doing it on _their behalf_ , only made Charlie feel empty and nauseous.

Nightmare Fredbear, in the meantime, had returned his gaze back to the portal. **"AH, IT APPEARS THAT MIKE HAS FINISHED WITH THE FIRST ROUND OF HIS TORMENTS. LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE HE HAS PLANNED. SHOW ME MORE, MIKE SCHMIDT! SHOW ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF!"**

/

William let out a pained groan as he hung in the air, suspended by the Marionette's infernal chains. Mike had stabbed his needles into his body over and over again, his essence bleeding through the many puncture wounds he had caused. The demonic power that he had stolen from the Nightmare children was slowly healing him, but for once he felt no satisfaction or relief from that fact. All that it was doing now was keeping his body intact enough for Mike to unleash whatever twisted torture that he had planned next.

 **"̩̥̬͔̫͔̯͉͘͜T̶̟̼̗̙̫H͏͈͈̬̖E̜̻̩̝̹͞R҉̘̻̱͖̼̙E̴͚̣͇̦̜̹̱͕͜'͚̣̥͇̻̣̰̙S̜͈̀ ͈̮̠́͜͝Q̵̙̺͕͓̘̀U̶͖̖̬̮̪̪I̼̙̲̜̲̥͉T̷̢̨͕͍̥͇E̵̻̼̬͠ ̸̙̝̱̲͇͞͡A̧͕̫͉̮̗̰͝ ̵͎̝͉͙͇͠B̜̫͔̥͖̫͖̫̰I̷̢͖̘͔̩̙̖̥͞T҉̶͍̝͇̺ ̫͉̖̘O̘̲̤̲͔͚̝͟F̦̥̭͚̼ ̶̫͇̹̝H̲̠̫̥͓͎I̻̻̯̪͇͈͘ͅS҉̴͔̜͈̹̫T҉͕̬̙͈̻͝O͏̡͙̟̠̹͙̥͝R̸̡̼̯̭̺͓ͅY͏̵͏̪͕̖̱̭̠ ̨̖̩̦̙̥̫̞̳͝T̶̡̩͔̲̟͖̞̲̭O̫̝̗͓̘̤͇̲͞ ̧͚͕̯̫̀B̷͔̝͖̲̭E̢̯̪̬̦͔͎͡ ͈̺͉̗̭̳͍͖͘͝É̡͇̳̪͓̠̫͙̬̕X̭̺̹̖͍̕ͅP̴̯͕̯̭̩̦L̡͡͝ͅO̩̜͟R̨̝͙̲͔͇̺̜͈͖̀E҉̰̬̜̣D̶̻͚͕̞̗̻̦ ͓̝̞͞H̨̘̞E̢̤̹͉͚̩͝R͠҉̤͕̼E͖͚̗͖̹̲̲͞,̹͍̻͈̬̰̼͓͢"̛̯̦** Mike remarked in a disturbingly cheerful tone, either oblivious to (or more likely uncaring of) William's pain. **"̶̧̞̻̪͕̣̖T̢̫̘̲͓̩̯͈͠Ḩ͉̳̕͡É̵̡̪̟̯͍̼ ̢̼̰̟̯͞I̧͎̫̤̝͜Ǹ̪̲͙͇̘̭͍̳̗͡͡Q̢̙̱̠̪̼͔͢U̙͘͜I̵̯̞̜͡S̶͔̣͙̜̻͈I̶͔̫̕T̷͍I̯͎̯̬O̪̭̪̤̜̬̹̝N͓̳ ҉̗͎̩̣̖̤͠U̵҉̴̼̩͈̣̻͖S̼̫̮͉̝͚͔E̫̫̼̬̜͞D̴̢̟̳͕̗͇͓̣̘ ̸̝͕̰̖͎̕͝Ṭ̵̘̀O̻̤̪̝̳̳͕̝͢͠ ̨͖̱̳͉̱ͅP̺̭O͈͟K̜͘͞Ę̛̜̟ ̶͎̠͇̬̩̲͕̞͖Ņ̷͇̯͉̜͙͚̫͖͘E̢̨̺͙̱̩̹͎͙̯͙͡E̘D̸̷̨̺̺͕ͅL̢̦̗͎̱͚̩̼̩͝E̖S̡̹͈̪͍̕͢ ̴̰̼̻̮̳͢I̞͔̬ͅN̬̯͖̙͓̬ͅͅT̷̞̳͙̼͚̻̖͠O̢̘ͅ ̜̟̣͟͠V̧̗͖I̸̫͎̠̟̗̱͕͖C͎̣̠T̥̹͈̰̳I̸̶͙͓M̡͔̹̼̖̕S̟͙̠̭͜͝ͅ ͕͚̺̤͙Ţ̳̥͔̳̞̞̕͘ͅỌ̶̞̱̹̦̪ ̺̙͚̥̬̼͖S͞҉̵̭̺̲̳̯̠̻̠É̝̰͠͡E҉҉̼͔̱̗̞͎͙̼ ̸̳̺̮I̘͔̬̺͠F͉͔͈͔̰̳̪̀ ̧̙́T͏̖͙͖͎̣͓͡H҉̙͍̜͇̮̺̣E̡͓͙̳Ý̱̮͠ ͕ W̶̷̯͔͎̻̰̣̜͖E̙̞̯͎̰̯ͅR̶͙͠E̢̫̻͇̗̺̻̫̣͈ S̩̘̟̘E̢̮̲̻͘Ŕ҉̖̙̮̣͟V҉̷̧̱̗Ḁ̧̯͓͙̬̜Ņ̖̭̬T̶̛͙̼̜̘̙̮͘S̷͙͉̫ ҉̬O̰͇̘̤̠͟͝F Ţ̷̛̥͓H͓̮͙̱͖É̘̪͝ ̶̡̦͇̭̠̤D̻̤̳̹̮̩̟̼͓̕E͕̟͖͕͕͖̺̗͖V̟̭̠̲̟͓̼̘͘Į̶̺͍̥̤͘L̘͝͝,̲̗̘̮̗ ̢͍͖͇͘ͅA̡̛͔͖͇̹̪Ǹ̷͔̺̮̲̩͉͟D̢̺̝̞͈̭ͅ ̡̗I̡̧̬̗̼͉̼̝F̱͕̲͝ ̸͚̤̰̱T̠͇̣͕̯̯H̡̼̘E̷͡҉̟̤͕͓̜Y͍̭͝ ̶̷̼̺͓͚̠̝̠S̯͚̹̰̪̲͇̻Ṭ͝O̢̤̤̗̟̲͘͞Ṕ͙̹̤̪́P̩̯͜E͏̷̩͇͖̺̲͚̲D̰̳̜̪͙ͅͅ ̵̧̭̟̘S̵̘̯͉̮̯̠̮͘͠C̨̡̖͚̤͔̜̳̼̤̳͘R̤̟͇̭̠̼̀͞E̸̷̸͎̦̥̯̹A̧̫̗͡M̢̻͍̱͖͕͚̦̮͘I̶̘̺̲N҉̨̖̭G͖̤ ̤̲͕̲͢͠T́͏͖͓ͅH̺̘͍̬̘̣̞̮̟́͝E̵̫̙̻̟͉͉̬͡ͅY̢̘̩͖̰ͅ ̣̥̰͓̹̦̖͚ WĘ̤̱̞̗͎R̳̹̭̭̥̹̝͘E̘̣̮͇̩̬͔̤ͅ ͕̰̤͍̰͖̜͞D̛̥E̡͟͏̭̞̦͚̯̱T͍̗͔̙̟E̛͍̼̖̬̟̠R̴̡͚̮͇̙̗̫M̥̤̞̙̩̱̠͇͡I̶̠̝͍͜ͅͅN͙̙͈̹E͔̺D͜҉̨̠̬̼̭̻ ̴̗̜̦̮̪͚͜T̷̪ͅO̴͔͈ ̨̡̗̪̝̩̪̱͢B̵̡̢̝̱̪̹̜̙E̳͡ ̶͖̲̫͢G̢̛̦̼͠Ú̵̗͡I҉̙̺L̯̱͖͈͍͖̬͚̪̕T̷̮̹͍̙͠͞Ý̹̟̦͜͞.̥̫͖̠͔ ̸̤͉̟̖̖̯̞͖̪A̶̘̹̖͔͢N̷͍͚̬͎͍̹͙͢D̩̤̤̙ ̡͙͕̱̦̣̱͙S̤͚̗̠̤̕͘͜Ḭ̧̨̜̰͕̤ͅNC̵̗̙͙̤̕E̹̠͘ ҉̷̖̭̘̜͠Y̴̻̠O̴̧̼͉̹͈̝̹̳̣Ú̡̠̤͙̭̯͖̪̭̞ ̠͙͔̥̥̺̟̫̞̕S̴̵̜͙͝T̛͖̺̝̪O̢̘̟̠̟̗̙P̵̧̳̤͇̗͎͉͙͢P̵̧͕͎̭̙̻E̱͈̼͜͝Ḍ̼͘͞͝ ̨̬͕͟S҉̷̣̲̝̼C̫͕̹̜̫̲̩̲͚R̛̻̠̬͎Ę̖̤͓͕͔̭̣͠ͅAM͍͕̭̝̫̟̜I͍̘͙N̙̜̺̗̟̙͇͕Ģ̢̰͉̗̟̤̝ ͕͈͕̞͈̫͉̯̪ AF̳̙̺̹̕͡TE̴̼͖̮R̸͉̟̠͚ ̨̪́I̟̫̪̼̥̪ ̟̰̬̠͓̯͜͞JA̢̨̱̰͓̳M̛̦͈͔͠͞M͏̳ͅE̮͡D̜͚͔̘̼̻ ̵̳̩͟ͅM͈̜̰̞͎̹͍͠͝Y͍̰ ̞̝͎̘̗̗͖͝N̖E̖̼̺Ȩ̺̯͓͕̜̳̬͞͡D́͢͏̳̟̭̙̗̦̟Ĺ̸̟̭͚̠̪̘E̝̳͎S̙̯ ͖̼̙̜̝̖́͢I̛̙͍̦̘̻̻̯͎̕͜N͕̟̳̩̭͞T̵͕̪̤̠̝͉O͎̘̩͙̠ ͔̺̖́͞Ỳ̨͔̖̲̟̥̻̤͚̣Ǫ̣̩̕͝ͅU҉̥͓̙̻͍̤͖̣R͖͘͜ ̶̤͚̰̰͖̩͎͟͟B͚̪͉̻͡U̷̶͍̹͚ͅṈ̨̺N̟̘̲͟Y̗͘ ̘̮̰̘͎͚̹̕̕ͅE̖̺̳͉̤̹͢A̧͕͉͔̻Ŕ̭̮̗S̘̖̝̤̗͡͞,̴͙̰̩̩͠ ̡̧̛̻̭Ì̸͓̰̘ ͞҉͉͔̮̳̙̪̤̜ͅG̵̲͎̠̟̟̰̖͘U̮͕̼̦̻͜͠E̗Ș̨̦̱̖̹̩͜S̮̬ ̡̢̠͎ͅW̡̲͇̻̗͞É̘̦̱̞̠̼̜͟͢ ̝͈̺̳͠C҉̹̤Ą̻̦̪͘N̞̬͖̗̝̯̺͜͞ ͓̗̱̕ Ǫ́҉̹͎F͕̬̞̞̯F̷̨̛̞͖͈͉͓I̠̜C̵̢͉̹͘I̢̟͚͖̹͍A̟̦̝͖L̰̹̥̪͙̹̱̘̀̕Ḻ̛̤̯̰̺̹́Y͏̙͕̭̬͍ ̵̢͈̰̖̟̜̺ͅC̜̥̞͙̺̦̣͚̲̀O̶̪̩̠͇̺̩̯̩͎͞Ǹ̡̦̬CL̺͖̬̼̕Ú͇̠̮̯͈̫̳̰̫D̟̖͈̻̖̣͟E҉̨͏̰̖͓̱͇͍ ̸͚͘T̡̩̖̣̙͟H̩͉͉̤̫̤̖͢Ą̷͙͓͟T̴̖̰̟̙͔̘̼̙͡ ̢̝Y̧̫͚͎̻̩̰̹͚Ơ̹̭̖̦͓̟U̳͍͡ͅ'̮̪̖̘̀R̗̘͖͇̣͜E̫͚̺̖̻̝̺ ͍̯̟̦̖̺̀A̤̼͓̟̳͉͡Ņ̴̹̝̩̼ ̱̙͟Ę̵͓͎̪̮V̛̩̝͞I̵̱͍͡L̷̛̘͚̫ ̢̨̱̙̹P̣̬͝I̧͓̬̪̜̰͠͝E̴̷͇C̢̜̯ͅE̡̜̲̙͚͇ ̶̡̘̲̱̬͞O̷̡̧̝̭̤̻̪͇F̛͉̙̣ ͕̙̲̦̥S̡̧̟̟̻͕̼͎H̶͏̬I̝̱̝̗͚T҉̧̲̠̺͈͞!̬̤̲̻̳"͏̢̢̰̜̥̭̗** The demonic manifestation chuckled menacingly. "̵̝̲͍́ **T̵̡̜̤H̛̲̩̬́͜O̡̖̟̝̰U̶̼͍̹͎̻͞͡Ģ̜͉̗͝H̸̻̼̬̺̥͡ ̶͏̮M̸̴̱̲̠A̞͇̺͎͉͖͠Y̢̱͟͝B̴̘̲͡͡ͅE̵̸͙̺͓̥̫̺ ̪̣̖̗̕C̝̦̹̬͎̳̘A̧҉̦̺͍͔Ĺ̠͖̺̗͙̫̱͚͡L̨͎̣̠̭̙̜͘͝I̸̴̩̩͎̺̳̘N̢͕̘̤̱̳̫̘̜G̡̧͇͈͇͉̣̦̜͔͝ ̡͓͕̻͕͎͘Y̨̨̗̠̮̳O̸̼̻͠U̷͙̤̪̳̯̹ A̶͚̬̫̯̗͉͜ ̘̤͕̠͈͈̖͝S̡̥̣̝̙͞͡E͏̙͍R̙̟̱̜͞V͏̖̱̜͉̼͕͉͝ͅA͇̲̼͜N̶͏̮͉͓T͍̜̠̬͠ ̦̻͘O̼̪̭̼̲̞̩̣͓F̵̷̫͔͉̙ ̵̘͖̻Ṱ̤̼̺͙̬͈̗̘͝H̯͖̱̺͎̺͇̘ͅE̷̵̯̤̖̤͘ ̶̡̗͓̺̞̺̥D̸̡̳́E̷̞̺͚̥̳̩̘V̡̛̞͇̱I̷̩̗̳̗͓̕̕L̵̗̹͚̘ ͚͚W̟͈͕̬͡͠Ọ̡̩U̢͓̩̼͟Ḽ̢̣̟̟̝̹̕͟D̤ ̟̦̱B̯̜̙͚̻͖̳̯É̜̗͎̕ͅ ͈̪͔̠͍̀̕͠P̧̬̰̼͇̹͈͖̤͙͞US̝̫̹̱͎̟͕̦̼H̤̹͝I͙͕̪̺͎͞NG̮͖̫̜̻ ̗͍̬̻̺I̢̧͉̬̭̞̪̙͍͍̥T̴̢͈̺̗̼̦̭̣ ̰̻̱̗̮̥̀͢A̪̖̹ ̠̪̱̯͖̮͔̻̀B͏͢͏̗I̷̠̙̙̻̟̹͇T̻̯̰̘̰̥͢.̶̮̙̭̥̹̰͕ ҉̦̻̼̲̥C̸͕͇̪͜͟ͅO̙͈̩̙̻N̞̣͕̣̼̮͓̱͓͢S̗̲I̗̫̭̻̘̞̕͠D̫̩̫ͅE̷̤̝̻ͅR̙̘̙͈͠I̡̦̲̙̘̫͉N̥̜̺̜̯͈̟͙G͉̫̳̻̱͙̤̗ͅ ̪̲ ̶̧̜͕̳̦̖HO̸͙̣̰̫̺̙̞W͏͚̫ ̟̬̮̜̦͇̻̩̮M̸̡̨̠̪̤̘͚U҉͍̠̲̤̘̹͖Ç̛̬͉̻̼͔̫̩͍͟H̡͕͢ ̛̭̼͜ N̴͏̵͔̟I̙͖̱͍͎͜ͅG̱̥͞H̱̮̥̹̤̫̞͔͢͜͟T̴͈̘̯ͅͅͅM̧͓̲͈̖̘͉̥̰A̩͓͈̩͜͝Ŕ͙̝̩Ḙ̷̷̠̠͉̱̩ ̷̙̺̟͖͖HAṮ̸̛̛͇͎̜E̳͈͔͟S̢̥̼̥ ̸̠͍͉̘͎͔̮̞́Y̼͉̞͙̰͚̜̠O҉̷̦͚̕U͇̫͈̕R̷̨̬̫̻̜̬̝̦͞ ̥̟̘̯͇̠͎̟̕G̢҉̨̱̫̹̩͕͓̠Ư͏̻̲͍̺̤̙̹͙T̖̳͎̰̼͍̹͚̯S̨͎̳̹͍͙̹̞̪͕,̧̟̮̼̰̯̪ͅ ̨̯̭̲͎͡I͓̣̙̜̤̟ͅT̵͏̝̞̜̫̦̹ ̞̖̜̜̬͜W̺͇̭̘O̖̦ͅÚ̦̣̯͍̣̩̘L̳D̷͔̖̫̜͉͘͡N̶̝̥̟̼̣̼͓̖͠'̼̕T̖̱̬̺͇͇̱͢ ̶̶̴͚̘̰̤S̴̶͍͇U͇̬͙R͓̝̩̤̩͈̦̩̺̕͢P̬̟̟̰͘R͇̗̙͖̞͈̯̪Ì̟̹͇͟S̸̞̭̳̫͙̣̣̩̕E͓̯̞ ̜̞̬̻̕͡M̴̴͕̞̳̪̠̬͜E̙͢ ̧̳̯̳I̴͇͔̜͘͝F̵̣̗͚̬͙͖̖̮ ̴̡̣̗̝̖̪̹͎̗EV̻̲̭̬̲̗́E̸̥͎̦̩N̮̤͙͕̟̟̳̪͟͠͡ ̪̺̜͔̕S̲͍̥̕͜A̠̯̫͈T̤͖͚͚͍̜͢ͅĄ̷̜̬͔̱N̸͚͓̥͕̬̼͇̭͔ ̴̕͏̮͍̱̰̻DID̝̜̣͟N̡̩͕͎͔͚͓'͎͕͢͟T̢̯̳ ̷̠̻̯̩͖̖͘Ẉ͎̙͎̹̲A̲̰͉̜̞͖͈͘ͅͅN͏̷͇̝͈̗̟T͙̮̯̹̞̳͖́͠ͅ ͞҉̥͓̪͙̯̤Ţ̸͎̕O̰ ̴̙͚̻̰͈̣̟͕͚́BE̦̣ ͚̝̖͡ͅA̡̜͉̟̕͡S҉͍͎͇̞Ş̬͈̘̜́Ơ̲̙͎͓Ç͇̝̀͞I͖̲̜A̢͚͚͕Ṭ̶̵̢͔͎̤E̢̜̞̖̖͕D̛̥͎̤̙̙̙͡ ̢̜̘̖̠̳̜͞͠W̧͏̱̰̣̩͓I̧͍͙̖̻̱̜͚͝T̸̠̬̯͝H͔̱͖̺̖͔ ̵͎̲͍̩́̀F̥͎͇̰̥ͅI͏̝͇̬̭͔̠̝̮͖L̠̹̘ͅT͍͕͈͕̥͖͉͞H̴̨҉̯͕ ̡̜͚͉̦͖̕L͖̪̤̭̩̜̭̭͡͞I̵͍̖̖̭̯͍̭ͅK̹̯͎͇̦͠E̥͓ͅ ͏̦̞͈̜͚Y̨͔̭͢͡Ọ̸͓̫̮̯̫̭U̯̼̻̳͟.̩͈͓̳̘̜͢"̹̤̱̹͔́͟**

 **(THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF HISTORY TO BE EXPLORED HERE. THE INQUISITION USED TO POKE NEEDLES INTO VICTIMS TO SEE IF THEY WERE SERVANTS OF THE DEVIL, AND IF THEY STOPPED SCREAMING THEY WERE DETERMINED TO BE GUILTY. AND SINCE YOU STOPPED SCREAMING AFTER I JAMMED MY NEEDLES INTO YOUR BUNNY EARS, I GUESS WE CAN OFFICIALLY CONCLUDE THAT YOU'RE AN EVIL PIECE OF SHIT! THOUGH MAYBE CALLING YOU A SERVANT OF THE DEVIL WOULD BE PUSHING IT A BIT. CONSIDERING HOW MUCH NIGHTMARE HATES YOUR GUTS, IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME IF EVEN SATAN DIDN'T WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH FILTH LIKE YOU.)**

He stopped as William started struggling again, base instincts taking over as he tried to do anything and everything he could to escape his chains. Mike had to give the murderer some credit as much as loathed to admit it; even now, he hadn't given up no matter how hopeless his situation was.

 **"̶̶̛̜̜̤͚͍͈̳S̫̥O͈̲͔͔̖͞,̷͡҉̖͈̭̖͙ͅ ͏͙̟͕̱̣͖͝H͡͏̬̘̼̺͕Ơ͖̣̮͍̘͔͎͜͞W͍̗͍̲͎ ̴̭S̮͕̘͓͕̥͈͓HOU͖̫̺̱͜L̰̲͈̹̪͎̱D̗̩̬̘̪̪̞̪̣ ̡̩̦͚̺̟̰̦͎͡W̸͇͔̕͟É̠͉̟̖̺̕ͅ ̢̭̲͎̲̟̻͍͟ͅP͕̗͉̜̥͓͝R̪͇̮O̷̖͙̭͟͢ͅÇ̷̦̝͕̜̻̺̣̤͜E̴̡͎͜Ę͈̫̪̜̘͎̼͓D̨̹̤̹̞?** " Mike asked in a mockingly thoughtful tone. **"H̙͙͎̳̠͜͜ͅO̺̖͖̖̫Ẃ̨̧͍̟̟ ̶̛̥̟͡S̴҉̼̜̱͎͟ͅHO͏҉͍̖̟U̥̪̭̕ͅL͔̘͞Ḓ̨̰͍͎̬ ̴̤̬͢͟I̴̢̮̦̱̪̣̻̙̕ ͖̹̯̪̜̪M̷̪̳͜͡A̹̖̠̱͠K̟̩̱͉̞̻̳͙E͔ ͖̟̰̰̥́ͅYO̥̰̙͓̰͟͠Ư̮͙̠̗̜̞͎̕ ̛͍̹͈̳̼̺̟̥̼̀P̜̫̰͇̣̞͎A̢̙͎̗͍̜͙͈͞Y͏̡̣ ̵̸̱̟̩͚̱̕F͇̗Ó̡̞̻̟̲R͙͔̻̠̫̹̫ ͓̝̀͟͢TH̸̞̝̤͇͕͘ͅE̶̺̲̖͜ ̞̦͖͓͢͜͝S҉̙͚̪͖͍͝UF̸̡̘͙̠̮̟̞͞F͙̖͎̫͇̞͡͞E̘̬̠̤̙R̸͏̢̼̤͕̥̹̤̭̱I̧͓̠̝͖̝̲͞ͅNǴ̣̘͖͎͚̟͝ͅ ̶̘͠Y̸͈͙̭͉O͢͏͚̺Ṷ̡̧̝̜̖̗ ̨̟͕C̠̣͙͔͢͞A̧̰͚̞̳͢U͚̻͢S̨̜̖̳̺̯̻̫E̜̺͕̳̮̲D̛͚̥̳͔͙̫ ̫̖̲̭̟̳̻̖͠MY̧͖̟̺̹̹̳̟̫ ̡̛͖̳K̟͔̘̯̤͈̹͍̕I̷̡̙͇̥͓̞͕ͅD̯̩͚̺̖S͢҉͓̤ ̷̲̟͕̦̦͓̤̮̀̕S̢̗̀͘H͍͔͜Ò̵̢͔͉̫̰̙̻̞͚U̴̴̡͔͍̙̝̪L̝̥̻̦̙͍̰͜͠D̮̕ͅ ̤͓͉̲̟̩͠͝I̸̮̪ ̷̛̭̳̳̝D̴̨̰̱͓͖̘͖̠͔O̙̘̟͍͚͘͘ ̺͚̟͙͙͔̺͢W̶̗̲̝̝H͔̩͓À̖̱͖̣̱T̼̗ͅ ͏̸̧̩̤̠̪̺̰D̮͜AN̴̨͕͞T͢͏͓͓E̵̶̫̬͇̠̞͍̹̗ ̠̜B̡̬̣͔̞̳̻EL̗̟̻͝I̤͈̼̗̮͝E̶̶̗V͏̪̩͈̼̝͇̘̼ͅE͏̡̫̪̬̯̲̹̝͡D̙͇̦͔͢͜ ̶̴̜̩͇̱̼̮̗̪WA̬͈͖̗̱̬̮͢S̼̰͉͓͢ ̞̤͘͢M̛̟̜̗̮͖͝O̴̬̣̺̯͞S҉͎͎̦Ṭ̨̖̻͠ ̫̜̦̣̗̪̹̘̗̕͜͝F̝͖̻Í͈̪͚̠̳̖̮̬̕T̨͖͇͖̜̝̙͟T̬̥̟̘̖͘Í͕̗͔̺N̢̖͕̳͔͍̟̱͠G̖̦̯ ̶̨̛̰̙̳̺̹̩F̢̗̮̪͓͚̻͇̀O̡̼͚͈͔̹̤̠̗Ṟ̷̥̬͙̤̱̲͜ͅ ̟͇̀M̢̜̘̣̭̙̗̰̮͘Ù҉̗͍R͏́҉̼̲͖̬͈̳D̛͇̦̺ͅÉ̫̲̙̤̥̺̘̫R̻̠̪̘͓̝̬̥̕͜E̷̗̩̺̗R̫̺̳͖̣͈̰̻S̝̺̺͎͚̟͎̬̜͜,̡͎ ͏͍̠̗̲̟͈̦̞Ą͚̱̻̖͚͉͎͕̥ND͔͟ ҉̺̦̘D̡̝͝RO̷̻̺̼̞̤͉̯͘͠W̴̧̖̹͉N̷̨̯͍͔ ̧̢͚͖̼͖͍Y̡͖͙̼̞͟O̵̡͍̲͖̰͔̕Ų̺͕̻̰̮͖̱̦́͠ ͏̖̳͓̗̭̥͓̫̕Ị́͢N҉͏̫̺̩̭̖͈̮͎ ͕̘̥̱̫͈͞A̴̮̮̤̮͈ ̧̤͘ R̷̹̫͍̹͘͘I̹͙̘͍V̺̭̟̣̥̫͘E̝̯̼̪͚̹̘͇͚R҉҉̫ ̼̖̪̺O̱̠͞F̷͖̩̳̻̥̀͘ ͇͈͈̤̼͍̟͔B҉̭͕̼͙͇͡OI̢̨͟ͅL̫̝̞̲̥͈I̴̻͙͕͙̻͜͡N͉͖͞G̤̞̻̱̭̝ ̧͔̻̙̘̭͔ͅB̵̷̴͍̞̲̖L̝̞̯̯͈͇͝͡O̴̫̗̫͉̹̘Ò̝̜͓̟͢D̩͈̞̭?̛̱͘"͈͈́͠**

 **(SO, HOW SHOULD WE PROCEED? HOW SHOULD I MAKE YOU PAY FOR THE SUFFERING YOU CAUSED MY KIDS? SHOULD I DO WHAT DANTE BELIEVED WAS MOST FITTING FOR MURDERERS, AND DROWN YOU IN A RIVER OF BOILING BLOOD?)**

As he spoke, the air underneath William suddenly grew unbearably hot. Instinctively, he looked down…and regretted it instantly. The ground beneath him, which had previously been part of the same black void, was now a scarlet river of blood that bubbled and boiled on its surface. William struggled even harder, open panic in his eyes, but Mike was not going to give him even the slightest inch. He thrust his hand downward, and the bindings lowered William into the river. Nightmare Springtrap screamed and writhed as he was submerged into the blood, the boiling river scorching not just his ethereal flesh but also pouring into the wounds left by the needles and roasting him from within as well as without. All the while, the gruesome liquid overwhelmed his senses, sticking to his body and filling his nostrils with its foul stench. The imitation of Dante's Phlegethon that Mike had conjured into existence burned and nauseated William in equal measure, and it took every ounce of his strength to not open his eyes or mouth and expose them to the blood. When Mike finally saw fit to lift Nightmare Springtrap out of the river, the flesh and metal of his spectral body had been thoroughly blackened and burned, and the murderer himself was heaving and retching uncontrollably in rejection of the torment that Mike had just inflicted upon him.

" **YOU'RE…YOU'RE INSANE…"** William coughed out, as if he was finally truly seeing Mike and what he was capable of for the first time.

Mike let out a ghoulish laugh. **"̸̳̹̩̥̪͚̜̕̕IF̸̯̘̙̳̫ ̲͙Ơ̙̺͘N̰̭̝͘͟LY̯̹̲̳͟ ̵̛͙̹̹͙̺̰̠Y҉̫̱̞̻O̷̠͓͟Ù̠̙̭̲͔͖͟ ̷҉͓̤̙̝̘W̛͈̯̫͚ER̘͚͕̝͇̯̗͘E̶͕̼̖̬͓̞̝ ̶͎̦̫͈̻̰͚Ş̷̜̬͓̖̺̰O̧̘͇̬̮̰͟͠ ̨̺͙͔͎̥L̢̥̬̜U̦̲̯̼̣̕͜͞C̰̮̲̪͔̘̫̰͜͢K͙͙̳͘͠͠Y̴̞̲͔̟͍̙͞.̮̤̼ͅ,"͏̙̲͖͞** he sneered. **"̛͙̬̠͟ͅI̛̱̘̺ ͏͙̗͍̥Ţ͓̞H̨̻̯̰̬̠̰I̧̩̯̰͉̪͓̠͖N͏̛͙͔̟̼͉̯̪̜Ḵ̻̖̪̝͘ͅ ̶̰̫͖͓͕I̪͎̯̝͈͚̕ͅ ̷̜̦͓F̢̣̯͕̀IṈ̺̫͕͎͉͞A̘̥͟͢Ḷ̸̘̱̗͔͉̖̠̤L̛̯̫̺̖̹̝͡Y̥͔͜ ̱͖͖͘͟͞Ų̼̹͔̯̰̩͔̕N̬̻̤͉D̶͙̩̝̥͡E̫̩̮͇͕̖̗Ŕ̯ͅS̶̛̱̱T͟͠͏̞̘̠͈̣ͅẠ̛Ń̮̗̭̝͖̯̥̝͜͟D̶͉͈̻̠̰̩̥ͅ.̫͎̳̭̥͓͟ ͙̠͜I̖̫̘̪͖ͅ ̫̥̱̯̞̼͡FI̜̳̟̩̯̤̹̤̩Ņ̵͔͈̜̳̘Á̠̹̮̟̣͢ͅL͘͞҉̻̲̬͉ͅL͏̴̮̙̠͎͚̙̤̩Y̧҉̤͇͔͕̼̠͎ ̫̗̪̠͚̺̟͟ͅ ̬͖̼̖̺̲̟̞̤͞Ų̻̲̭̭͙͈̪N̺̝̝͙͔̮̥D̡̺̘̝͚̮͎̣ͅE͕̘R̛̙͕͔̞̳̫͝S̴͍̀͟T̴̙̲̬̮͓͜͢A̵҉̸͕̙͍͈N̡̘͔͍̠̭̗͓Ḑ̤͙̰͚ͅ ̡̛̭̫͎̺̺̜͡W̧̬̗̳̥̕͟ͅH͉͓Y̻̜͚̬̥̩̲̜̟ ̸̡̝̰̪̫̣͔̕ͅN̡̙̭̠͓͇̞͔͘I̶̟̬̩̩͈̥͉̫͙̕Ǵ̠̩͎̰͜H̷̥͙̘̜͉͉͔͠ͅȚ̸̼͢͟M̖̙̖̙̤͖̝͍̱͝Ạ̶̺̼Ŕ̵̭͉̼͓̥E̡̤̙̮̼̱͖̖͕ ̬͔͡H҉̫̫̙́A͓͔̞̣̣͠S̨̲̰̻̝̰͔̗̞͈ ͍̖͔̪̕S̶̭̤O͍̼͝ ̵̳̤Ḿ̱̭̭̲̺̭U̡̢̯͖͕͡C̵̻̱̪̜̕H̴̯͔́͢ ̸͟҉̜͚̰̫̪̗̰̫̯FUN̴̯̗̟͖͕̰̩̞͓͞ ̢͈͖͚T̞̰͇̻̭O͙̩̱R̖̞̱ͅT̶̛̺̲͕̪U̧̙̗͡͠ͅŔ̷̻͔̜̪̯͞I̷͖͚͙N̤̯͓̞̜͎̼̖̘̕G̘̰̞̞̮̝͠͞ ̳̗̺̖̳̻͖̖̮͡M̶͙̭̖̟̣̕ͅO͏͓̼̗̼̞N̴̘͚͖̪͟G̝̀͘R҉̬̺̻͕̮̻̩Ę̢͇̺̦̰͕̘̺͍̜L̵͏̫S̙͕͎ ̸̢̺LI̸̺͉̞̘̝̭͟͢K҉̜̪̹̞͉͍͉E̴̤̰͞͠ ̗̤̝̥͖͓̪YO͉͉͎̻̳̖̠̗Ù̶̵͙͓̝̻̞̜̹̗.̖̹̟̝͖̘̺ͅͅ ̺ͅA̢̗̘̝͇̺̘̝̬N̳̗͝D̸̼̘͉̩̤͈͙ ̷̩͠͡W̧̲̜̩̙̲̙͢H̻̹̘̺̖̟̟̙̮͟͡I̴͓L̴̲͎̯E̡̪̯̞ ̵̼͉͇̱̫̖͉̕ͅḾ̘̥̺̹͓͓̺̱O͟͏̶͎͉̯̲̙S̳̝̭͍̝̳͞T̶͈̯͍̼̼͇̦͔͈ O̯͖̬F͢҉̪̤̟͈͎̳̲̺ ̢͓̥̤̪Ţ͔̯̳̙̙̖̻̹̜H͙͇̜̖͞E̖̗̣̹̼̞̼̠͇ ̵̵̝͓̬̖ T҉̟̳̯̮͚̤Į̸̠̳͎̯̗̲̱MÉ̵̛̦̥̲ ̡͎̯I̮̠̦̠̣̘̝͎ ͙͚͓̱̠̥̤͕̝WO͚͍͙̺̜̱U̡̳̼L͔͙͙Ḑ̝̱ͅŅ͓̭̮͖̲̞͍̼͝'̯̗̪̠T̶̗̫̬ ͖̣̘̥͉̣̬ͅE̺̩̲ͅVĘ̸ͅR̷̶̭̥͉̮ ̞̻̩̟A̷̤̺̼̙̜̠̹GR̩͇͘E̯̪̯̪̺͟E̷͏̬̠̮̦̹͖̠ ͉̩́̀WI̧̤̥͉͇̬͇̕T͔̫̹͞ͅH͏̷̮̗̤ ̴̤͔̮̟͓͘H̡̦͓̯̫͓͙̕͢Į̣̦̠͝ͅM̛͖̦̩ ̹O̷̴̠̣Ṉ̺̣͚͔͇́ ̧̩͚̲͕̦͍͢RŔ͎̝̪̱̟̳͈̟͈Í͔̝̗͙̕Ń̡͉͍̰C̸̹̗̱̭̠͓̪͚͘I̧̗̪̭͕͖̞̮̻̺͢P̩͖̹̤͎̝̦͕͢L̷̻E̡͏̤̜̰͓̼.̪̜͙̰͈́.̤̙̪̬͍̦̭͘.̺͍͢͢͝"͏̘͙̹̯͕͔̻** his eyes flashed, **"̢̛̖̣̘̩̺̳͖̠̭́.̵͔̪͇͓̣ͅ.̴̷͔̲̖̤̦̲̼͠.̸̭̟̀̕J͚̹̱̙̫̼͎̣͘͜͡U̢͖͘S҉̥̪̭͕̖̲̤T̸̫̭͙̗͖̙̰̪͘ ͜͏̻̙͈͙͚̻͓̜T҉̶̲̱͎H̴̴̘̟̼̩̫͙̩̝́Į͏̘͚̫̯S͓̲̰̺͉̪̮͢ ̶̲̥̮̳̪̦O̡̰̙̳͞NC̤̯̹͓̭̜E̶̘,̤͖̭̞͝͝ ̨̙͙Ḭ̵̢ ̴̱̘̙T͚͠H̢̖̝̟͜͝I̬͎̝̕N̻̘̯͍͇̕Ķ̛͇̩ ̶̳̣̙̩̲̳͖I̧͎̯̜'̖͎̖͉̥̥́̕L̜̩̮L̴̥͈̯̼̼̥ͅ ̰̰̥͡M̸͏͖̟͖̘̫̣̯AḰ͈̟̮̳̩͈͕͡͡E̮̱̼ ̳̲͎̕͟A̴̲͝N͏̴̲̼̻̻̜͚ ̵͏̸̼Ę̬̖̦͖̫͚̬͙̯͡X̵̙͙̝͜͠C̷̛̜̬̞̞̣̩̕ͅE̡͉͇̙̕͜P̤̗̥̻̙̩̱̕TI̻͎̝͜ͅON̴̡̻͔͍͚̠͉̳̝̕ͅ!̦͔̤͡"̨̪͡͝**

 **(IF ONLY YOU WERE SO LUCKY. I THINK I FINALLY UNDERSTAND. I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHY NIGHTMARE HAS SO MUCH FUN TORTURING MONGRELS LIKE YOU. AND WHILE MOST OF THE TIME I WOULDN'T EVER AGREE WITH HIM ON PRINCIPLE…JUST THIS ONCE, I THINK I'LL MAKE AN EXCEPTION!)**

" **LET ME GO!"** William pleaded, begging for mercy for the first time. **"I'LL LEAVE! I'LL GO BACK TO HELL! I WON'T EVER BOTHER YOU EVER AGAIN!"**

 **"͖̼̺͓O̧̧͓͎̩̜͙͙̝̗̩͞H̷̫͔̻̠͞,̤̜͈͙̬͟ ̷̨̝̲̰̰̞̞I̢͇̜̞̲̞̯̤ ̙̱K̷̫͓̣̰̝̜̹͔N͍̹̻͍͙͈̺̠͇͝O̷̵̬̝͖͜ͅẈ̢̠̟̠̦ ̪Y͇̭̞O̸̤̙͢Ṳ̧̩͓̤͟͟ ̟̗̼̮̼̲WO̡̳̙͇̱͕͚̞͓͘͝N͏̰͙̗͖͖̖̳͢'̷͚͓͍̦͖̯̥̣͜ͅT̯̖̭̻̩̻͢,̛҉̪͇̦̺͇͓̯"͈̺̮̮̳̭͓̺̠͠** Mike hissed, **"̨͉̩̝À̹̙̹̲̗N̘̙̣̤̕͢D͕̪̟̹̕ ̴̸̻̗͔̟̘̟̞Į͔͘'̶̳͔M ̡̪̰͖̪Ǵ̞̱̭̹Ơ̴͔̩̤̝̳͖̠͉Ì̬͖̼̀N̫͔͓G̵̡̠̮͙ ̧̧͙̺T̷͍͇̰̳̼̜͞O͜͟͏͓̩̙ ͍̦̺͓M̴̢̱A̬̱K̳̲͟E̡̹̪̗̫̤̺̪͡ͅ ̶̛̥̱S̼̼̙̘͎̪͞ͅU̬̬̥̮̻̮Ŗ̱̝̳͕͖̟͇̳͠E̘͚̕ ̵͈̞̗̻̳͝Ò̳͖͚͎̠͙̗̞̖F̴͔̟̘̰̼̝͞ ̗͕̗̩̗̺̠̘̯̀͞͠I̢̲̙̗̯̯̞̼T́͜͏͓͎͚͓̪!̺͕͍̭̭̦͙̖͞"ͅ** Ignoring the panicked look in William's eyes, the man interrupted him and pressed forward. **"̛͕̤̟̲̜̼ͅŚ̶̪̯̱̭͔̖̟͢O̤̣͇̟̘̙̳͍ ̺̟͢HO͏̛͓̟̰͔̪͈̬̰W̧҉̹̙ ͙̦̹̦̰̟͕͕͡D̶̙̳̖̘̀͘O̗̟ ̮͔͎̜͎̝̹Ẁ͚̳͙̤̯̻̹̫E̸͖̦̮̖͕̮͢͠ ̧̛̱̫̼͓͉̦̜̳P̟̯̮͖͈͟͝R̯̙̱̞̟͇̗O̴̢͉̟̻̪͍͍͓͡ͅC̼̻̙̺͖̲̙̻͠Ḛ̟̰͍͕͈̼͡͝ͅEḎ̡̡̙̺̠?҉̦̙̱̝̱ͅ ͕̟S҉̛̗̩̘͍͝ͅHO͖͚̯͙͈ͅU̬̲͖L̸͕̳͟D̶̵̮̣̫̲͙̯ ̧̡̖̬͙͝I̧̬̪̭̪̻͔ ̣͉̬D̛̘̣͞R̤̻͇̪̳̱̯̀͞O̴̺͙̻̼͚͉͔W̵̵̪̥̺̼̯͜ͅṈ̟͚̭̫̖̹͍͢ ̴̼͔͠Y̵̡͉͙͈͎̮͖͞Ǫ͙͕̕U̴͍ ̨̻̯̬͢AG̜̬̣͍̬̱̭͢A̸̛̖̙͡I̟̞͙̝̼͜N̡̩͙ ̡̡̣͎I͟҉̜N̡͉̝̕S͖̞̯̱͉̞̞̮̯͝I̷̱͕̗̥̕͝D̸̳͓͕̙͇̪͔̙̘E̷̡̼͉͔͕͚͢ ͈̥͕̥͖̹̲́ͅA̶̘̮͝ ̴̼̬͡ P͕̣͚͎̖͠͞͡ͅI̡̘̬̲̪̲͔̗͠T̜͎̰̥̲̮̥͠ ̵̴̩͉͕̥̜̗̣O̴̗͟F̲̟͍ͅ ̵̢̭̱̼͓͘I͍͈̠͇͡NS͔̲͚̭͡É̵̡̮͍̗C̶̭̫̲ͅT̴̟̻̜̤̞͞S̠͝,̴͓͕̮̣̟̜̣̫́ ̷̰͙̞͉̝͎̼̕͘ͅͅW̶͏̝̠̠̟̫̝͚ͅA̢̰̜̹͙̼̲̱TCH̻͎̲͕̭͇͢ ̶҉̰̠̼Ą͉̗͈̩͓͕͈͎̤͘S̷̝͔̰ ̢̫̣͕͜T̛̹̀͘Ḩ̧̻̪̯̳͈̤̗̀ͅE̶̴͍͓̦̻͡Y̡̝̜͕̙͇̝̙̩͟ ͇̝͓̥̥̗͎͘͟͝ͅD͉̪͈͚E̢̢͉͍͖V͏̢̠̯̜O̵̰̞̱̳͟U̞͔̪̗̩̣̬R̵̟̥͚͕͞ͅ Y̧͚͍͇̥̕Ò͉̞̺͍́U̶̫̙̭͚͚̪̙͞ F̴̢̝͈̫̳RO̢̙̯̖̟̤̳̬̕̕M̻̯͈̹̕ ͕̗̰̞̼I͏̫̙N͏͎̞̯̪̹͢SI̷͎͚͔̯͍̘͇͙͘͠ͅD̺̲͕E̱̤̩̱͖̫̟̘ ̩̣͉͈͜O̶̸͉͖̺͇͖̲̝͍UT̛̮͈̤̗̲͔ͅ?̷̧͉̥̥̝͎̞͚"̸̡͙̼͔̟͉̹̠̝** As if on cue, a massive swarm of insects began to crawl up William's body, their beady red eyes glittering menacingly as they snapped their jaws hungrily. Taking full advantage of the puncture wounds left by Mike's first torture, some of the insects crawled into the many orifices and began to devour William from the inside out, even as others sunk their tiny, razor-sharp fangs into his metal flesh. William howled in unbearable agony as he felt his very essence being torn to pieces one bite at a time, desperately flailing about to try and shake them off even as more wisps of essence began to flow from thousands of tiny wounds. Then, as soon as they materialized, they disappeared without a trace. **"͇̬͎͔͇̭͚̤̫OR̛̭̞͇̪͚͖͜ ̨͍͍M̸̹̖Ą̟͍̤͠Y̬͖Ḇ̞͘͟ͅE̸̝̤̙ ̶̪͉̥I̙͟͞͡ ̷̺̭͙͚̀S̴̵̛̻̺H̙̞͍̬̳̥͠O̮̬̘̙͝͠U̸̫͎̙̥̱̮͜LD̮͕̗̕̕ ̨͉̩͖̣͎̝T̳H̢̘͓̬̪̖R̢̘͚͎̠͈̺͙͜O̴̫̼͍̕W̛̬͢ ̞̝͍̞͇̤̞̬Y͖̣͇̗̟̥ͅO҉̣̲̙̪͟Ų̖̖̻̖̞͙͚ͅ ̥͇̹̥̖̭T̸̖̺͓̭͕̟̰O҉̪͚͍͇̱͈ ̶̗̞̙̤̭͡M̰̼͇̪̩̖ͅY̢̞̟̫̼͇͖͟ ̠̪̫͚͙̟̖ͅŚ̶̛̰̹̻Ḩ͎̪̖͡A̢͖͙̠͖͓̱͎̼͘D̟̥̣͖O̪̟͠W̴̭͍̫̙̘̜͡ͅS͕̭͜,̞ ͍̬͕̲̗͍ͅͅA̸͙͙̫̮̳̠̟͘͡N͕̤̠̭̰̭̺̘D̵̘̣̭͘ ̛̖̯́S̛̥͍̗͟È̵͈̼̫͓̥̪͜Ḛ̛͍ ̜̖̣̱̟̖̀͜H͏̵҉͙OW̸̮͜ ̢̞͓͞Q̢̳͉̜̱̳̝̭̩̤͟U҉̴͎̰̙͍̪̕I̠̺̫͇̠̮̕͡C̡҉͕̝͓̰̟͇̗̥̪K̨̹̥͕̠͈̼͉Ḷ̢̻̼̹͢Y̡̛̙͔̟̪͘ ̨̤̻̣͉̝̲T̼̱̤͈̮̫͔Ḫ̗͚͟͝E͔̱̩̩̮Y̸̴̨̖̱̝͈̮͕ͅ ̪͖̙̪͢C҉̱̫͖̠͚͎̩̙A̸̩̺̤̲̳̞̳̯͞N͏̗̝̳̟̩̯ ̸̸̭̩T҉͏̥̙̲͓̹̘̳̜È̸̙͓̙͍̞̝A̡͏̞͙̠̼R̷͙̙̮̥̩ ҉͈̭̗̀Ỵ̤̮͚́͟Ò̸͈̯̣̮U̦̘̬̩͠ ͈̰̙̲́͢ͅTO҉͍̝͕̫̦̪̜͖͎̀ ̧͉̞͚̣̯̟͝P͕͎͞I͈͖̞̩͙͞Ȩ̞̼̼̠̳̖̙͟Ç̼̯̲̲͕̤͎͞Ę̴̝̟̤͕̰͈̳̖̕Ṣ̰͙ ̨̞̗͉́Ǹ̯̣̺̺͕̥͢O҉̥͕̫͝Ẁ͎͇̟͘ ̢̝̹͎̟̀͜T͚͉̬͉̟͠H̷̢̢̝͉Ą҉̣͓̤͈͚͔͍T̡͇̩͉̠̞̯̭̝͞ ̧̖̻̰̗̫̗͟Y̗͇O̸͈͍͜UR̛̬̣̕ P̛̙̀ͅO̤W̸̮̳̜͡E͜͠҉̘̪̺̪̙Ŕ̸̯̙̗ ҉̝̯̥͈̩̥͔Ị̴̥͓̭̺̱̕͢S̡͈̭̗̣̬͕̩̰̀͘ ̡̧̫̺̤B̷͎̗͎͖̱͟͜R̛̳͚͇̖̰͙͖̣̀O͏̷̵̥̗͍͈̗ͅKȨ̸̺̮͈̲̹̜͕N̸̛̻̳͚̲͈̞.̼̺̗̰͇̬͜͝"̹̲̜͟͡** The most savage and vicious of the shadow creatures that Mike had summoned to fight against William's army earlier returned in full force, a twisted menagerie of beasts and monsters, all of them leaping upward as they swung their claws and gnashed their fangs at William, fueled by the same drive for revenge that had empowered the rest of their kin.

 **(OH, I KNOW YOU WON'T. AND I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE OF IT. SO HOW DO WE PROCEED? SHOULD I DROWN YOU AGAIN INSIDE A PIT OF INSECTS, WATCH AS THEY DEVOUR YOU FROM INSIDE OUT? OR MAYBE I SHOULD THROW YOU TO MY SHADOWS, AND SEE HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN TEAR YOU TO PIECES NOW THAT YOUR POWER IS BROKEN.)**

And then, just as soon as they appeared, they too vanished out of existence. **"̻͖̖̥̮B̴̭͔̱̣̲͓͔̀U̖͕͚̭͠͠T͈̖,̗̀͜͜ ̬̫N͕̺̣̘̕͠O̢̤̥̪͘.̹͚͉̫̱̤͜.̦͇̰̦̝͉͕̙́.҉͏̤͎"̖̭̭̩͇͞ͅ** Mike mused as he shook his head. **"̷͜͏͇͇̝̞͖͇̫I̧͔͙̮͈͚͜T̛͉̺̤̱͕̟ ̙̣̞̳͇ͅW̸͈͎O̱̮͟͝Ứ͈͇̬̳͢ͅL̙D̢̘͇̤̫̺̳͉ͅN̷̢̙͉̯͉̼͎̠̥ͅ'̢̨͓̼̳̭͞T̙̥̦̘̫͈̞̕ ̹̗̗̳͉͟͡BE͏̣̱͖̹͎̹̟ ̳͎̀ͅRI̶͏̹͈̫͈̺̤̳̯G̮̳̮H̷̷̩̥̣̳T̩̱̦̱͖̦̜̝̪͍̗̭̝̭͚̀͢͞F̯͈͍͓͎͔͇̰O҉̳͍͓̫̖̘R̞͓̼͙͠ ͔̯̟͜͟ͅḾ̷͈͕Ȩ̻̠̖͕̳̘̥̞͜ ̥͝T̛͈̦̮͚̮͉͈O̬ ͙̹͔̮̜̠̠͠ͅȚ̢͔̪͙̞A̷̵̛̗͔̟K̡̞͎̳̙͕͖̼̫E̢̛̼͚͚̥̘͕̹̜ ̢̞͎̙̗̠͉͞͞C̵̠̪̱A͙̭̖̪̰͙͔͉̺R̯̜͖̞̼̀͝E̺͚̲͈̪ ̭͠O̼̹̥F̴͇̹̲͕͈̲̠͙ͅ ̛̬͈̘͉̝̪̝͜͟ T̵̢̞͔̤̬̖̬̻H̨̤̭͇͉̠͖̭I҉̴͎̭̯͈͈S̶̜͍͖͢ ̭̭A̧̡̳̥L͎̤͉̙̜̬L͖̰̠̲̜͕ ̧̤̰B̝̬̰̲̯͜͠Y͇͎͕͘ ̨͍̹̭̖̫M͖̜̹̺͈̭̼͘̕͝Y̴̴̰̗̥͈͡S̸̼̝͓͉̱͙̻̻̀̀E̡̹̱̰̩̘̟͝͞LF̀҉̯,͈̲̠̟̳͘͡ ̟͈̪͇͟ͅA̸̗̟͖͞ͅF҉҉̙̖͎̭̬̝͇T̵͙̤͚̼͈͚̮͟͠Ḙ̛̯̫̼͉͍̣͘R̷̜̪͖̠͟͡ ̧̨̬̕A̴͉͈̱̝L̤̟L̖̫̹͉̰,̶̛҉̺̯ ̙̜͙̪͓W̹̣͎̖͢͡H̰̪̭̘̙͕͞À̞̝T̮̮͈̙̣͓͉̰È̤̳̤͍͟V̶̛͍̘̠̗͚͙È̵̬͖͇̪͚͍ͅŔ͞͏͙̠̗̗͚ͅ ̙̝̺̣̟́͘ͅW̻͈͙̺̕͠R̢̟̯̼̹̩̭̱̻̯O̴̵̺̳̫̬̗͞N̨̛҉̞̫͙̠̤̗G̶̣̙̤͇̬̮S͏͉̹̭̫̻̩̗͢ ̨̧̤̹̩̬͕ͅY͍̬͔̯̮͉̭̘O͙͖̼̖͝U҉̦̗ ̲̭̗̪D̲̤̮̰̪̺̺́Í͎̪D͚̥̥̭̣̞͇͈͞ ̷̣̝͝ͅA̵͓̙̝̩G̵̪̳̱̮̠͎͉A̛̝̫̫̤͔̦̝IN̞̗̱̙̪͞S̴̙͚̘̞͍̲͚̙͜T̛̠̲͇̘̻͈̗͝ ̸̨҉̦̭͈̬̼ M̢̲͖̕E̶͔̮̯̻̳͓̣͝ ̶̺̦̹̀A͕̰̜̝̹R҉͔͉̳͓͉̺͎̝̘E̗̺̣͞͠ ̧̦̮͖̜N̗̖̫͎̕͞O̸̶̰̞̠̜͙T̷̹̙̼͍̱H҉̵̤͍̖̱͍̮̩̲̰I̢̛̜̰̩͎͖͖͕͖̕N̷̗̼G̛̲̱̘͙̮̹ ̨͓̹̺̱͘C̖̕OM̘̳̥͕P̴̡͏̺̞A҉̟̘͎̙̣̕R̶̢͉̞͞EḎ̝̰́ ̱̥̝͓̘͔̕T̫̤͕̳̣̹̤̲̲O̶̴̮̭̞̬̰ ̸͇͈̻̟T̵̬̭̖͟H͡҉̰̬̜̩̤̱͟E̴͏̣͇̦̥̼̣̹ ̴̯̻̮̼̜͚͝ͅA̢͙̮͟T͟͏̫̰R͘҉̥̣͚̘͓ͅOC̵̠Ì͔̙̫͍̼̞T̸͕̫̱I̢̥̥͇͔̻̬̗̠̘͢Ḙ̱̀S̱͈͝ ̷̙Y̢̕͏̻̗̺̟̭O̥̗͢U̧̳̳͇̘̼͓ ̶̴̼͔̝͖̹̻͉̗̬C͇̪̳̘͇͠O͚̭̫̦͇̖̟̹M͍͖̤͟͡M̜̲̝͎͙͎͓I̡͍͓̥̥̣̳̖T̴̬͈͚̳T͝҉̹̰͓͍̼͈Ę̣͚͔̳͕D̶̺͍̗̰̥͚̘̞ ̡̻͙͓͔͎̤̱̤͍͡͝ A̖G͙͓͔̩͚̭̣͘͠͡ͅA̧͎͎͕ͅI̶̠N̡͕̬̪͈̖͢S̨̬̮̣͇̺T͉̻̪̯͟ ̪̹̼̺T̠̞͔̮͉͚̫̞̘H̸̫̜̥̝͎̦͕͢ͅE͇̥̥̙̭͎͖͖͞͠M҉̴͉͔̞̪͇͓͎̬̟.̧͇̻̲̫̺̦ ̴̭̪͇̺̠͜I̵͇̼͍ ̨̮͚͈̰̲̲̺ͅT̫͙̱̻͔͉͜H̞̮͈̘̀Ì̩̗͢Ń̨̗̪͕̝̣̣̫K̴҉̖̬ ͏̴͚̬̯̺͇͍̺̻I̻͍̬͖̭̗T̳͎̰͈͙̜̟'̸̧͈̕S̺̼͟͠͠ ̶̻̺̮T̢̧̫̘̭͍͙I̝̟͓͈͙̳̤M͔͈̜̺͓̺̻̞͝E̷̹̮̹͍͢ͅ ͙̜̣̼W̷͚̯̰̭̼̺̼͘Ȩ҉̖̯͇̯͟ ̴̧̣ͅB̧͔̞͙̘R͍̯̮̻͚͔̮̰͡͞I̡̜̣͕̲̭̭͇͙N̸̨̥͔̹̦̺G̷̛̞̘̰̩ ̶̴͎͉̙̣̣̠͍͟B̶͚̰̰̲̱̥͘Ą̻͜͝C̰͔̻̠̞̘K̵̞̪͍̞̭͇̣ ͉̣̲͙̺̞͎S̴̜͖̩̥̺̠͕̞̫͡O̴̝̱͟M̶̘̲͍̪̳͢ͅȨ̼͉͉̳̳͇ ̴͖̮͎͡O̥͎͇̹L̛̬̲̝̤͍̼̬D̺̗ ̫͖͍͚͎̪̀͢F̷̬̫͉͈̜̩̻̼̳R̝̟̪͕Ì̴̪͖͓̳E̵̤Ņ̷͎̘͍͕̹̼̼͉D̥͚̞S, ̬̭̦͍̳͈̭͟À͎͘N͍̮̠͚̙͇̤͎͝D̵̟̬̤͍̲͕̟͟͟ͅ ̛̝̜̻L̸͖̫͔E̞͉̗̣͉̼̰̕͜T͏͈ ̞̝̘̮̖T̷̰͖̠͢͝H̵̰͝͠E̷͇̗̩̝͍͔̞ͅM̶̷̟̟͕͈̹̙͞ ̨̥̙̝C̡̩̬̖͉̬ͅA̡͚̭̯̱̥̺͎͓͍͞͞R͏̟̰̲̤̭͖̞̪R̶̸̻̝͖̯̼͢Y̺͓̠̥̬͍̯̕͢ ̹̙͖͖̤̣̯͢͟͠ͅƠ̖͔̘̕͝Ư̢̬̮͈̠Ṭ͍̖̮͉͕͕͝ͅ ̨̹̲͔̱̖̟͍͢T͇͍̙̭͘H͖͔̞̺̮͠E̺̙̺͕̫͍͠ ̬̟̟̼̠̠͕͎͟͢F̪̞̗̗̘A͏̭͓͔̱͚̥͕T͈̥̼͓͙͈͔̭͖̀E̯̳̳̯̞̱̮͔͝ ̜̯̪͍̥̗̖̱̟̕͝Y̴̘O̮̫͚̳̼̩̞U͓͖̺ͅ ̣͈͖̘͚͚̘́͜S̵͕̼̫O҉̼̤̝̝͈̳͠ ̴͎͍ͅR̺̣I̳͘͞͠G̦̼H̶̻̲͕͉͈͙̝͝T͎̻͉̘́F̩̞̮̲U̶̷̞͚̱̗͉͞ͅL̷͇̻L̶҉̝̩̩Y̝̣͈͕̣̫͜͝͞ ̧̲̹͚͈͈̙̫ͅD̞̼̙̕͡E̢͕͓͇̘͟S̵̵͎̼͕̺E̶͖̹͓͈̙̻͡R͝͡҉̤̥̱̤V̤̺̣̭̘̝͖̤E̢̢̳̦̰̘!̳͞͞͝"̸̛͈̪͉̹̪̲̣͟**

 **(BUT, NO…IT WOULDN'T BE RIGHT FOR ME TO TAKE CARE OF THIS ALL BY MYSELF. AFTER ALL, WHATEVER WRONGS YOU DID AGAINST ME ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE ATROCITIES YOU COMMITTED AGAINST THEM. I THINK IT'S TIME WE BRING BACK SOME OLD FRIENDS, AND LET THEM CARRY OUT THE FATE YOU SO RIGHTFULLY DESERVE!)**

William felt himself being lowered to the ground by the Marionette, and watched in bewilderment as Mike's demonic aspect suddenly began to shrink in size, from a towering giant to only slightly taller and larger than Nightmare Springtrap himself. Before he could comment on Mike's seemingly bizarre decision, the man snapped the black claws of his metal gauntlet. Six columns of darkness emanating a blood red aura erupted from the ground next to Mike and the spectral form of the Puppet, three on each side. The shadows roiled and swirled for several seconds before they dispersed, and it was at that moment that William finally realized what Mike had planned. Just like he had done with the Puppet, the man had summoned manifestations of the animatronics that had once been possessed by his children, the animatronics that had defined the happiness of their childhood before they had been tainted into prisons of despair and fear. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Golden Fredbear, and Scrap Baby. All of whom had been recreated exactly as Mike had remembered them from his night shifts and Liz's transformation, all of whom were glaring at William Afton with the same vengeful hatred as their master.

The Marionette's eyes flashed, and more chains wrapped around William Afton, this time specifically around his arms and hands. The Puppet lifted up Nightmare Springtrap's hand so that his it was being forcibly extended in front of him, his fingers spread out. At the same time, Scrap Baby stepped forward ahead of the rest of the animatronics, her green eyes flashing. And as she lifted up her giant claw to the level of William's fingers with a ghoulish grin on her face, William realized exactly what the first of Mike's animatronic-themed torments was about to be.

 **"͈̲̮̜͘ͅY̷͈̖͎͞Ơ͎̟͈͕̬͢U͍̫̫͢͞͞ ͙̖͓̠̜̦̥̲̼̀͠Ṱ̸̛̼͇͎̻̜̗̲̳O̗̘̜͍̺͚R̕͏̪̬͇E̴̪͘ ̯̠̬͈͇̙̠̞͢A̱̼̺̟̬̭̳͞P̢̳̳̥̠̼A͇͟R͟͏̟̞͕̭͡T̸͎͇̟͍̀ ̟͙͍͈̤͎͜͞YO̴̵̘̩U̷̶̟͈̳̳̣͟R̳͎͙̞͕̣ ̘̬̜͈͞Ḑ̷̤̦̹̥͕A̵̖̝̱̩̜͉̺͝Ư̢͉̫̟̥ͅG̴̪̫̩̭̫̻̥͖HT̪̠̻̹̙̺̞E͖͎̦̱̱͇̣͝R̻͔̤͙̙̞̱̰͝'̶̞̣̲͚̯̜͟͝S͔͎̬ ͏͈̺̻̠͓̖̀S̺̹OU̴̺̖̠͖̣̣͈͝L҉̟͕̭̮,͇̹̭̜̩͘"̶̴̰̝̝̱̼̼̳̬ͅ ̸̨̮̟͚̥̘͓͚̘** Mike hissed, his unearthly voice dripping with venom. **"̧͙̫̝̬̼ͅẂ̧͓̭͈͕̱͘I͓̳̯̪̮̞͘̕͟T̶͇̯͝H͉̳̘́ ̲͇͔̳̩̪̀͝E͏͉͕͉͖̝̰͖V͙̲̫͖͇͘͟͠E͔̭̥͉̕R̯̥̗͍͟Y͍̗̯̮ ̶͕H͏̥̼̮̤͕̭͘O҉̱̠͕̪̝̗̤͢NĘ̣͇Y̴̟̼͍̠̩̫͉E̲̭̣͙̖͇̣̰͜D̸̵͓̝̖̲͚͝ ͉͎͍͉̜͙͚̼̯͠LI̡͍̙͕̳̹͢Ę҉̥̺̼̠͈̜ ͖͍̞͈̦̻̲́͘Ý̱̼̱̹̺̺͖͢O̵̜̳̤̱̱̞̹͉̕U҉̧̻͈̼̪̞͓͜ ̨̢̭͓̲̮̟Ẁ̳̥̫́͘H̢̞͈̹̥̰͎̞͘͟I͓͙̱̝̫̠̻͓S̵̢̡͖̹P̨̨͕̮̝̺̟͢E̱͎̘̫̣̬͠R̼̟̮̰̫̺̲̀͜ED̶̛̲̺̦̞̖̲ͅ,͙̫̟̟̞͜ͅ ̯͚̱Ẃ̨̱̰̤̥͈͓̘̪͠I̷̞̖̫̲̮͖͖͘T̛̻͎̥̥͍̮͠ͅH͙̮̼͈͖̝̖̳͟ ̛͚̼̘̦͚̼̼̘̝E͓̻V҉͓̠̫͚̺͙ͅE̝̠̱̯̮̺͕͜R̷̶̠̲̫̗̝͙͘Y̸͕ ͏̥̟̤͙̞͔͡F̴̢̝̹̖̰͡A͓̼̯͘͠LŞ̴͙̭E̴͙͙͓͚̳͞ ͖̺̮̟P̵̙͓͉̣̬̯̭͚̀R̛̛͓̹̭͍͘O̧̗̞̗M̵̢̤̪I̵̡̙̹͇̘̘S̗̭̰̲̺Ę̬̺̪͇̯̝̫͢ͅ ͏̳̤̀Y̡҉̲̬̟O҉҉͏͓͕̩̻͖̮͚͓U̷̙̝͉͖̞̖͇͠ ̳̙͢D̤̥͈͘A̢̰̦̻̻̻̰͜NG̴̤̝̼͓͓̜ͅL̶͎̻̬̪̳̱̤̮̕ͅE̟͕̺͙̭̯͕̘D̶̛͈̯̭̻͞ ͇̻͢I̡̛͙̦͚ͅN̸̛̯͎̼̯̤͎̬ ̸̶̪̖̯̺̫̯F̳̟͘R̩͖͙̳̕͘͞O̝̥̘͓̫̥͟N͏̣̫̮̪T̶̥̲̰͖̭͍͕̱̫ ̥̬̬̞Ǫ̯̗̗̼̳̥̣̭͚F̖͔̦͡ͅ ҉̥͇̜͓͉̺ͅH̴̨̺͕̱̖͔̟E̳̳͕̮͘R̠͉̲͟,̛̹ ̯̲̺̬̪̞̣͠Y̳̺͡ͅO̼̞͜U̶̴͎͉͙ ̭͓̣̫͓͕͜͞R͎͍̹͔̲̹͔̝͞I̻P̸̼̫̀P̫̗̞̳͈͇̜̺̀E̵̜̪̩͖͓͞D҉͍͚̥̯͓ ̣̲̤̻̗̘͙ A̵̻͔̰̯̳̩̕P̛̤̯͍̞̼͓͙A̡̫̤̹̫̭̭̺̝͞R̡̤̘͞͝T͔̫̫̪͟ ͡͏̯̬̭̼̩̀E̩̘̘͈̭̭͙V̧̭̘̮̯̟͔̲̜̘ERYT̟̣̀Ḩ̝̲̝̞͙̯Í̙̟̺̼̝͔͙̬̕N̪͍̹̜̜̮͉̤G̞ͅͅ ҉̨̯͔T̢̗͎̞͚̤̻̘͔̞͡HA̯̣͉̟̮͈̠̰͞T͍͇͔͖̜̹̤ ̵̥̣̹͇̺̼͡H̵̵̠̙̟̝̻̭̙Á̱͕̣̭͖ͅD͚̦̳̘͟ͅ ̶̪̖͍̙͎̥T̮̳̙̲̮͍̻͚͞H͈̻̤E̵̖͈̬̠̥̲ͅ ̸̱̜͝P҉̶̹̖̫͓OTENT̗̬͈̞̯͙̰̺͠͠I̸̮̤̙̼Ą̖̳͕ͅL̡̦͙̜ ̸̗̯Ţ̝͍̳̰̖̱͈́̀O̷̸̝̘͢ ͏̥͎̹̜͇̜͙B̩̦E̖̝͔̙͡ ̶͔͇͈͓͉̞̦͉́N͏͓͍̤̺̱̪͓̯̘O͔̗͝B̩̙̤̪̺̺͝L͉͍͓͖̞Ȩ̙̘̞͓̻̭̮͢ ̛̖͘ ̶҉͈̙̤͝Á̘̠̣͇̠̙ͅŅ̸̥̰̩̩̯͕̹͖̕Ḏ̨͉͇̖̳ ̼̻̥̰̖̦͟ͅG̨͏̝̱̖̖̭O͚O̡͏̪̹̩̱͘D̞̕͟͜ ̸̢̞̰̱̕F̳̘̤̻̙̺̠̪̕R̡̖̱͜O̮͉̙M̴͇̟͉̪̥̹̳͡ͅ ͖̘̺͙̘́H̻̟̙͖̺̝̫͟͠É̳͎͕̞̱͢ͅR̷̯͖̞̺̀͢,̜͇̠̟̮͍͚͚̼́̕ ̡̲̖̟͎͎͎PI͈͙͔͇̹E̙̰͔̖̲̩͚̖͜͜C̢͕̗Ẹ̸̢̣͝ ̸҉͍͓͔̫͎ͅB͈͙̱̣͔͔Y͏̺͍͖͕͓̼ ͚͙̩͎̠̲̲̀͞P̵̴̯̻̹̺̠I̵̢͉̪̣̫E̴̸̘͇͍͙C̵̵͚̀Ḛ̷̩͉̕ͅ.̯̻̱͠͠ ̪͚̣S̬̬̣̕͝O͏͈͈̥͉͉̖ ̴̺͈̭I̺̙͉͖̦ ̵̼̜͔̹͓Ṯ͔̣̱H̨̙̘̹̲̩̹́I̶̸̟̥̩̝̥̝͚̝N̸̖̗K̛̬̻̼̺̪ ̵̰̀͟I̵҉̠̤͖̜̺̤T̵̖ͅ'̛͖S̛̬̗̝̣̣͉̕ ̡̩̫̠̮̟̩͎̥̥̕O̡̭̫̝̰̮͙͍͡N̷̥̰̞͙L͔̤̺̭̖͎̪͜͞Y̵̰̘̺̘ ̴̲F͇̤̩̤̩̕A̲̖̜͈̯͢͢I͍̠̱͎̲̰̜R̨͚̗̫͔̥͚̪̕ ̢̦͕̹̹̜̙̺̗T̷̶͇̳̳̻͢H̶̨͙̺̦͚̻̭̠A̴̵͚̟̼͉̯̣̲ͅṮ́͢ ͉̖T̖̠͙̳́Ḥ̛͚̫̜̰͍͓͈͡Ę͈̟͉͈͍̗̭͟ ̬K̶̯͈͍̟͔̝͠ͅI҉̰͈̗̘̱͍̠̭̹L͎̖̘L̢̝̫͓͟Į̵̜̺͍̮͉̗̼̤̭N͎̗̥̬̠͜G̸̵̬̭̜͈̪̭̺̕ͅ ̬̪͝M̶͍AC̴̵̯̖̲̭͇̣H̴͚̱͉̹͉̬I͏̖͈̥̤̹Ṇ̛̠͞E̢̧̦͝ ͉̮̥̖͕̘̰͠T͢҉͍͍̭̬H̟̭͍̗̣͍̯͟͠ͅÀ͕̣̱̜͓̜͖T̛̤̗͎̜̹̱͉ ͏̡̟͈͕͍͖͘Ỳ̴̶̲̰̦̹Ó̠̰̘̪͎U͍̙͜͝ ̮̮̝̝͙̪̞̯͕͘T̻͚͠U̢҉̙̲̮͕͉͙̞̕R̮͉͉̹̼͎͡͠N̫̹̤̙̲̣͜E҉̦͉̘̝D͚̙͓̖̫͔͚ͅ ̨̙͍̬̯͠Ḫ̠͞E͕͔͜͞R͘͏̗̗̫͔ ̷̸̗̰̮̼́I̸̹͕͈̦͔̖̼͢͝NT̶̥̪̙̥̗̪Ơ͔̘̖̙͖̳ ̺̯̹̮̜́͠N̵̫͎̮̩̖̹͙̕͜OW͈̱͔͈̠̻̖̣͝͝ ̶̖̤̬̬̰̲̦͝R̢̺̠E̡͇͎̼͖̕T̟U͚̬̖R҉̨̗̥̬͜Ń̸͉͕̝̘S̷̠̗̱̞͞ ̵͏̼͙̳̪̦̺̱̞T̶͏̛̙̲̙͙͙͖͈̖̯Ḥ̘͉͙̮͈̳̤́E̯̕ ̴̭͕ͅF̩̼̪̫̟̰͎͖̬A̷̡͖V͈̮̘̬̮̭́ͅO̠͖̱̫͖͚̖R̡̘̦̣̰̰̬ͅͅ.̶̛̝̫̣̗̬̭͞.̳͉̮̟̞͇́.̦͖̲͉͢͜͝"̢͈̠̹̤** His mouth stretched into a horrific sneer that mirrored the expression on Scrap Baby's face, **""̶̷͉̙̥̠͔͙̻̬͇͘.̴̞̙̝̰̗͎͇͉.̟̰̻̭̙.̰̻̕ͅƠ͎̟͝NE̹̣̞͢͠ ̵̦́F̩̰I̶̡̯͢N̵͕͓̖̮͇̮̦G̢̝̭̪͔̖̱͢Ę̲̬͖̙̲̹͚̀R͏̗̳̯̙͈͉͟ ͏̳̤̮͔͓̲͎͈͢͜A̪̳̥͚̬̟̱T̵͍̗̗̻̩͖ͅ ̷͓͔̜̝̥͉̥̭͔Ą̢͉̞̙͖ ̷͎̞̹̲̦̞̦͝͞T̛̳̻̺̹̜̹͟I̧̛͓̦͈̞͖͠M̵̢̙̻͚͓͔̠ͅE̶͙.̡̺̬̟͙͜͟ͅ"̪͔̣̗**

 **(YOU TORE APART YOUR DAUGHTER'S SOUL. WITH EVERY HONEYED LIE YOU WHISPERED, WITH EVERY FALSE PROMISE YOU DANGLED IN FRONT OF HER, YOU RIPPED APART EVERYTHING THAT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE NOBLE AND COOD FROM HER PIECE BY PIECE. SO I THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR THAT THE KILLING MACHINE THAT YOU TURNED HER INTO NOW RETURNS THE FAVOR…ONE FINGER AT A TIME.)**

William's eyes widened in terror and he desperately tried to pull away his hand, or even clench his fist. But the Marionette's chains would not allow him to move even an inch, even as the Scrap Baby simulacrum drew ever closer, her lobster-like claw ready to carry out her creator's twisted justice. Scrap Baby maneuvered her claw so that Nightmare Springtrap's left thumb was positioned neatly in between its two crushers.

The monstrous clown killer's claw snapped shut, and the tortured screams of a damned soul rang throughout the void. For by invading the mind of a father whose love for his children was matched only by his hatred of their murderer, William Afton had traded one Hell for another.

And the new tormentor would show him no more mercy than the old.

/

A/N: Dark!Mike? Forget Dark!Mike. Now we have **Demon!Mike**. And the way I imagine him is the unholy combination of the Balrog, Sauron, a Warhammer 40K Daemon Prince, and the Grim Reaper. In other words, on a scale of one to ten for how bad of an idea it is to piss him off, I'd rate him at a nice, solid **"YOU'RE FUCKED."**

What is the greater Hell? A realm of torment with demons who have literally thousands of years of experiencing torturing and breaking the souls of the damned? Or a realm of torment in which one person, a person who hates and despises you more than any other being on Earth, has free will to bend reality to do whatever the fuck he wants to do to you? I'm honestly not sure what the answer to that question would be.

I was originally going to write the "Mike tortures William" chapter as only one chapter, but that plan was quickly altered. With my shelf exam last week, I simply didn't have the time to write that long a chapter in two weeks. And on reflection, what I do have planned would be WAY too long for a single chapter anyway. Besides, something of this importance and magnitude is far too important to be crammed into only a single chapter.

There's also the fact that Zalgo text is a PAIN IN THE ASS to edit once I upload this into . So there's that.

I think Mike using the animatronics to torture William is the perfect revenge, since William was the one responsible for turning them into monsters and irrevocably corrupting the innocence of the Fazbear franchise and Circus Baby in the first place. And if you think what I've written is already bad, whoo boy…

 **.̶̮͕̜̙̲ͅ.̴̟̳̱͇̬̼̩̺͢.̳̫̀W̱͇̤̖̯͎͡͞E͢҉͖̪'̮̖̣̫̰R̡̝̼̫̝E̹͉̹̟͜͝ ͜͏̟͚O͖̝̣̫͕N҉̪̺̭̳̘͚̞̀͠ͅL͕͙̬̝̪̞̺̭̠͟͡Y̸̦̝͈̣̣̝͎ ̸̧̗͉͓̗͢J̶̳̤̣͟͠U̸̷̮̼̗̼͇̼͟S̷̸̷̤̞̣̫̞̭̬͕T̤̟̹ ̡̝͈̰͔̻̠̖ͅG̹͍Ẹ̴̩̩͔͇̤͠T̢̤̮͡T͜҉̪̳̰̣̥̕I̕͏̝̩̳͕̰Ń̮̦̼̦̖͚͎̱̕͢G҉҉̞ ̛̙̺͔̼̪̰͠S̬̝̩͎̱͜T̴͚̯͠A̴̪̻̥̼̮̮̮̳̯RT̶̛̜̜̞́E̵̙̳͕̯̘͙͘D͓͕͚͈͇̝̗͘͡.̟͉̯̝̮̕͞**

 **(…WE'RE ONLY JUST GETTING STARTED.)**

And on that pleasant note, hope you guys enjoyed!


	82. Chapter 82 - The True Face of Hatred 2

A/N: It's time to continue the torture of William Afton. As you can see, Mike doesn't have a single shred of mercy for the child-murdering bastard, and neither do I. And for those of you who wonder what Demon!Mike's evil laugh sounds like, I imagine something like this:

 **[[Youtube – BFME2: The 1.09 Patch – Isengard has been Unleashed!]] by RuudDevil, at 32:06**

Unlike many arcs in this fic, I've had this one planned for MONTHS. And during that time, I came up with two possible explanations for what's going on behind the scenes, and why Mike is so insanely powerful in his mind compared to William. And even with so much time and thought put into this arc, to this day I have no idea which explanation is better. So I'm going to put both of them right here, without explicitly confirming them in the fic, and let YOU decide which interpretation is better/more fitting.

The first is that Nightmare gave more than just advice when he came to warn the man about William Afton's escape. He also offered to teach Mike how to wield unholy magic and sorcery, powers that he wouldn't possibly be able to use (let alone control) in the real world, but would have _zero_ issues using in his mindscape. Hellish powers that Nightmare Springtrap would ultimately be powerless against, when wielded by one with the skill and the hatred to utilize them to their fullest. The only thing that Nightmare asked in exchange for teaching Mike how to utilize hellish magic in the dream world was a promise to make William Afton suffer…a bargain that Mike **willingly accepted.**

Or alternatively, Nightmare didn't give any help outside of his warning to Mike, and everything that Mike did and will do to William is entirely of his own doing. Every use of dark power, every act of cruelty, every hideous torture. Mike is invoking the powers of imagination and creativity in the absolute worst way possible, and doing it entirely by himself, because **he hates William** **just that much**.

Whichever interpretation you choose, neither of them has pleasant implications.

On an unrelated note, I am frankly amazed and overwhelmed by the many reviews and positive responses that you've given the last chapter. Not only there over 30 reviews in this one chapter alone, but we've officially passed 300+ favs and follows for this fic as a whole! Thank you so much for all your support, you guys are one of the main reasons why I am motivated to keep writing despite my busy schedule!

I'm going to be changing the Zalgo Text to be less blurry and only affect the middle instead of middle + bottom. It will make the text less eldritch but hopefully also easier to read, since I know at least one person complained about that.

There are a few of you who wanted Nightmare Springtrap to get stronger and overwhelm Demon!Mike. I'm sorry to say that this just won't happen. Not only would that be incredibly dissatisfying to a vast majority of my readers and it would derail the path I have established for this arc, but it wouldn't make any sense since Demon!Mike has WAY too many advantages over Nightmare Springtrap for our rotten murderer to even fight decently against, let alone counter.

Rockstar Ballora and ImAFanficAddict: I will probably not write a sequel or spinoff, but every game that Scott releases gives me more material to work with.

Chapter 82 – The True Face of Hatred, Part 2

William groaned in miserable pain as he stared at the broken, ruined mounds of ethereal flesh that had once been his hands. With movements that were as cruel as they were methodical, the phantom of Scrap Baby that Mike had summoned had used her menacing claw to crush and mangle each one of his fingers and claws, one at a time. Scrap Baby had mutilated them slowly enough for him to experience the full agony of each destruction, and quickly enough that he would not have time for that agony to subside. Corrupted essence splattered from all that remained of Nightmare Springtrap's claws, proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that the animatronic that had once worshipped her father above all else now cared nothing for his fate.

And all the while, the demonic abomination that Mike had become looked on, amusement glowing in his infernal eyes. "̢ **I͝ TH͞I̸̧̛N̕͘K̢̀ T̶҉HAT̕ ̀T̢́H͜͠͡I̸S̛͡҉ ̸IS̷ ҉̴̴A̷̛N̡͘ ̢E̶X̷C͘͏E҉̷̧L̴ĹE͞͡N͜͞͏T́͘҉ ͏͡ Ẃ͘͏A̢͜Ý̷ ̧̛͟F̵̸̨Ò͢R̵͠ ̛ Y͜͞OU̕ ̡̕ A̧͠N̛͘D̵͢ ̵͜Y͘͡OÚR͡ ̷̕͜D͢Ą͡U͟G͏͝H͘҉̕T҉͘E̷̷R͝ ̶̨͘ŢO͏̸͟ RE͡S͘ÒL͠V̡̧E ̢͟͜YOU̷͜Ŗ̵ ̵͢ DI͟͠F̛́F̶̛E͠R̡EŃ̡C̸͢ES,̧̛̛ ͟W͡O͏͝U̵͢L̀͝͝D̛͢N̨'̛T̡҉ Y̨͏OŲ͟ ҉̸͘A͝G͠R҉̛҉E̢͢E̢͏͟?̴"** Mike drawled as he let out a guttural laugh. **"̨́Y̕͘O̴͡͡Ù ̸͝W̷È̢ŔE҉ ͏S̵̀E͏͟P͠A̴̕R̀̀A̶T͜͡E̛D ̸͘ FROM̶ ̸͢͏H͢͝҉E̛͠R̸̛͞ ̷FO̷̢R̴̷͟ ͢S͝O͜ ͡L͞͝O͡N̷G̨͝, ͏͘̕A̵N͡Ḑ̸ Ń̢͢O̵͟Ẃ ̴̶͟Y̵OU̢̡͘ ͜҉K͜N҉̡͝OW ̡E̷̸͢X̡͜͡À͡CT͜L҉Y͝҉ ̵̕͝W̡̢H̶̷̷Ą̀T̢ ̡ŚH̛͘E̷ T̨H͏I҉҉Ņ͝K̶͠S͏͜ Ǫ͏F̛͝ ͘҉̵Y̛͞O҉͟U̧͏͝.͢"҉**

 **(I THINK THAT THIS IS AN EXCELLENT WAY FOR YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER TO RESOLVE YOUR DIFFERENCES, WOULDN'T YOU AGREE? YOU WERE SEPARATED FROM HER SO LONG. AND NOW YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT SHE THINKS OF YOU.)**

Nightmare Springtrap gritted his fangs in pain and impotent rage. His claws were now destroyed beyond any hope of repair, and he knew that this was just the beginning. But he would not give Mike Schmidt the satisfaction of facing defeat like a weakling, helpless like he had been in the trap pizzeria that had led to his death.

No, even if Schmidt held all the cards and victory was inevitable, he would make that victory as irritating as possible.

The demonic rabbit animatronic suddenly raised his head and unleashed one last blast of hellish flame from his jaws, aiming his final, desperate attack straight at the demonic Mike's face. His fleeting hope that he had somehow managed to surprise Mike was quickly dashed as Mike raised his black clawed gauntlet and caught the flames squarely in his iron grip. Realizing that his final gambit, William immediately tried to cease his attack. But to his astonishment and growing dread, the flames kept spewing from his mouth, no longer under his control for the first time. Mike curled his fangs into a grin as he forcibly pulled more and more flame from his enemy's mouth, causing William to start frantically clawing at his throat with the broken stumps of his former fingers as the flames started choking him even as Mike ripped them from their source. It was only after Mike finally stopped pulling did William finally gasp for air, utterly drained and exhausted. In seizing control of his flames, Mike had claimed almost all of William's demonic power, and his only other means to fight back. Now, he had almost nothing of the essence that he had stolen from the Nightmare children left, only just enough to maintain the increasingly powerless form of Nightmare Springtrap.

William waited for Mike to throw the flames back at him and consume him in fiery agony, but instead of unleashing them immediately, the man took a different approach that was both baffling and, in its own way, almost more disturbing than a direct attack would have been. Mike lifted the hand holding his infernal flames and essence up to his scythe, and lowered his scythe so that the weapon's skull head was directly next to it. The eyes of the skull suddenly glowed intensely and it began to hungrily devour the offering of unholy energy, consuming the power as though it were a vampire feasting on blood. The moment the last of the flames disappeared inside the skull's mouth, the entire scythe blade suddenly erupted into hellish flame, a miniature but no less deadly firestorm that churned and roiled around the blade with a raging strength that was far more powerful and far more chaotic than any other time Mike's weapon had been wreathed in flames. Mike chuckled menacingly as he approached William, who could feel the heat as though it was melting his flesh even though it had not even touched him yet. **"͞͡W̡H̸͘Y, ͜TH̨A̛̛N͠K͝ ̸͝Y҉̢O̷U̢,́͠ ̡W̨̧͠IL͝LĮ̵͜A͏͜M ̴͡Á̵́F̶T̷̡O͞N̛.̷̢҉.̶́."͜** Mike addressed him with mocking appreciation and gratitude. **"͏́Í ͢͟H̷͢Á͡͡D ̀N̕͡O͏̡ ̸͟҉I͢D̵̡E͜A͢ ͝TH͞A͡͞T͜ ͞Y̢O͜͜U̶ ͞WA͜͢N̵̡͘T̕E̶͘D̵́͜ ̧͞T̶̸̵O̵̢ ̢M͘͡҉A̴͞Ķ҉E̶̢ ̛M̧Y̛͢ ̶J͜͡͞O̧̡B̴͜ ̀͟EV̷E̷N̵ ̸̕E̛ASI̷̧͠E̡͢R̵̶̀.͜͠ I͞ ̛͢͢Ẃ͝AS͟ ̵J̧̀U̢S̶Ţ̕ ̶͜͡ĢO̧͡I̸N͠G͘͟ ̡TƠ͟ ̨͠F͢L͜͟AY̵̕ T̢͞͡H̷͞E̡҉̵ ̧̧̕M̨É̵͢TA̸͡͞L ̨͠A͢͠ND̷ S̸K̸̀I̸N̴͠ ͟O͟F̷̀F͏ ͡͞Y͜O̶͞UR͏̛͟ ̡̡S̵̀Ơ̵U̕͞L̶̀,͘ ҉̴B̡U̴̕T ̵͏N̷͏Ǫ̕W̶̴͟ ͟I̸͝ ̷G̴̀ET T͟Ờ̡ D̶O̴ ͟҉̶T̀HA̴̕T͝҉̸ A͏̵N̶͝D͢͟ ̴S̶̀E̢̕T̕ ̸YOU̕͟͡ ̨͘͡O̧͟N F̡͡I̷R̶̕E̢̛͠ À̸̷T̕ ̛͟T͏͟H̡̛E ҉S͟͡A̸ME ̸̡T̸I͞ME͠!̕͢"҉͜** Catching the terrified and nauseated look on Nightmare Springtrap's face, Mike's demonic visage smirked in anticipation. **"̸̨͟B́͘U̵̕͡Ţ̀͜ ̨D͜͠O̕͟͞N͢'̸͞҉T͢͞͡ ͏͡D̶ES̛͝P̨͜͞A̷̸ÌR,̛͢ ͝M̨Ý̛ FRI̧͜͞E̢̕N͠҉D́҉̨…"** he offered false comfort, **̨̕"͟IF̢ ̀C̷̷O͘͟RP̵͟O͘R̷E͞A̵̢L̢ ͘͘S̶̷͘O̢ÚL̕S ͏̧W͜OR͠K̡̨ ͢͞T҉H̢͟҉E̡̢͏ S͜͠A̴͡M͢Ȩ̶̛ ̢͡W̶͟A̢͡͝Ý̢͞ ̢͝AS̵ ̴̷P̵H͏̛Y͞S̷̸̵I͘C̢AL̨ ҉B̡ƠD͠IE̢͜S̸, ͏T͞͏HE͟ ͝͏F̸҉Ļ͠A҉̛͡M̶ES̢͡ W̸I̴̡L҉͡L͘ ̨C̵̵A҉̵U͜T҉͞E̶̕͟R̸Ì̕Z͘͝͝E͟͜͝ T̷̨͢H̴̨̛E̶͠ ̸̛͝W҉O̧͠U̧͘͝N̸҉Ḑ.́ ̸̕͝ A͠͏Ņ̀D҉ ͘W̛͟H̴͠O͏ ͝͝ K͜͡N̶O̶W̸͢҉S̕?̵ M̡̛AY͟BĘ Y̸O̵̢U'̀͝Ļ͝L̸͡ ́B́͜E͜͠ ̵T́O͘͡O BU̢͝S̢Y͠͏ ͏S͡Ų͟FF̛͡ER̸̡͜I̸̵N̴͡G̀ ̨̡F͢R̨͡Ơ̵͘M҉͟ ̧O̷̧̨N̡E̶ ̡̛ T͡Ơ͠͠R̸MĘ̸҉ŃT̷̡ ͝ ŢÒ̀ ̷͞Ņ̛OT̶Į̵C̸͜E ͘ T̴͞H̕͠E̡͝ ̡O͞T̵͜H̨̀͞E̷͟R͏̧.͢͝ ̸ ҉T͘͜HĘ̀RE̵̵̡'̷S̶ ̵̧O͏N̵LY O͠N͘͢E̴̸ W͠A̶Y̡͟ ҉͟͠T̵O͜͡ ͏͜F̷̛͜I҉͘ND̢ ́͡O͟U̵͝T̡͝,҉̶ I̵S͘҉N͞'͠T̷̀͡ ̨̀ T̸H̵E͞R͘E̵͠͠?̷̡͏"̸**

 **(WHY, THANK YOU, WILLIAM AFTON. I HAD NO IDEA THAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE MY JOB EVEN EASIER. I WAS JUST GOING TO FLAY THE METAL AND SKIN OFF YOUR SOUL, BUT NOW I GET TO DO THAT AND SET YOU ON FIRE AT THE SAME TIME! BUT DON'T DESPAIR, MY FRIEND…IF CORPOREAL SOULS WORK THE SAME WAY AS PHYSICAL BODIES, THE FLAMES WILL CAUTERIZE THE WOUND. AND WHO KNOWS? MAYBE YOU'LL BE TOO BUSY SUFFERING FROM ONE TORMENT TO NOTICE THE OTHER. THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT, ISN'T THERE?)**

Mike lifted his scythe to William Afton's arm, and impaled it deep into his wrist, just proximal to his hand. The burning blade sliced through the rotten metal that comprised William's ethereal flesh as though it were melted butter, his mouth curled into a menacing grin as he heard William Afton scream. And with the same methodological cruelty that his phantom of Scrap Baby had employed, he began to _peel_.

/

Charlie stared in transfixed horror as she watched her father flay the skin off Nightmare Springtrap's arm, tearing out metal and skin to expose the frail shade underneath. Even now, she did not understand what her nature as a ghost was truly like, but she was completely unprepared to see the exposed flesh and bone of William's arm with essence spewing out of it like blood, exactly as though Mike was flaying a living mortal. She only had a glimpse of William's exposed innards before the flames of Mike's scythe blade incinerated them, drowning her murderer's arm in an unholy, ravenous inferno. When the flames finally died down, William's entire arm was scorched and covered in horrific burns, yet somehow hadn't disintegrated to ashes. It was only after Mike grimly smiled and moved on to his other arm did Charlie realize that her father had kept the limb intact _on purpose_.

And of course, Nightmare Fredbear was immorally delighted by the grisly spectacle. **"WELL DONE, SCHMIDT,"** he praised. **"YOUR PLANNING AND EFFICIENCY IS TO BE ADMIRED."**

" _Efficiency?"_ Charlie repeated weakly.

" **BUT OF COURSE,"** Nightmare Fredbear chuckled. **"BY FLAYING THE SPIRITUAL FLESH OF WILLIAM AFTON'S SOUL FIRST AND FOREMOST, SCHMIDT IS ENSURING THAT WILLIAM AFTON WILL SUFFER ATROCIOUS AGONY IN A MANNER MOST VICIOUS, WHILE LEAVING THE REST OF THE SOUL INTACT FOR HIM TO REVISIT ANY…FURTHER TORMENTS, IF HE SO CHOOSES. WERE NIGHTMARIONNE HERE TO WITNESS THIS DISPLAY, HE WOULD MOST CERTAINLY APPROVE. WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CLAN, NONE ARE MORE EXPERT IN THE ART OF FLAYING THAN HE."**

" _Nightmarionne…"_ Charlie's eyes widened in horror, this time for an entirely different reason. _"Oh my God!"_ she shrieked. _"My brothers and sisters! I've been so caught up with watching Mike's battle that I've completely forgotten that I've left them with a demon!"_

" _Charlie?"_ a familiar voice snapped her out of her frantic rant. Both she and Nightmare Fredbear looked towards the bedroom door to see Gabe standing there, looking worried but otherwise completely fine.

" _Oh, thank God…"_ Charlie floated over to her brother and wrapped him in a hug. _"I'm sorry, Gabe…"_ she murmured, _"I completely forgot I left you guys with another demon."_

" _It's all right, Charlie…no really, it's all right!"_ Gabe insisted after seeing the unconvinced look on Charlie's face. _"I know it's a bit weird to think about, but Nightmarionne…he's really not that bad at all. If it weren't for the fact that we're all worried sick about dad and Nightmarionne absolutely refuses to let us the leave the living room outside of letting me check up on you, I'd even say he's kind of a fun guy to be around."_ Gabe's eyes turned to look at his unconscious father. _"How's dad doing?"_ he asked.

" _Nightmare Springtrap tried to possess him to invade his mind and attack his soul,"_ Charlie replied. Seeing the horrified look on Gabe's face, Charlie quickly reassured him. _"He's fine. Remember how dad can lucid dream and warp reality in his dreams? He used that to kick William Afton's ass. I'm sure he'll be up soon, you should go back down to check on the rest of our family. Especially Liz, she did NOT look good when I last saw her."_

Gabe grimaced. _"Liz got hurt bad, but with both of her other brothers looking after her I think she'll be okay."_ He was about to say something, when suddenly a hideous, agonized scream bellowed out from the fiery portal in front of Nightmare Fredbear. Gabe jumped in the air in frightened shock at the terrifying sound. _"What was that?"_ he demanded.

Charlie immediately moved in front of her brother, blocking his view of the portal. _"DON'T LOOK!"_ she shouted with uncharacteristic harshness. When Gabe flinched, she forced herself to calm down. _"Please, Gabe…"_ she pleaded. She could not allow Gabe to see the nightmarish tortures that Mike was inflicting upon William, no matter what. _"Don't look in there. You don't want to see what's going on in there."_

" _I thought you said that dad was winning against…"_

"… _it's not dad that's screaming,"_ Charlie tersely interrupted him.

Gabe's eyes widened as he realized the implications of that scream. Still, he had not seen what Charlie had seen, and there was still some vicious satisfaction that his father was beating the crap out of their murderer. Still, even he couldn't deny that the scream he had just heard had chilled him to the very core of his soul. And since William wasn't the one causing the screams, that only left Mike… _"How…how bad can it be?"_ he asked, though his tone betrayed his nervousness.

It was Nightmare Fredbear who answered him instead of Charlie, his familiar fanged grin stretched across his face. **"DO NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO, LITTLE BRAT,"** he warned with a growl. **"YOU HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT YOUR FATHER POSSESSES DARKNESS IN HIS HEART, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. DO YOU TRULY WISH TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT HE IS CAPABLE OF, WHEN HE ABANDONS THE LIGHT AND EMBRACES THAT DARKNESS? THINK CAREFULLY…"**

Even as he finished, another tortured, drawn-out scream echoed from the fiery portal that Charlie was now blocking. Gabe looked between Charlie and the portal, torn between curiosity at what was going on within and dread at what he would find.

" _Trust me, Gabe. Please…"_ Charlie begged one more time.

Gabe sighed. _"All right, Charlie. I trust you."_ He turned to leave, before stopping to say one last thing. _"You shouldn't be so worried, Charlie. No matter what dad does to William, at the end of the day he's still our dad."_ The former Freddy inhabitant snorted. _"And it's not like anybody cares what dad does to that bastard anyway."_ With those words, Gabe departed from the room.

Charlie turned back to face the fiery portal, and the horror show that was being displayed on it. _"I've hated William Afton from the moment he killed me in that alleyway, and I know you hate him just as much. But would you say the same, if you could see what I have seen?"_

/

Mike lifted his scythe away from William Afton's bound and broken spirit, having finally finished his grisly work. **"̧I̢̛ ̶S̀̕͢W͟͝O̵R̢͘E͡ ͜T̶H̴A̢͘͢T̀ ͢I̛͜ ͠WO͡U͏LD ̛͘C͡A̢RV͡E͟͟͟ ҉̨͟T̴̀́H̀E ͝͠F̴E͟͝A̶R O̴͘F̵ ́M̨̀̕E̵̶͢ ̀͢I҉̀͢NT̨̨́Ó̡ ̀͘͟Y͡O̷͟UŔ ͠SÒUL̡͠, ͢͠W̡̧I̷̴̡L͡Ļ̶͏I̸͝AM̡ ̵̛͠A̸F̡T̶Ò́N̶͟.̴̛͡.̵̧.҉"** Mike's voice rumbled like a volcanic rocks clashing against each other, **"̶̧A̴͞͏Ǹ̸͘D ̧͠I̸ ̸̨́M̶E̛͜Á̛́N̡͞T̵̵͝ W̛͢H͘A͘͞T̨̧͠ ̸́͞I҉̵ ͜͠S̷A͜͡I҉̕D͝, ̷I̶͞N̸̸̶ ̴̢M̡̀͞O̵͢͞R̶̷Ę̸͠ ̨W̸͠A͘̕͘Y͠S҉̡ ̴T̨͢H̡͟Ą͞T̛͢ ͘͏̸ON̛É.̶"̵̨**

 **(I SWORE THAT I WOULD CARVE THE FEAR OF ME INTO YOUR SOUL, WILLIAM AFTON. AND I MEANT WHAT I SAID, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.)**

William could only let out a pitiful mewl in response. With his scythe and the demonic energies that he had seized, Mike had flayed the metal and skin off of William Afton's entire body, just as he had done with his arm. He had started first with the right arm, and then the left arm, before proceeding to peel the flesh off his legs, chest, back, and abdomen. Even as Mike tore off the last of William Afton's stolen power and revealed the innards of the pathetic shade underneath, the flames of his blade consumed the chosen body part in a roaring inferno that roasted it as thoroughly as possible without actually destroying it. Only William Afton's head and face had been spared from Mike's _special treatment_ , but by now William wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had spared them out of mercy.

"̴̧̨ **I͞͡ ̡WO̸N̸̴͟D́ER̡,͜͠ ̷̢H̵͟ÁŚ̵ ̴̸͝N̡I̵̛G͟H̡͜T҉́M̷A̛͟͞R͢Ȩ ́ÀL̵҉R̕͠ÈÀ̕D҉͜Y ̸F̷̨L͘͟͠Ą͟Y̸E̵D̕ ̸͝ŢH̡E̵ ET̕HE͟R̷͞É̢A͜͢L ̧͡F̀Ļ̧EŚH̢͘ ̀͝ O͘F̧̕ Y̛Ơ̢UR̨ ̵S̸͟OU̴͡L̛?̶͜"͠** Mike mused. **"H̨A͞S̶̡ ͡͏H̷͟͡È͜ ̧͡A͘L̕͡RE̸A̶̴D͠͡Y ̶̸̧T̷Ơ̵̡ŖT̶͝URÈD̕͘͞ ̷̨Y̕͠O͏Ù͠͏ ͝͏ I̸N ̷T̵͜H̴E̵ ̸̧́SA҉͡҉M̴̡҉E̢͏ ̨ W̴̵͢A̵YS ̨T͢H͞AT̀͞ ̵͏I ͢H̵̵A̕V̧̀E̛?̶̢͢ ̷̛͜Ó̡͜R ҉̵W̸͏̕Ǫ̴U̴͟͝L̢̛D҉ ͢I̡ ͠S͏́Ú͡͏R҉̨͢PRI͞SE̶̛͢ E͠V́͘É̸N ͡H͞Į̷͝M̨͜͝ Ẃ̶͘I̸T͜͡H̷ ̴̨̛HƠW̶̸̶ ̡͜͟L̴OW͟ I̧ ̷̀͜A̷M̕͘ ̕W̛I̸L̷̀͠L̡҉͞I͢N̷͝Ģ T̶̸͜O҉ ̢S͜͝I͜NK͟͜͜?̨̀ ̶҉Ş̶̧U͘C͞H ͜͠A͏ ̷͝S̷͘H̴AM͏̴E̡ ̸̛H̵̕E̢ C̴Ó̶UL̵D ́͜N͞O҉͠T̴̵ ͜B̴̷́Ȩ̴̵ ͘H̕E̴͟R͠͡E͝ ̢́T͟͜Ǫ ̷̵S͘E̕͞È͏̴ ḾE ̷̛F̶Ù͠L̸F̶I̡ĻL̡҉ ̛͟T̛͏HE̵̷̢ ̵͠P͟͜R̨̧̛O̴̕MI͠S̀͠E͜͏ ̢͟I̢҉̴ ͘MAD͝Ę̷̵ T̨͠Ó ͢H̶̸̡I̢̢M̴͢͞.̴̡"**

 **(I WONDER, HAS NIGHTMARE ALREADY FLAYED THE ETHERAL FLESH OF YOUR SOUL? HAS HE ALREADY TORTURED YOU IN THE SAME WAYS THAT I HAVE? OR WOULD I SURPRISE EVEN HIM WITH HOW LOW I AM WILLING TO SINK? SUCH A SHAME HE COULD NOT BE HERE TO SEE ME FULFILL THE PROMISE I MADE TO HIM.)**

He reached down and tucked his gauntlet under the broken soul's chin, tilting his head up so that William was forced to look into Mike's burning eyes. **"̶̨I̵̷͝S͢N̨'͘Ţ̵͡ ̸̢THÍ̕Ś̛ ̕҉W̵̛͡HAT ̸̡YO̧͜͡U̶͢͞ ͟W̷̵͠A͘͡ǸT͡͝E̵D̴͘ ̸͞ T̶͝O ̸SE͏͞E҉?̢̛"** Mike suddenly asked, **"W͏̀͡HE̵͠N̢͟ Y͘͏̕O̶͞Ù̷ ̷͢͟Ś͜҉ȨŃ͘͞T̀͠͠ ̶N̴I̧͏G͟H̴͟T͠M̵̛A҉RE̢ ̵A͟͡FT͏E҉R͜ ̵͞M̀̕Y̵̧ ͏͡͠C̡͘ḨI̧L͞D͘͝R̢̨Ę͢͞N ͞A͡L͞L͠ T̸͜H͘O̸S̴̨͜E̴ ̵Ḿ͢O̷N҉͜T̶̡HS̢͝ ̸A̶͡G̨͢O? Y͟O̶U͞ ̀̀͢W̷̡Á͢͏NT͢͟È̸D͠ ̵̸͝ T̢̢O ͟͠͏SÈ͝͝E͘͜ ̶͢͠T҉H͟͝È̀ ̨͢͡M̸͢͞Ǫ͟NS̛̛͘Ţ͡ER̕͘ ̨̢ IN̶͜ ̷̕M̡͜͞Ȩ͘͡.̴́͏ W̶̴E͠LL̨̨ ͘͡C͟ON̴G̴R̸Á͘T̛U̕͜LA̢T̶̕͝I̸̡͞O͏N̸̡S̷̀̕,̸̕ ̢͡W͞҉I̢̢L̸L͢͞IA̡͘M͠͞ AF͞T͡ỚŅ!̵"̡̀͞** he mockingly applauded the murderer of his children as his voice descended into a hateful, venomous hiss. **"̸͜CO̵̕҉N͠GR̸͞͠A̸͠͝T̷͢U̡L͝҉A̶T̴̀̀I͜ON҉̀S̡̛͟ ͏̵̡O͏̶͝N̛ ͜YO̧͘UR͢͞ ̵̴̢S͘͜U҉Ć͢C̶ESS̛.̵͢͠"͢**

 **(ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SEE? WHEN YOU SENT NIGHTMARE AFTER MY CHILDREN ALL THOSE MONTHS AGO? YOU WANTED TO SEE THE MONSTER IN ME. WELL CONGRATULATIONS, WILLIAM AFTON! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS.)**

Before William could give any kind of response, Mike spat on the murderer's face. The murderer writhed and flailed in his chains, the sheer disrespect shown to him by Mike enough to temporarily enrage him even through his terror. But there was no way for him to retaliate, and he could do nothing but seethe as his new tormentor straightened back to an upright position. **"̛LE͢T̵'͞҉̀Ş̛ ̨G̵̀E͜͡T̨ ̧̨B̸Á͘C̛͏K ̕͡T̷͡O͡ ̧B̢͘U̴̴S̨ÌN͏̷́ESS̵҉,̨͏҉ ͞Ş͝͝H͟A̕L͟͞L ̢W̕E҉?̨"͏̡͢** the demonic manifestation declared. **"́Y̸̨O͘͢U͏̸̶R ̴T̶̶͡O͡R͜͝M̡E̶̶N̶̛͠T ͝I͟S̕͞ ̧͢N̷͞͡Ó͘T̸̵ ͘҉̸ȨV͜E͠͞N̶͘ ̧͞Ć̵L͡҉OS͏̀҉E̷͟ ҉T̵͟O̷̸̢ ̛EN̕D̨IN̸̵͜G͝.͜͟ ̷N̡͏͞O̢͝T ̵͟͡W̴H̴ȨN̢ ̛̕͜I̡ ̴H́͟A̵̡V͢E̵ ̸A̴̛͘N͘͝ EǸ̨T͢I̡͡R͟͡E͟͝ F̡̕A̸Ḿ͢IL̛͟͜Y̶̷҉ ̶̧҉O̵F̛͢͟ ̸͝͡À͟N͜I̷MA͜T͡R̷͟ON̢̛͠I͘C͏͏̕S͘͜͞ ̸̀T̢O̶̢͡ ҉̢ȨX̶͘͡PRES͠͞S T͞HE̛ÌR̸.͏͏.̶̡͡.D҉Į́Ś̴͘P̡̡LÈA̶S̴UR͞͠E̶..̀.W̕͟I͏T̡͠H̵̀̕ ͡҉̀Y̡̛͡OU̡̡, ҉̧͠ ̡A͟N̴̢͢D̢̧ ́W̛H͡A̡̛T ̵YƠU͡ ̕H͏̶͢A̡͞VE҉̸̡ ̢͜D̀͢O̧͞͏Ń͟Ȩ̧̕.́ ̀LE̷͠͠T҉'͠҉S̸̀҉ ̵͞B̛EGI̸̧͢Ǹ͞.͠..̢͟͠W͏҉͝I҉̢T̡̛̀H̴̀ ̢͢͝BO̶̡͜ŅN͘͝IE,̧̛ ͜S̷H͘A̷̷L҉̧L̷̶̛ W͜E͝҉?͘̕͟"͝͠**

 **(LET'S GET BACK TO BUSINESS, SHALL WE? YOUR TORMENT IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO ENDING. NOT WHEN I HAVE AN ENTIRE FAMILY OF ANIMATRONICS TO EXPRESS THEIR…DISPLEASURE…WITH YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. LET'S BEGIN…WITH BONNIE, SHALL WE?)**

The simulacrum of Bonnie stepped forward as Scrap Baby had done, eyes glowing with a malevolent red light as he glared at William. "̶̶ **T̴҉H̷̴E̸͞ ͏̡À͘͜NÍ͞M̶͠A̶҉̛T̵R͏̴O̢͢N͢Í̡ÇS̡ ̛͜WE̵͝Ŕ̨Ȩ ̛LÉ͟͝F҉̵̀T ̧T̴O͢͡͠ ҉R̡͏͟ǪŢ͟ I̸N 1̧9͜͞8̕͠7,̕ C͢ÀS̷T͏ ̶A̧͞S̵Ì̷̛D̛E͜͡ ҉̷Ą́͘N͠Ḑ͟ ̸̷À͝B̢͘ĄN̴͘D҉̷҉ON͢E̸̢͢D̷̵͟ ͏A̶S͟҉ ́͏P̸͘A̸̛̕R̀T̢̡̧S̴͜ ͜҉̵O͘F͏̶ T̸͠H̛EM͠ W̶̧É̛͡R̷̡͠E̵ ̷̀̕T̨A͞K͝EN̡ F͏̨͠OR̵͘ ̨͝A͡ ͟N҉̀͜E҉̵̢Ẁ̵ ̶̀ĢE̵̡Ǹ̕E̵R̀͘A̛T̴I͠O͝N͜͠ ̷T͟͟H̡͠AT̵̴ ̵̨͜PR̶OV̷E҉̵҉D̢͡ ͞N҉͢O̸͡ ̧̀B҉E̕͢TT҉E͟͢Ŗ͘ ̵̛͠T̕H̶͘͞A̷̴̸N̢͟ ͜T͘͞͝H͠É͟͠ ̕͞F҉͡I͝R̵͠͏ŞT̨́̀,"̸** Mike spoke in an almost conversational tone. **"́A̡N҉̀D̢ ̴Ó̢U̷T̴̛̛ ̢͡ỚF͝ ̴͟͟A̷̶L͝L͟͝ ̶͠O͏F̷͟ TH̸̢͜EM̛͠,͟ B̛͠͡OǸ̡NI̵É ͘WAŚ̷ ̵͢͝ONE͟ ͢O̷̕͝F͠ T̸̸̕H͝E͏̛ Ơ͝NE̢S͝ ͢͝T͡H͡A̛͢T ̕ SU̵̡FF̶̨Ȩ̶͟RE̕͢D̢͢ ͢͝͞T͡H̷͟É͟͞ ́WORS̨͢͝T̨̡.̕ ̴͜H͠I̶̕S̷̸͜ ́L̨E̡F͟T̀ ̵ARM ̧͡ W̕Ą̶͏S͠ ̴T̛̕Ó͜R͟͝N̷̸ ̸̧҉ Ó͠F͏F̛, A̡N̴̨D ̛HI͟S̛͜ ͜͞͠V̶̡̀É̵͞ŔY͏̡̀ F́͞A҉C͏E҉̡ ͏̨̢W̸A҉S͞ R̴͡I̴P̶P̶͡E̶̶̡D҉ ̕A͏́W̧AY͏.́́"̶͡͞**

 **(THE ANIMATRONICS WERE LEFT TO ROT IN 1987, CAST ASIDE AND ABANDONED AS PARTS OF THEM WERE TAKEN FOR A NEW GENERATION THAT PROVED NO BETTER THAN THE FIRST. AND OUT OF ALL OF THEM, BONNIE WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT SUFFERED THE WORST. HIS LEFT ARM WAS TORN OFF, AND HIS VERY FACE WAS RIPPED AWAY.)**

As he spoke, Bonnie's form flickered and changed. Though the transformation lasted for only the briefest of moments, it was enough for William to see the dilapidated form of Withered Bonnie, the endoskeleton parts underneath his face now fully exposed and his left arm completely missing. A horrific thought suddenly entered William's mind as he realized exactly _how_ Mike Schmidt was going to get his revenge.

Mike saw the realization in William's eyes, and a malicious grin stretched across his face. **"̴̀҉Ý̢͡Ơ͝U ̡F̡Ì̷N̴̛͞A̢͝L̶̕͟LY̨ ̀S̷̛EE҉͜͞ WH̛ĄT́ I͏̸̵ ͏͡H́͜͝À̸V̧È͜ ̨̛ P̸͘͟L̸͞͝A͢N͝N̢͜͜ED̵͟͡ ̡NO̢W͞͞,̡͟ ͏ ̷̢͘D͢͡O̸̧͡N̨͟'̷̕͞Ţ͝ ͏̵͜Y̴̨͡O̷̸͜U̧?̛ ̢** he hissed. **"͘T̶H̸͜Ę̶͘ ̨A̵N͝ÌMA̴T͜͡R̡͘O̶͡N͟͡Í̡̛Ç͘S̶,̵ ̸̸͝À́Ń͝D̨̕͞ ̶͢M̸̀Y̡͞ ́C҉̢H̴̨IL̢D̛R̵͟E̵N͢͞͏ ͘͠TH̵R̡O̴̕͟U͢G͠Ḩ̸͟ ̢́T̴̛HE̸̢M͡͏,̧̀͢ ̷̕S͠͏Ų́̕F̵͘FȨ̛R̛E̸̴̕D̢ Ỳ͡Ȩ̶AR̡͜S̡͟ ͘O̸̴͡F̕ ̢͏A͏ ̵̨̀C̡̀͘U̴͟͢R̀S̷̢͢E͝D̛,͘͠ T͠҉͢O͟R̷͜T̨U҉͘RED̨ ͝EX͘I̷͡S̛̕͠T̴͟Ȩ́N̸̶C̨E̴ B҉E͘C̛A͠͡҉U͜͝S̴̀E͏ ̸OF͠ Y͡͡OU͠R͝ ͟ A̕͏RR̀O͏G̨ÁN̶C̷E AŃ̶̨D̸͘ ̛B͘͘L̶̷AS̷P̨H͜͠E̢M̵Y.̢̧ ̴ÀND̵ ͜͞I҉T̴͝ ͢I̶̵S̀ ̷O͝N̴̴L̶͠Y҉̢ ̴͘҉RI̶̶G͢H̵͢T̵ ҉T͟͝HA̶T́͘ ͞T̷H̴̢E̛̕͠Y̴͜ ҉A̵̡Ŗ͡E͘ ̨TH̢͡E҉ O͢͟N̕ES̵̢͟ T̶̢͟O͜ ̸̀͞C̸͟A҉͜R̷͞R̡̢̕Y̷̸ ͘͏O̕͢͞U̷T҉ T̷̕HE̢͢ ̛̀͜RȨ͟T҉R̷͝I̛͡B́UT̴́ION͠҉ ́͠͡T̸̷̛H̷͡A̵͜T̀́ ̷̢͡Y҉O̸̧Ư̴͡ ̶̸͢S̀Ó̴ ̶͞R̡I͠ĢH̕T̨F̡͢͜ULL͢Y ҉ ̷̢D̸̢͠ȨS̷E̴͘͠R҉̴V҉҉E҉.͝ ̡͠Y̧͞Ǫ͝͏U W͠҉O͝͡N҉D͏͝E̶R̴ ̵Ẁ͞H̛͘Y I̸̡ ̡͜S̸͜͏PA̶R͏̸E͠D̷̢́ ̡Y͘O̸͜͞U͘R͏̷ ̀̀F̡́A̡C͞E ̀͜FR͝O̧͏M͘͜ M̨͠Y̢ ̡B͏L͘͟AD̷̀E̴?̶́͢ ̧͡BEC̡Ą̢̛ŲS̸E̛̛ ̕NO͜Ẁ͞,̷̸͘ ̷̢MY͟͜ L̡͡҉O̧͘Ǹ̴G-̷҉E͏̨A͜͞R͠E̷̷D́̕͡ ͘FR̷͝IE̶̷N̨̕D̀͡ ́͝W̛͜͠IL̛҉L͘͡ F̵̧͠I̶͜͢N҉I̛S͟H̀͝ ҉͡W̨͞HÀ̴҉T ͠҉Í HA̸V̡͠E̢͡ ̶̧̀ ̴S̴̀T͟A̛͞͏RT̛̀E̴D̷̷."̶̵͢**

 **(YOU FINALLY SEE WHAT I HAVE PLANNED NOW, DON'T YOU? THE ANIMATRONICS, AND MY CHILDREN THROUGH THEM, SUFFERED YEARS OF A CURSED, TORTURED EXISTENCE BECAUSE OF YOUR ARROGANCE AND BLASPHEMY. AND IT IS ONLY RIGHT THAT THEY ARE THE ONES TO CARRY OUT THE RETRIBUTION THAT YOU SO RIGHTFULLY DESERVE. YOU WONDER WHY I SPARED YOUR FACE FROM MY BLADE? BECAUSE NOW MY LONG-EARED FRIEND WILL FINISH WHAT I HAVE STARTED.)**

Even as he finished his words, the specter of Bonnie screamed into William's face and reached his right hand out towards his head, his form erratically shifting between his Classic and Withered forms with increasing speed as he did so. William could only watch and struggle futilely as Bonnie grabbed his face and squeezed. In the midst of his panic, the murderer briefly wondered if Bonnie was going to crush his head in his hand, but the bunny animatronic and Mike had something less "fatal" but more sadistic planned. Instead of squeezing, Bonnie began to _pull_ at Nightmare Springtrap's face, unraveling the last vestiges of demonic essence that had allowed William to assume the demonic form of the animatronic that had once defined his existence. With one mighty pull, Bonnie ripped the faces of both Nightmare Springtrap and the face of the damned soul underneath, revealing the grotesque visage of a decayed and ruined corpse underneath. William's face exploded into pain at having his very face mutilated so thoroughly, but that was just the beginning. Not even bothering to look at the remains of William's face in his hand, Bonnie crushed his fist over them and squeezed with savage, unyielding might. Almost immediately, as though the face of Nightmare Springtrap was still connected to William's soul through an invisible psychic link, his entire face began to crumple in on itself, blood-colored essence spurting from hideous wounds that tore themselves into existence with every second that passed. William screamed in atrocious agony as he desperately tried to claw his imploding face off with his hands, so great was the suffering that he had completely forgotten that he was bound in chains that prevented any movement, or that his hands were useless, mutilated stumps.

Right when he felt as though his entire head was about to be crushed outright, Bonnie's grip suddenly loosened and the overwhelming pressure imploding his face vanished. William couldn't help himself; he let out a humongous gasp of relief as Bonnie stepped away from him and returned to join the other animatronics. He had carried out his purpose, and it was now time for another one of his kin to carry out his.

" _I have endured Hell,"_ William challenged, even as he was still reeling from Bonnie's torture. Neither he nor Mike missed the fact that his voice no longer held the infernal, roaring echo associated with the Nightmares; Bonnie had ripped the last part of his demonic essence away from him, leaving only the damned shade. _"I have endured Hell, and I can endure you!"_

 **"THÈ̸̸ ̵͞W̛͢͝A̴Y ҉̡YOỨ̸ ̛T̛RY̷͜͜ ͡S̴͟͞O̸̕͢ ̕͟Ḑ͟E̵͞S̴̸͘P̀E̕R̸͡A̷̴T̢̨E͢͡LY̨ ̷͞TO ͏̧C̀͞A̸͞T͏CH̴ ͏Y͘O҉U̢R͏ ́͞B̡̨R̷̕Ę҉A͜T̛͠H̶ ̵̷S̸̴͏Ę͟E̷̷͟M̴̀S̛ ҉̧̕T̨Ò̴ ̷S̸̢͜U̧͜G͠G̛Ę̵͟S͟T̀ ͜O͏͘͝T̨HE͟͝͞RWI͘͝S̡E͡҉̨,͡҉͞"̶̢** Mike retorted. **"B̢͘U͜͜͞T ́EV̶͝E̴͝N̡ ͏̢I̢̡F ̀Y̶̷͜O͘U̧҉̕ ̷͟C͢͢A̸̢͝N̕͟͜ ̵͞ I̵Ņ͡҉D̀É̡͘E̕D̀ ͘͏ WĮ҉͟TH͏Ś̀T̛̕͘Á͜ND O҉́N͝E̴̴͡, ͞T̡͡H̷͞ER͜Ę̛ Ą͜R҉̀È ̵͞S͟͟T̕͡I̶͘LL̕ ̡͜҉S͘͡O M͡A͘͢N̡͘Y̵ ͘͝M̷̡̛Ò͟Ŕ̢E ̷̡̨T̨O ҉̕͡Ǵ̴͜O͝͏̵!͘"̵̵**

 **(THE WAY YOU TRY SO DESPERATELY TO CATCH YOUR BREATH SEEMS TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE. BUT EVEN IF YOU CAN INDEED WITHSTAND ONE, THERE ARE STILL SO MANY MORE TO GO!)**

The moment he finished his words, the specter of Chica stepped forward, her image shifting between the classic form that Mike had faced against and her decrepit, withered form of her past, her jaw mangled and dislocated and her arms completely missing from their sockets. William suddenly felt the chains ensnaring him fling him downward, smashing him facedown on the ground. The chains began to shift and pull, dragging his arms and legs outward until they were stretched to their limit, as though he were about to be drawn and quartered.

 **"CHA̶͟R͡L̡I͠͏E ̸̡ON҉CÈ ҉D̸̢͠ȨS̕̕Ć͠͠R͏Į͟͝B̨͟Ę̶̸D̡͠ ͜TH̸͟͠Ȩ̕ ̶͠S̀̀E̴̕͠C̢҉́O͏̶Ń̴D͜ ̴͞F̡Ǫ͘R̨̨M̡ Y͠͝҉ƠU ͞WO̶RE͢͟, ̡͢ I̸N̶͟͞ ̶T̶̢͡H͟E͢ ͞W̴E̕EĶ̛́ ̴҉҉L͢͢É͠Ą͝D̀͢I̶͡͡N͏G̴̸ ͞Ù̕͠P̛͡ ̸́T̶͜O̧ Y̴O͘U̴̕̕R̸̢͠ ̀D͏҉É̡A̛̕T̵H̡͠.̀ ͝W̢̨͠H͟͝É̢T͠H̷E̴͜͏R ͘B̴͘Y̛͟ ̴̛Ń̕E̕C̵̕É̢͞S͟SI͞͠T́̀͡Y͘͘ O̕͢͏Ŕ̡ ̶B͟Y̡͟ ͝C̶H҉̸̢ƠI͘͘C̴̨̢E̵͟,̶͡ ÝO͏̢U̷ ̨͢҉R̵̨̀I̸͝PṔ͝E̵D̸ ̸̧͜O̶F̡͡҉F̨͘ ͜͝Y̢̛O̢UR̡ ͘͡L̡̛EF͞T̴ ͝ĄRM̨ ̢A͘ND͘ ̕R̷̕EP͞L̛͢A̡Ç̴̶È̷D́ ͘͟I̷Ţ҉҉ ̷͏Ẁ̸͟IT̨H A̸͏ ̢͢D̛͏A̵̴G̡͟Ģ̷͡E̢̕͘R̕͞.҉̧ ̧̡Y͝͏͞ỚƯ̕ ̷̧ L̕͟Ȩ҉AR͟͟N̷E҉D ̧̀T̢͡O͏ ̶L͢Ì̷V͝͡E̢ ҉͠҉W̵̶I҉T̸̢H̴̷́O͘UT ̨͘ON̴҉̕E̸ ͡L̕͠I̛͟͝M̵͡B̷̡.̸,"** the unholy glow in Mike's eyes flared as Chica stepped closer to William's prone form, **̨"Ņ͝OW ̵Y͜͠O̴̶U̸ ̴̡͘WIĻ̴͡L̶̀ L̸͏E̴A̵͠R̷̶͠N̷͟ ̢͢ W̡̨҉H̡̧A͘T͝ ̶͢ĮT̨ ͢͞I̶̢͜S L̡͡I͞҉͏KĘ ͏҉T̶O̕҉ ̶̴͘L̷IV̸̷̷E̡͘ ̸̸W̵͜Į͠T̵H̸͘͠O̷͠UT̨͘ ̷̡A̵͠N̵̴͜Y̸͝͞."̢̀͘**

 **(CHARLIE ONCE DESCRIBED THE SECOND FORM YOU WORE, IN THE WEEK LEADING UP TO YOUR DEATH. WHETHER BY NECESSITY OR BY CHOICE, YOU RIPPED OFF YOUR LEFT ARM AND REPLACED IT WITH A DAGGER. YOU LEARNED TO LIVE WITHOUT ONE LIMB. NOW YOU WILL LEARN WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE WITHOUT ANY.)**

With an earsplitting shriek of rage, Chica stomped her foot down upon William's right arm, shattering the bones of his corporeal form to pieces. William howled in agony as the animatronic trampled on every bone she could find from the carpals of his hands, all the way down to the very edge of the humerus, mere centimeters away from his shoulder. The bloodied, broken remains of his arm now matched the state of his fingers in grotesque unity, engulfed in pain that was every bit as torturous as anything he had experienced in Hell. But neither Chica nor Mike was content to mutilate merely one arm, however. Drawing out every ounce of pain that she possibly could, the animatronic proceeded to repeat the process in William's left arm and both of his legs, leaving all four of his limbs mangled and shattered almost beyond recognition. The murderer was now groaning and cursing unintelligibly, the agony of his shattered arm now shared by all four of his limbs, utterly unable to move any of them. _"Just rip my arms and legs off and be done with it, bastard!"_ he snarled.

 **"͟͠A̸̸N͢D̷́ ̢E͏̷N̡D̵ ̶̧Y̢̧̧O̷Ų̕R̀͠ S̢̧̛ŲF͡F̶͟ĘR̶I̶̛͠N҉̸̵G̷̡͞** **S̕O̢ ́҉S̨̧ƠON͢?̕͝"̨̀̀** Mike drawled with amusement. **"̸͘N̕OW͡ ̨҉͢W͠͝͞H̸͞Y̨͞ WƠƯ̢͢L̢̕҉D I͠ ̷̀DO̵ ̀T͜H̶AT̸̴̨?"** As if to emphasize his point, the Puppet's chains pulled on his arms and legs and lifted him back to his original upright position, the pressure on his now mangled limbs aggravating his pain. "̶̕ **I͠͡ ͏̛S҉́̀W̵O̸̢R͢҉̧E ̨̀̀A̴̢N ͘Ó̵̧ÀT̴̛H̷̢̡ ́͜T͟͏O̵ ̴N̡͞IG̡͘H̛͢T̸̀͟M̢͠͞A͢͠R͘E̕͟ ͢T͠H̸̨͘A̵T̸͢͢ I͞ ́͢W̵̧͘OU̷̡͡L͘͟D͡ ̵͘͢ M͏́A͏͡͠ĶĘ̷͜ ҉͜Y̸̵͞O̧͞U̸ ́̕͠S͢Ù̴F̸̧F̵͠E͜͝͞R F̢O͠R͝ ̷Y̴̡͡Ǫ̶͘UR̀͟͏ ̸͡C̵͘͡R̴I҉͘M̡̧E͘S͝,͘͞ AN̶̷̡ ̢̕͝O̕ATH̶͟ ̵Ì̶ ͏͠W̷̢͡Ǫ͢U̢͡L̶҉D̢͘ H̕A̢̧͝V̴E̴ ̀͜B҉ĘÈǸ̛ ̸ M͟Ó͞RE̡ ̶̸T͘H̶͘͞Ą̵͢N̵ H͏̕A̡͝P͏P̡Y͜ ̨T̷̸Ò̕ ̸̛F͏҉̸U̵L͏̷̨F́ILL̷͡͡ E̷̢V̨̨̛ĘN̸ ̶̷WI̧T̴́H̀O̴͞U̕T̢ ҉͢H̨̕͟I͡M҉͝ ̸̛I̸N͏V̵̛O̢͠L͠͝V͏ÉD.̶"̶͢͞**

 **(AND END YOUR SUFFERING SO SOON? NOW WHY WOULD I DO THAT? I SWORE AN OATH TO NIGHTMARE THAT I WOULD MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR YOUR CRIMES, AN OATH I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE THAN HAPPY TO FULFILL EVEN WITHOUT HIM INVOLVED.)**

" _You will regret this!"_ William spat, a show of desperate bravado with no real power behind it. _"One way or another, you will regret enslaving me to these chains and torments!"_

A guttural, inhuman laugh answered him. **"O̸͘H͠,͞ ̷҉I ̀͞VER̵̀Y͏ ̶҉MU͏CH̵̢ ̡ḐOU҉͏B̡͠T҉ ͠͞T̷̡͢H̴̡AT,̀ ̕͡W̶̶͞ĮL̀L̡͘I͡A̡M͜ ̶A̡͝FŢ̛́Ǫ̸N̶͞," (OH, I VERY MUCH DOUBT THAT, WILLIAM AFTON.)** Mike hissed in response. By this point, Chica had returned to her original position, and now it was Freddy who took her place. Unlike Bonnie or Chica, the changes in form between Classic and Withered did not have as much of an impact on William, for there had never been much difference between the Freddy of 1987 and the Freddy of 1993.

But visual changes meant nothing in the face of the entirely real threat that the animatronic now posed to his very soul, as Scrap Baby, Bonnie, and Chica had so thoroughly proved. And this time, Mike did not offer any sort of speech or preamble before silently ordering Freddy to strike. Having expected that very thing from his tormentor, William was completely unprepared when Freddy, moving far more quickly than the lumbering animatronic that he remembered, raised his fist and smashed it into William's face. The man's head was blown backward by the force of Freddy's punch, and without the mask of Nightmare Springtrap to protect him, the damned soul's head exploded in pain as he now experienced the full force of the blow. Before William could clear his thoughts, Freddy turned his sights on the murderer's body, the one part that had been spared the wrath of the animatronics that had come before. Letting out the laugh that had once haunted the Night Guards of Freddy's 1993 pizzeria, Freddy pummeled William's spectral chest and abdomen with his fists and microphone, smashing ribs to pieces and crushing the organs underneath. William's tortured screams, which at first echoed throughout the empty void of Mike's mindscape, were soon cut off as Freddy pummeled his lungs to pulp, at which point the murderer was struggling to simply breathe. Blood-red essence and pieces of his spirit splattered onto the ground underneath, the animatronic's hands drenched in blood as he ruthlessly pummeled William again and again. As the murderer collapsed on his mangled knees, compounding his already excruciating torment, Freddy drew his microphone back, and with the most force out of all his attacks, slammed the instrument and the fist behind it straight into William's head for a second time. The murderer was sent sprawling backward, the Marionette's chains around his body finally loosening to allow him to fall, and collapsed onto the ground in a bloody, motionless heap.

William could only let out a pitiful whimper as he struggled to think in the midst of his suffering. He was no stranger to pain; indeed, he had experienced it many times over as his body was springlocked, in the fire that had led to his destruction, and in the pits of Hell afterward. But never once, not even at the hands of the Nightmares, could he remember so many cruel and vicious torments unleashed upon him in such a short time, one after the other heaped upon his soul, each as terrible as the last. Forgetting that it had been already been shattered and mutilated, William tried to reach out his arm in the opposite direction of Mike, anything to try and escape from the terror that Mike had become.

Then a black, clawed foot stomped onto the ground in front of him, and William slowly tilted his head up to stare into the hate-filled eyes of Nightmare. And as he beheld the demon lord's visage, he felt the last of his hope wither and fade into oblivion.

" **FROM THE GRASP OF ONE TORMENTOR AND SWORN ENEMY, TO THE FEET OF ANOTHER,"** Nightmare sneered. **"SO, YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WERE DOOMED FROM THE START. I CAN SEE THE DESPAIR IN YOUR EYES. IF I HAD SO DESIRED, I COULD HAVE ENDED YOUR ASSAULT ON SCHMIDT'S SOUL LONG BEFORE IT COULD TRULY BEGIN. BUT WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING, SCHMIDT AND I. I SWORE TO COME TO HIS AID AT HIS MOMENT OF NEED, A MOMENT THAT WOULD NEVER COME TO PASS. AND I CONFESS THAT I FOUND MYSELF CURIOUS…I KNEW OF SCHMIDT'S POTENTIAL, AND I DESIRED TO SEE HOW HE WOULD USE HIS COMMAND OVER THE WORLD OF HIS MIND TO DO BATTLE AGAINST YOU."** The demon lord laughed. **"I KNEW OF THE DARKNESS THAT LURKED WITHIN HIM. I KNEW HE WOULD NOT SHOW ANY MERCY IN BATTLE. BUT THIS?"** He gestured towards the broken remains of William Afton's soul and Mike's demonic aspect, a tone of genuine admiration and approval in his voice for the first time that either of them had heard him speak. **"** _ **THIS**_ **IS SOMETHING FAR BEYOND ANYTHING THAT I COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED."**

" _Please!"_ William pleaded, unable to even move his arms so he could hurl himself at Nightmare's feet. The unholy combination of Mike's attacks and tortures had finally broken him in mind, body, and spirit. _"Take me back to Hell! Save me from this monster! I won't ever try to escape again, I'll suffer any torment you want me to! Just get me away from HIM! PLEASE!"_

Nightmare was silent for several moments, and then he bent down, grabbing William Afton by the throat and lifting him until he was looking directly into his eyes. For a second, William thought that Nightmare was going to take him back to Hell. And then his mouth stretched into his cruel, fanged grin, and the damned soul realized that he would do nothing of the sort.

" **AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT?"** he asked, his voice a menacing hiss. **"WHY WOULD I INTERRUPT SCHMIDT, WHEN HE IS DOING SUCH AN** _ **EXCELLENT**_ **JOB? WHY WOULD I STOP HIM FROM DOING AS HE PLEASES, IF SUCH IS THE BRUTALITY OF HIS VENGEANCE THAT HELL ITSELF SEEMS MERCIFUL IN COMPARISON? BEFORE THIS MOMENT, I WOULD HAVE LOVED NOTHING MORE THAN TO DRAG YOU BACK INTO THE DEPTHS, TO UNLEASH SUCH HORRORS UPON YOU THAT HELL ITSELF WOULD WEEP AT YOUR FATE. BUT NOW, I CAN BE PATIENT. I CAN WAIT. BECAUSE AFTER SEEING SCHMIDT'S WORK FIRSTHAND, I BELIEVE THAT LEAVING YOU AT HIS TENDER MERCIES FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER WILL BE SO MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING!"** He lifted William higher into the air, ignoring his screams of denial and pleas for mercy, and turned his gaze to Mike. **"COME, MIKE!"** he called. **"CLAIM YOUR REVENGE ON BEHALF OF YOUR FAMILY, AND ON BEHALF OF MINE. YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY MY ENCOURAGEMENT, TO** _ **TAKE AS MUCH TIME AS YOU WANT!**_ **HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

Nightmare hurled William's broken soul back towards Mike, laughing sadistically all the while. Even before he could fall back to the ground, the Marionette wrapped her chains around his broken arms and legs, leaving him strung up in the air.

 **"́͢Ą̀͏L͏L̷O̷̵W̕ M̢E͘ ̶̀͘TO Ţ̵HAN̷̢Ķ ̵Y͜͡O̸Ù ͢F̨̕͟OR̷̡͞ ́͝P̨͏R̨̀̀O̸͟VÌ̸͘D͟͠Į̵N̢͢G͟ ̀͝M̧E̵͠ ̨͠W̶͘͡Į̕͢T̵͘H̵̕ ҉͞ŢH̀͢I҉̢͞Ś ̷̨OPṔ̸̛OR͟T͞͏UN̶I̛͟͝T͘͞Ý̀, ̷̀̀ NIG͏H̀͏̵T͏Ḿ̛̕A̵̛͜R̛҉E̛͏,͟"̀** Mike replied with no small amount of amusement in his voice. **"̶I ̵̴P̵͟R̶̡O̵̧M̵ISE͏͜ ͝ YO̷̢U̷,̷͢͡ Y̨̕͘Ò͘͘U͟͞R̢ ҉͡G͠I͘F̀́T̷ ̡͢W̕O͢͟N'͏T͏̷͘ G̀͡Ǫ ̡̕TO ̡҉W͢A̵̴̧ŚT͡E̕͢.̶"̀͟**

 **(ALLOW ME TO THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY. I PROMISE YOU, YOUR GIFT WON'T GO TO WASTE.)**

As if on cue, the simulacrum of Foxy stepped forward. Both William and Nightmare immediately noticed that this animatronic was different from the others. The others had been calm and stoic apart from the occasional scream, looking upon the child murderer with quiet, cold fury as they methodologically and carefully attacked and crippled his soul. But Foxy had always been different from the others, and those distinctions were more evident now than ever before. Foxy was snarling and frothing with rage, his eyes flashing in the darkness and his teeth gritted in fury as his limbs twitched maniacally. Just like the others, he switched repeatedly between his Classic and Withered forms, his savage nature complementing the rapid transitions to strike fear into William despite the lack of major differences between the two. It was as if he could barely control himself from leaping at William and tearing him to pieces.

 **"̡̛F̛OX̨̨͝Y̷̛͟ ̸̧Ḩ͞͞A͜͜S̵ ̸͡A͜L͏̀W҉̀͝AYS̡̛͘ ̸B҉̀Ȩ̶̵É͜N҉̵ ́Ą̸͠ ͢͞͝R̷Á̷͏T̢͝͡HE͢͟͞R ҉͝S̵̢P̸EC̴͟IA͟͞L ̴̢͝B̛O̡Y͘͠,͟͝ ḨAS̢̛N'̵͝͠T̸ H̴̴E̵҉?̨̕"** Mike mused. **"A҉̶L͏͝͡W̴̨̛Ą́Y͢S̸͘ ̴C̨͟H̨͟Á̴R̛G͡Ì̶NG̡ ̵̴A͘͜T̢̡͟ H̨͟Í͝S͞͝ ENE̴M̴I͠E̛͟S͟ ͘W͝͞H͢E̕͏N̷̛E҉V́ÉR͡ ͏H̡̨E̛͏̛ G͘҉O̵T ̕͏T̕HE͏͢ C̷͞H̛ANC̀͝Ę,͞҉̡ ̴̴ S͏O ̛È̴͡Á̛͟G̛ER͜ ͏̶͘T̡̕͢O̶͜ ̶̕T̵͢ÉA̢͟͝Ŗ̡͢ T̀͞HE̶͠M̶̴ ̶T̶O̧͟ ̡҉P̧Į́EC͝͞ES̷͜ A̸҉N̡͟D̴̢͠ ̛P̨̀LĄ̀͟Y͞I͏N͢G̡͝ ̴͝B̢́Y ̡N̸̵O͡͡͡ ̡ON͝E̷͠'S͜͞ ̸R̀U͢L̡̕E̴S ̴B́U̷̶T H̨͞Í͠S͘͞ ̸O͘W͞N͝.̸͘͝** His maw stretched upward into a malicious grin. **"̛͠T͢͡HE͏͢Ŗ̴E ̸̧̕I̢̛S̀͝͡ ͟N̴͢Ò C̕͜Ą̶M̕͢EŔÁ͏͏ ̷͝O̴͠R̛ ͢DO̧O̴̶R͢͏ ̢̀͘T̷O͘̕ ͢͞H̡́͡O̶̴͝L̢D̶̛ ̀̀H͟I̷͢͠Ḿ ̴B̕͠A̶̛C̴K͟ ̕N͘OẀ̛,̷̛ ͏̡WI̶LL͢I̴AM̷̕͠ ̶A̛F͠T͟͝ÓN̴̨.̶͘͟ ̡͏ǸO҉̕͝ F̸̡L͞A̡͝S͘H͞҉L̸͠IĢH̨͝T̛͢ ̴̢͟T͘O͜ ̴B̢͝A̷N͟I̶S͡͠H͏͠ ̵̀͟HI̛M̷̨͡ ̶͏BA̢C̶Ķ̵ ̨͜Í҉N̸̢TO̴̴ ̕͝TH̢̕͠E͡ D̡A̕͢R̀Ķ̡. ̛̛ F̧O̴X́Y ̸͞F͜͜IN͜͠A̴͏LL͏͡Y̡ ̶̕͡H́A̕S̨͢͢ ͘͠ Y҉O͠͠U ̷̢̢ÀT ͞H͟͞I̧̧͟S̀ ̕͜Ḿ̸̛E̶̴͜R̵͘C̡͜Y͡͞͏.҉̷҉ ̶̶͘A̛͞Ǹ͜͠D ̢͠Y͟Ǫ̶̀Ú̶ ͡͝W͝I̧͝L͘͞Ĺ̴͢ ̨N̕͡O͞W̢͘ ̛LE͡͏ÁR͡N ̵̵T́HE͠ F̸̸A͜T̴E͡ O͟F ̨́T̨H́͠O҉S̛E ̴̢̀W̢H҉́Ǫ̛ ͏҉D̷͠͡AR͜͏E҉ ̴̛TO͏̴͟ ̢̛͠WR͢͡O̢҉N̷̛G͢ Ą̴ ҉͘C̶̕͘A͡͞P͢T҉͠A̢̕I̸̴̶N҉͟'̴̡S ̶̢CR͞E̴W!"҉̶̀**

 **(FOXY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RATHER SPECIAL BOY, HASN'T HE? ALWAYS CHARGING AT HIS ENEMIES WHENEVER HE GOT THE CHANCE, SO EAGER TO TEAR THEM TO PIECES AND PLAYING BY NO ONE'S RULES BUT HIS OWN. THERE IS NO CAMERA OR DOOR TO HOLD HIM BACK NOW, WILLIAM AFTON. NO FLASHLIGHT TO BANISH HIM BACK INTO THE DARK. FOXY FINALY HAS YOU AT HIS MERCY, AND YOU WILL NOW LEARN THE FATE OF THOSE WHO DARE TO WRONG A CAPTAIN'S CREW!)**

Foxy let out a hideous screech and, unlike every other animatronic that had marched up to William Afton to deliver justice, he pounced at William with his jaw hanging open and his hook and hand outstretched. Foxy collided into William, knocking them both to the ground, and immediately began to slice his hook into William's soul. This imitation of Foxy was far more powerful than the other copies that Mike had summoned during the first stage of their battle, created with the intent to kill rather than merely harm. And more importantly, Mike had destroyed the armor and protections that Nightmare Springtrap had enjoyed when he had flayed and burned them off William's soul, leaving him completely exposed to the full force of Foxy's wrath. Foxy impaled his hook into every part of William's body that he could find, ripping vicious and horrific gashes into what was left of the damned soul's ethereal flesh, bone, and internal organs, all while the murderer howled in horrific agony and begged for mercy, for the brutality to end. Where the other animatronics had attacked one part of the body, Foxy attacked everywhere at once indiscriminately and without care. If Freddy had covered his hands in the supernatural equivalent of blood, Foxy positively _bathed_ in it, his entire body was drenched in the spiritual ichor of William Afton that splattered on his form. After only a minute had passed, William's face and body were covered in hundreds of gaping wounds with his organs all but torn to shreds, surrounded by a pool of his bloody essence far larger than any of the torments caused by the other animatronics. Foxy finally finished his violent assault by raising his hook to William's throat, just as his Nightmare counterpart had done to his son decades ago, and slashing it wide open. The fox animatronic finally retreated as blood splattered from William's neck, completing the most gruesome torture out of them all.

" _Damn…you…"_ William gasped heavily, unable to even breathe properly anymore. _"What…more…can you…take…from me?"_

 **"͏Y̵͜͝O͝U̴͠ ̡̀S͢H͘O̸̕U͠L̀͞D̴̡͟N͡'T͢͏ ̨B͠Ȩ́ ̴A͜S͞K͏̵̛Į̕N̨̕͟G͜ ̛͘͝QUE̶̵̶ST҉̕I̕O̵̕N̸S ͟͜T҉ḨA͡T̢̢ Y̡O̴͠U͜ ̸̨D̀O͞N̢͡'̨T͏҉̴ ͠W̵A̵͏̢ǸT̴̨҉ ͜͏҉TO͠͡ K̸Ǹ͜O̷҉̸W͜҉ ̸́T̵H͡͡͝E AǸ҉S̡W̵͏E̴̢̡Ŗ҉ ̵́T̶O͏,̵̶ ̸"̵̡** Mike growled as Nightmare grinned in the background, having already come up with one answer and wondering if the vengeful father would come up with the same conclusion as he. **"͡I͢ ̧͢C̢͘̕A̛N͝ ͢͞T̷̀H̢͘̕INK̷̨̛ ̴̴̢OF҉͡ A͏T ̶L̵͠E͢͠͠À̴ST̷҉͡ ͞ O̴̧N̵͢͝Ȩ̷ ̧ M̵̸O̢҉R̨̨̧Ȩ̡͝ ̵̧S͜PO̡I̷L̀ ̵͘TO͡ ̶͢C̷̢L̛͜A̧͠I̕̕M̧,̶̕ ̷͟͜ON͟Ę ͏M̸̴O̷͘Ŕ̸͜E̵͜͝ ̸̸T̀͏̡Ó͘͝Ŗ̀ḾEN̢͠T͝ ͜͟T͞O̶ ̨̛́D͘E̷͡ST͠R̕͢O̶Y̡͜ ̕̕͢W̧͜͟H̕A̵T̸ ́҉Ļ̷͞I̷T̡TL̀E͜ ҉̶Y̴͜O̷̡U͡ ̡̕͠H͢Á̶̕V͢͞E̢ ͜LE̴̡̕FT̶̀. ̡͡A͠Ǹ͡D̀҉ ҉I̧͟T͝҉ I̡̕S̀͠͡ ҉͡ON̢͢L̵Y̨ F̸͞IT̢̧TI̶͟͡N̢̢G͡ ̡T҉H͢A̕͜T҉́͞ T̵͡H͜Í͘S̴ ̴͝L҉͘A͜S̷͢T̨͢ ҉Ţ҉̡O̶͢RM̕E̢N̨̢T́ ̶͟B̧͠E͘͏̸ ̴̛͝D̕E͝L͝͠I͘V͜͢ÉR̡̡E͢D̨͝ ̕͜͟U̧P͡ON̸ ͘Y҉Ơ̡Ù̷̕ ̵̶B̵́Y̷ ̢͠TH̸E F̢͘I̶͞҉N͠A̸͞L̡͢ ̷͝A̶͏̴N̡I͟MA̴̶TR̵O҉N̢͝I̵̛͜C͏͞.̢͝"̸͜**

 **(YOU SHOULDN'T BE ASKING QUESTIONS THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO.I CAN THINK OF AT LEAST ONE MORE SPOIL TO CLAIM, ONE MORE TORMENT TO DESTROY WHAT LITTLE YOU HAVE LEFT. AND IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT THIS LAST TORMENT BE DELIVERED UPON YOU BY THE FINAL ANIMATRONIC.)**

Golden Freddy, the last of the animatronics, suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of William, glaring hatefully at the murderer. Just like his normal counterpart, he too laughed, only this time with the demented laughter of the child that had once possessed him. Then, instead of punching at William, he reached out his left hand and placed it behind William's head, tilting it upward so that the damned soul was looking up at him. Then, the animatronic's expression hardened, and he lifted the butt of his microphone onto William's left eye…and _pushed_. Ichor splattered out of William's socket as he screamed and flailed about, his vision ripped away from him and leaving only the overwhelming pain behind. Not giving the murderer even the slightest second of mercy, Golden Freddy moved the bloodied end of his microphone to the other eye and smashed it through eye, socket, and the back of William's skull, blinding him completely. William tried to clutch the ruined remains of his eyes, unable to even see the mutilated remains of his arms, let alone move them. He never saw Golden Freddy grab him by his head and legs until he had lifted him up into the air. Then, with a ferocious roar of triumph, he smashed William against his knee, smashing his spine and dropping the mangled carcass of what was left of William Afton's soul into the pool of bloody essence that Foxy had created.

William barely had time to recover his senses before Mike unleashed one final blast of corrupted black and red lightning from his palm, causing the damned soul to bellow with the loudest shrieks of agony and sorrow that he had ever screamed during the entirety of their time in Mike's mind. He was merely a defenseless damned soul, with no more protection and no more power. The lightning ravaged through William without restraint, amplifying the pain of his hundreds of wounds while melting what little flesh he had left and shriveling the innards that had been crushed and sliced by the animatronics. Mike blasted William with several seconds of unending, unholy electric torture, the scarlet glow of his power reflected in the cruel gleam of Nightmare's eyes, and when he finally ceased his attack, all that was left of the once mighty Nightmare Springtrap was a grotesque and unrecognizable carcass, blackened and broken, that put even the corpse in the original Springtrap to deep and everlasting shame.

" _Please…no more…"_ William begged. He could not see. He could not move. He could not even breathe. Never once had his very being been so thoroughly destroyed and ravaged in every conceivable manner all at the same time, not even at the hands of the Nightmares. _"Please…mercy…mercy…please…I'm…sorry…"_

 **"̶̸Ş̸OŔ̡̛R̕͢Y?"͏** Mike repeated mockingly as he and Nightmare laughed at his apology. **"̢W̢̨HA̶͘T̷ ̢̕ǴÒ͡O̕D ́D͝͞O͢E͏S YÓ͞U̵͜R͠ ͘҉̢A҉̛PO͞͡L̀͏O҉̴G̴͟Ý͞҉ D́́͠Ớ?͟͝"̢** he demanded. **"͞W͢H͏̛A͞T̶̵͝ ̶̕G̷͢͡O͟O̸͢D̢͘ ͏͟ W̷̢IL̛L ҉ ͟I̡̡T͡ ́͜͝D̢O̕ F̨͏O̷̸R̴̡̧ ̡̀T̴HE͝ ҉̶̶CH͡͝Į͘L̛͢D̷͞Ŗ̵̕E͟N͟ T͘͜H̀Á̛T͏̸ ̡̛Y͘͡O̡U̡͏ ̨̀B̀͡U͢͞T̨CH͝EŔ̕͟E͟͠͡D ̶A̶͡͞ND̵ ̧͢E̷NS̨̛LA͝͠V̸E̕D̴̢͢ ̛͡I҉̷Ń ̶̷͢T̕҉H҉͏̢E̷̛͠I̛R̛͡ M͢҉E̡͘TA̶L̴͢ ̀͢͝P̴̴Ŕ̸͠Ì͝S̛͜ON͢͡S?͢͏ ̡͝WH̵̢̀A̸Ţ ̷̧Ǵ̴̢OO͏҉D̡̡͟ ͝W͏҉I͜͡Ĺ͘͡L͏ ̨IT͞ ̀D͢͢O͘ ͘F͝Ó̸̧R͏̀͟ ̶̕TH̸͢Ȩ̴͟ ̵ON͏͟E ͠Ş̵̢O͠N T̵̛HA̶T҉̵ ̵̴͠ Ỳ͘Ó̴U̴ ̴ D̸E͠C̢E͘I̷̛͏V͘͟E̢D̵͏̡ ̴̢IN͘͜T̕O͠ ̸̀͡BĹI͏҉ND̡L̢҉Y͏ ͏̕͢E̢̛͞NT̵̢́ÉR͏͞IN̕G̷ ̸͢Ý̨͏OU̢R̷̴ ̵F͢͢A̛CT́O̴͝R̨̛͡Y̸͡ ҉Ó̸F ͟H̶Ǫ̨͡ŖROR̛̀S͜, ͟͟T̕O͝ ̷̛T̀͘͞HȨ Ǫ͞T̵́H̕͡ER͘ ͟S̡̀͟Ǫ̸̀N̡͠ ͟T̀HA̵̛T̛̀ ̡Y͠OU̷ ͞L͝E͠F͘T ̵̀T͠O͟ ̶ḐI̵̕Ę IN ̛̕T̴H͘Ę̀͜ ̡͜H̨̀̀O͞S̴̢͜P̨̕I͏҉T̢͟A̴L͡ ҉͢B̸͟͟E͟D ŞO̵̸̢ T͟H͘A̴T ̵́͠Y҉͝O͘͏U ̢ C̡O̶͏Ù͟L͢D̛̕҉ ̕H̡ID͏̵̢E҉ ̢T͝H̴̢͡E҉͞ ̡͘E͜͝XT̴E̷̵͡N͜҉T͡͞ ̸̶O̵̵F ͢Y̷O͢U̶R͢ C̷RIM҉E̢Ś?̢ ̨W̴͢͠H̡A̷̢̕T̨̢ G͘͜͟O̵̕Ò̢D͏ ͘W͏͝I̸͞L҉Ļ͢ ̶͜I̡̕T̢ ͘D̵͞O ́T́́O͟ T͘͡H̷͜͞E͜͜͡ ̕D̨͟A̷͞͞UGḨ͞TȨR̷͞ T̷H̶̀A̢T ̧͟Ỳ̨O̡U͏͘ ̵͡Á̛B͟A҉͢N̡D̕O͢N̛Ȩ̀D̡ ̴AN͘D͠ ̵C̢̛O̧͡Ŕ͡Ŗ̕U͏̸P͞T̷ED?̸ ̛̛Y̕͟O̷͘҉U͠҉̧R͘ ̀͝A̛̕P͏͜O̴̡͠LÓ̵G̀̀Y ̕I͢Ş ̕͜A̕͝S͘͏̡ W̢͠O͢RT̕͠H́LĘSS̨͜ ̶ÁS ̸̨T̴H̶E͞ ̷͢M̀̕ÒU̵̢͟T͠H͜ ̷͜͡T̷H͞AT͘͢͟ ̢́UT̴̶T҉͝È̷R̸͘Ę̸D̶͘ ̴̸I͘T̢́.̶"̶̨̀**

 **(SORRY? WHAT GOOD DOES YOUR APOLOGY DO? WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO FOR THE CHILDREN THAT YOU BUTCHED AND ENSLAVED IN THEIR METAL PRISONS? WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO FOR THE ONE SON THAT YOU DECEIVED INTO BLINDLY ENTERING YOUR FACTORY OF HORRORS, TO THE OTHER SON THAT YOU LEFT TO DIE IN THE HOSPITAL BED SO THAT YOU COULD HIDE THE EXTENT OF YOUR CRIMES? WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO TO THE DAUGHTER THAT YOU ABANDONED AND CORRUPTED? YOUR APOLOGY IS AS WORTHLESS AS THE MOUTH THAT UTTERED IT.)**

The demonic aspect's burning eyes turned to gaze at Nightmare, who gazed impassively back. "̛ **M̨̡͞Ỳ̴̀ ͘͡A͏P̢̧͠O͟͟Ĺ͟O͢G̡͘I̢É̀S҉́ ͜ T҉̶̛Ò͝ ̵͞Y̸̷OU,̢̡ ̛͘͢A͡N͝D ̀T̷͘O̶͜ ̛̀T́͡͝HE̶ D̨͢EV͘ĮL̀͢.̧ I̵ ̡͜D҉̷͠O ̸҉̢N̶ǪT̢́ ͞҉҉ KN̡O̢W̸ ̶̡҉WH̛A̢͟͢T ͡ Ỳ̸O̴̕͟U̸ ̧ H̸҉A̕V̛̕E͘͜ ̵͜P͏҉̡L҉A͟͏N̷̨͟N̸E̸D́͜͜ ̷̶͝ F͏̴̡OR̵ ̧W͜͢͞I҉L̵̕͝L̨I̢A̧̧͜M̛͞ ̀͞A͢͞F͟͟͡T̕͞E҉́R̀͢ Y̵̕O͜҉U̸ ҉͘D͘͞R͘͢͡AG̨̀ ͘͡H̛͞I̕S҉ ̷́͡Ş̧Ǫ͜U͢͠͡L͘͠ ̵̡ B̵̕A͠C̡͡Ķ̀́ ̡I͝NT̨O̡͠ ̶͟TH̴̴E̛̛͜ P͢I̵T͞.̨͘͜ B͜U҉͘T͜ ̵́͟I̶ ̴̴ ẂIL̴Ĺ̶̀ ̵̨B͏E̵͝ ͜S͟͞͠Ȩ̸͡N̢͡D̸̵I̢͟҉Ń̷͝G͟ ͡HÌ̷M͏̧ BA̵̧͘C̶̕K͝͠ ̛͠W̛҉IT́͞H͝͡ ͢ YO҉U̵̧.͢͟.̸.̨͏҉I̧N͢҉͢ ̸P̀̕͟IEC͢É̢̡S͠!͢͢"̸̛͘** He raised his scythe, the black blade burning with scarlet flames as its skull head growled hungrily at the victim that it would soon claim.

 **(MY APOLOGIES TO YOU AND TO THE DEVIL. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR WILLIAM AFTER YOU DRAG HIS SOUL BACK INTO HELL. BUT I WILL BE SENDING HIM BACK WITH YOU…IN PIECES!)**

" _No…NO!"_ William screamed desperately, able to sense the doom approaching him even if he could not see it. _"NO MORE, PLEASE!"_ High above, in the world of the living, Charlie turned her head away, tears of fear pouring out of her eyes. For the first time in her entire existence, she felt the barest traces of pity in her heart for the one who had murdered her and so many others. And she could not see the monstrous being that her loving father had become for even a second longer. Even Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare, who had for so long expressed immoral delight at the suffering of William Afton and the darkness of Mike Schmidt, had fallen silent.

 **"̷͢Y͢Ớ̴U̷̧ ̧T̡RI͠͡E̶͜D ̴͘TO͜͠ BRE̵͘A͞҉K̷̕ ̶M͘Y ̧͘F̵A͝͝M̸I̡͟L͟Y͏̸.͏ ́N͏̵O̕͞W̸̕͞ ͏I͞'L͞Ĺ ͟͝B̷͢RE̢͝A̡̛Ḱ YO̡U҉͡R ̴͜S̛O͘͡͞Ư͘L̴̵!" (YOU TRIED TO BREAK MY FAMILY. NOW I'LL BREAK YOUR SOUL!)** Mike roared, looking every bit like the feared demon lords of Hell that he had fashioned himself into. And just as he prepared to swing his deathly blade down upon the broken form of William Afton, a voice echoed into his head. A voice that he had not heard for over forty years. The voice of a loved one that had long since passed into the world beyond, striking a chord deep within Mike's soul that not even the ghost children nor Oskar could have ever penetrated. The one person that Mike had loved from the very beginning of his life, and the only one that could have stopped him from completing his hateful vengeance.

" _Enough, my son. No more."_

/

A/N: Wow. Despite this chapter being technically shorter than the last one, it feels like I put WAY more effort into it overall. There you have it. Each animatronic that Mike summoned, all based on his adoptive ghost children, carried out a different form of torture to slowly break down William Afton in mind, body, and spirit. A few of you hit the nail on the head: while they might not have been as powerful or as vicious as the Nightmares individually, the fact that Mike and the "animatronics" heaped their torments on him without any respite, one after the other, is what makes the whole thing so gruesome and brutal.

It was so bad that even **Nightmare** was impressed. And not merely "huh you might not be a disgrace just like the rest of your entire species after all" kind of respect, but full-blown, sincere respect and admiration. Keep in mind that Nightmare hates William _even more_ than he used to thanks to his collaboration with Vucarik, and he would have PLENTY of reason to grab his soul immediately, drag it back to Hell, and start torturing the shit out of it with the other Nightmares. And yet, he didn't. He chose to be patient and wait. He chose to let Mike continue William's torture instead. Because he thought that it was the **CRUELER** option. That fact should scare you more than anything else.

Who was the voice that stopped Mike from utterly tearing William's soul to pieces at the very end? The character's not someone I've brought up in a while, but if you do some digging and thinking, I think you'll be able to figure it out.

Anyways, that end this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	83. Chapter 83 - The Return of Peace

A/N: A lot of you guys thought that the voice who came down to stop Mike was his biological father. While that is quite an interesting idea and I could see how this chapter could have gone following that concept, it unfortunately isn't correct since the person was someone Mike loved _from the very beginning_. It'll be quite clear who I'm talking about, soon enough 😊

Also, a few of you pointed out that the specter of Golden Freddy that Mike summoned against William should've bitten his head open in reference to the Bite of 1983. Yeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh…I don't have an excuse, I completely forgot about that and missed the opportunity. Whoopsies :P

Anyways, on with the chapter!

Chapter 83 – The Return of Peace

The moment the soft, gentle voice spoke its words, the atmosphere immediately changed. Mike's scythe, which had been a second away from swinging down and tearing what was left of William Afton's soul to pieces, suddenly halted in midair, the menace and hatred in his demonic aspect's eyes replaced by blank shock. William let out a whimper of relief, so thoroughly broken that he was grateful for any kind of reprieve from Mike's horrific tortures. And to the side, Nightmare's anticipatory grin faded and his eyes narrowed.

" **WHAT'S THIS?"** he mused, the malice fading somewhat from his tone, although it didn't entirely disappear. **"I SENSE…A HEAVENLY SOUL HAS ENTERED HERE. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, I WONDER?"**

He barely had time to finish the sentence when a faint light, brilliant, gentle, and pure, began to glow in the distant sky. A beacon growing brighter and brighter with each second, illuminating a world that had up until this point been completely consumed by shadows. As the light descended and grew closer, Mike could see a feminine figure in the enter of it, her features still too far away to make out clearly.

But it didn't matter, because Mike knew who it was. No matter how many decades that passed, he would never forget the gentle voice that had whispered words of compassion and love to him as a young boy, would never forget the day when that voice had been silenced in death. And as Mike's continued to stare up at the light in disbelief, his arms fell to his sides, his nightmarish scythe hanging uselessly next to his legs with its malevolent flames dimmed.

" **Mom?"** he whispered in disbelief, his voice already deprived of its unholy and eldritch intonations. **"Is that…is that you?"**

The light finally descended to just above Mike's head, and he could now clearly see the woman within. Serene looked exactly like he remembered her, with dark brown eyes and hair that flowed down to the bottom of her neck. She was wearing a white robe that looked exactly like the kind that angels wore in Renaissance paintings, and though she might not have been considered exceptionally beautiful by the modern standards of the world, she had an appearance of grace and holiness as a spirit that no supermodel could ever hope to achieve. Mike's mother was smiling the same gentle and beautiful smile that her son remembered from his childhood, but there was also sadness and regret in her eyes that darkened her visage ever so slightly.

" _It's me, Mike…"_ Serene answered her son, proving to him that she was truly here before him. _"I'm finally here. I couldn't come to you before today, but I can finally come to see the wonderful and brave man you have become."_ Her smile faded, and the sadness in her eyes seemed to intensify. _"But this…this isn't who you are. This isn't the happy and innocent young boy I raised with what little time I had before I died. This isn't the courageous and unbreakable teen who Oskar saved from the streets and taught to follow what is right and good. This isn't the loving father who has given seven lost children the love and compassion that they so desperately needed after years of being trapped in the dark, despite having almost no true experience with giving or receiving parenting."_ She stopped and gestured towards Mike's demonic form. _"This is not who you are,"_ she repeated more firmly, her words laced with an undercurrent of scolding and steel mixed in with her gentle tone.

" **You don't know what this monster has done,"** Mike retorted back, but his conviction and rage had already started to erode, doubt creeping into his heart. **"You don't know what he's tried to do. He destroyed my children in life, ruined them after death for decades, and even now he seeks to break apart everything that we've worked so hard to create and find again! He has to suffer for all the evil he's committed!"**

Serene shook her head sadly. _"I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve all the suffering that the Nightmares or you have unleashed upon him. I am not even saying that you should forgive him for his many sins and acts of wickedness, Mike. But your hatred and wrath, justified though it may be, is beginning to consume you. What you are doing to Afton, the atrocities and torments you have inflicted upon him, it is no longer justice. It is not even simple vengeance anymore. It has become blind, bloodstained butchery. Something that your children should never have to see ever again."_

She pointed up to the sky, and for the first time Mike realized that he, Nightmare, and William Afton were not alone in the depths of his mindscape. They had _never_ been alone. He could now clearly see, distant though it may be, a fiery scrying portal showing his room in the real world.

And he could see the two spectators that had witnessed everything that had happened between him and William. Nightmare Fredbear was glaring down at him with disappointment in his eyes, exactly as though he was watching a favorite show that had just been interrupted. But that was nothing compared to the expression on Charlie's face. Though her fear had diminished now that the soul of Mike's mom had appeared and interrupted what would have been the final stages of William's torture, Mike could clearly see the overwhelming horror, terror, and nausea that was on his oldest daughter's face, the streaks of fearful tears flowing from her eyes. The man realized that Charlie had seen every torment, every atrocity and act of violence that he had inflicted upon William Afton's broken soul. No matter how much he might have craved vengeance upon William, he had no right whatsoever to introduce even more cruelty and brutality into any of his kids' lives, when all they wanted was to escape that tainted past and leave it behind them forever. Like a dagger with an ice-cold blade, Mike felt a stab of gnawing guilt and shame impale right into his very soul, breaking away any lingering trace of his desire to spill even more of William's essence and spirit.

Mike looked back down at what was left of William's broken spirit, seeing him not as a mechanical demonic monster to be destroyed as brutally as possible, but as the mangled, mutilated, and bloodied target of his own unrestrained brutality. He heard the murderer's unending groans of sorrow and agony for the first time, and suddenly the victory that seemed so important to achieve over William now felt incredibly hollow and empty. Mike may have cared nothing for the fate and torment of William Afton, but he could already feel a growing sense of regret and dread for his daughter's sake, and the horrific and unspeakable visions that he had unintentionally traumatized and scarred her eyes and mind with.

He was not and never had been a monster. But these were a monster's actions, a truth that he could no longer ignore or deny.

Mike's already slackened grip loosened completely, and his scythe fell to the floor with an echoing clang, its malevolent flames and light now completely extinguished. The flames surrounding his body faded to barely visible, and he fell to his knees, horrified at his own actions now that the red and bloody haze of vengeance had lifted from his eyes. Serene floated down and tilted Mike's demonic head up to meet her eyes with a delicate gesture.

" _You are better than this, Mike…"_ she murmured, her voice clearly heard by all despite being barely above a whisper. _"I know you are."_

And suddenly, Mike was no longer the mighty demon bringing fire and suffering upon his victim. He was not the humanoid figure clad in shadows and flame, or even the middle-aged man who the ghostly victims of William's slaughter recognized as their father.

He had transformed into the form of a young boy, the exact imitation of his appearance as a six year old child the day that he had watched his mother die and the world as he knew it crumbled around him. Serene gently picked up her son and cradled him in her arms as tears flowed freely out of his eyes, the man finally releasing the roiling, chaotic emotions of his tainted childhood that he had bottled up and sealed away by necessity for years. Mike's mother patiently watched her son express his sorrows in a far healthier manner than before, understanding fully that no small part of his ferocity towards William had stemmed from the darkness created by his tortured past.

" _I'm here, Mikey…"_ Serene murmured, rocking her son with the slightest of movements. _"I'm here. For as long as you need me."_

"I've missed you, mom…" Mike mumbled as he wrapped his arms around his mother buried his head in her chest, while Serene drew her son in closer to her. "I missed you so much. I don't know how I've managed to live so long without you…"

His mother smiled and shook her head sadly. _"In both my life and my death, my biggest regret was that I never saw you grow from the beautiful young boy you were, that I never had the chance to be the mother that you needed."_ Serene's smile grew bigger and her eyes shone with pride. _"But you don't need me to live, Mike. For better or for worse, you proved time and time again that you could survive anything that life threw at you without me or anybody else to guide you, except for those two precious years you shared with Oskar. I'm so proud of you, Mike,"_ she declared as she kissed him gently on the forehead. _"I couldn't ask for a better son."_

The tears from Mike's eyes intensified, but now there were tears of joy at his mother's praise as well as tears of regret from his earlier actions. Any thought of vengeance and hatred towards the murderer of his children was all but forgotten as he basked in the warmth of Serene's love. Up in the real world, Charlie felt relief and gratitude flood through her entire soul as she struggled not to tear up herself. Relief that her father had turned away from the bloodstained path of vengeance that she and her siblings had pursued for so long, and gratitude towards Mike's mother for coming down from Heaven to save her son from that path. As she watched Mike and Serene embrace and the former kissed the latter on the cheek, Charlie closed her eyes and a huge smile spread across her face. Mike had described his mother with nothing but glowing adoration with what little description he had provided, and in the former Marionette's mind Serene had proved herself deserving of that praise a thousand times over. _"Thank you…thank you…"_ she breathed in a silent prayer, and not even she knew whether that prayer was directed to Serene or to God.

Back in Mike's mindscape, neither mother nor son noticed William Afton's mangled soul try to shuffle away from them with an agonized groan, relief flooding his mind now that Mike was distracted. But while one of his tormentors might have forgotten or felt regret over his vengeance, the other had no such inclinations. Nightmare's eyes glowed with malice as he saw William's movements, and with a snarl of rage he lifted his foot and smashed it through William's back, crushing his ethereal organs and pinning him to the ground with an agonized shriek.

Mike and Serene ignored William's screams as the former finally withdrew his head to look into his mother's eyes again, this time with a peaceful smile filled with happiness that he hadn't experienced since the ghostly children had first entered his life. "I've tried my best, mom,"he replied, feeling as though a heavy burden he didn't know he'd been carrying had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders, never to return. "Especially with the kids. Being a parent is tough, especially when there's seven of them and you have no idea what a good parent is supposed to be like."

Serene giggled and hugged her son. _"All you have to do is look at how happy your kids are, Mike, and you don't need anything to know how good of a dad you really are,"_ she answered back as she let go of her son and Mike slowly got back to his feet, changing back into his true adult form as he stood next to his mother as equals. Serene's eyes twinkled in amusement. _"I have to say,"_ she commented dryly, _"I was hoping you'd get me some grandkids sooner or later, but I wasn't expecting you to get them like that."_

Mike's own lips twitched in amusement, but before he could say anything his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of Nightmare, his foot still embedded straight through William's chest. He had forgotten about the tormentor and the tormented, but what truly surprised Mike was that the demon lord's expression was, for the first time he could remember, utterly blank. Every time that he had encountered Nightmare in the past, the demon lord had always displayed an extreme or twisted form of emotion, whether it be malevolent glee, withering contempt, or towering, infernal rage. But now, the Nightmare's face was almost entirely devoid of emotion, betraying nothing of his inner thoughts or feelings whatsoever. The only thing that Mike could detect clearly was hatred and malice towards William, but that did not tell him anything that he did not already know.

" **QUITE A TOUCHING REUNION,"** Nightmare drawled, clearly uninterested in the exchange between mother and child. **"HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL THE MATTER OF THIS SLIME TO DEAL WITH,"** he growled as he jerked his foot into William's body, causing him to twitch with a loud groan.

" _Yes…"_ Serene agreed, and immediately her expression darkened considerably, making her appearance seem less heavenly than it had been seconds before. _"Nightmare, please be so kind as to get this_ _ **blighted mongrel**_ _out of my son's sight and mind,"_ the words were spoken politely, but her tone made it clear that it wasn't a simple request. Both Nightmare and Mike jolted slightly at the unexpected venom at her description of William in particular.

Nightmare let out an amused chuckle. **"WELL, WELL…"** he commented as his mouth stretched into a smirk, **"QUITE THE SHARP TONGUE FOR SUCH A HEAVENLY SOUL. AND HERE I THOUGHT SCHMIDT INHERITED HIS FIRE FROM HIS FATHER."** Both Mike and Serene immediately glared daggers at the demon lord, who continued speaking before either of them could make any retort. **"AH WELL, IT WOULD NOT BE THE FIRST TIME I HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY SURPRISE THIS DAY."** He raised a clawed hand, and all around them, trails of shadowy and fiery essence began to rise from scattered parts of the void and swirled into his hand. Mike immediately recognized the smoldering ashes of the many, many demons that he had killed during his battle with William. A few traces of demonic essence also peeled itself away from William's body and into Nightmare's hand, the last of his stolen powers stripped away from him completely. **"I AM CLAIMING THE INFERNAL ESSENCE OF ALL THE DEMONS THAT WERE SLAUGHTERED IN THIS BATTLEFIELD, AS WELL AS THE LAST TRACES STOLEN BY WILLIAM. IT SHALL MAKE FOR A DELIGHTFUL FEAST BY MY KIN."**

" _Do what you wish,"_ Serene replied curtly. She and Nightmare's eyes met, and Mike sensed something pass between their gaze. There was the undercurrent of hostility that he would have expected from two individuals with fundamentally opposite moralities, but Mike could also detect something else. Respect, possibly, or at the very least understanding. Neither of them commented on it, however, and the next few seconds passed in silence as Nightmare collected all the demonic essence that had been spilled throughout the chaos of the battle. Once he was finished, Nightmare finally lifted his foot from William's spirit, and instead grabbed him by the neck and lifted him roughly into the air until he was forcing the damned shade to look directly into his scarlet eyes.

" **YOU HAVE SUCH A FASCINATING TENDENCY TO MAKE YOUR MISFORTUNES AND PLIGHTS EVEN WORSE THAN THEY ALREADY ARE, WILLIAM AFTON..."** Nightmare hissed. **"BEFORE YOU PULLED YOUR LITTLE STUNT, YOU WOULD HAVE ONLY BEEN STRIPPED OF WHAT LITTLE RIGHTS HEAVEN GAVE YOU FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. BUT NOW…"** the glow in his eyes intensified with a combination of loathing and eagerness, **"NOW, I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE WHAT PLANS LUCIFER HAS FOR YOU NOW THAT YOU HAVE MANAGED TO GARNER HIS** _ **PERSONAL**_ **ATTENTION. YOU SEE, THE LORD OF HELL DOES NOT REACT KINDLY TO ESCAPE ATTEMPTS. HE TAKES THEM RATHER…PERSONALLY."** The demon lord's mouth stretched into an unholy fanged grin as William feebly stirred in his grasp, renewed panic in his eyes but too weak to express it. **"I WONDER IF I CAN CONVINCE HIM TO DEPRIVE YOU OF HEAVEN'S PROTECTIONS FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY? I'M SURE THAT MY KIN WILL APPRECIATE HAVING A NEW** _ **TOY**_ **TO PLAY WITH UNTIL THE END OF TIME."**

The demon lord let out a laugh as he began to transform into a black, chaotic mist, taking William's soul with him. But before he could, Mike suddenly called out to him. "Wait! I have a question."

" **NORMALLY, I WOULD NOT DEIGN TO ANSWER THE DEMANDS OF A MERE MORTAL,"** Nightmare retorted as he returned to his solid state, **"BUT IN HONOR OF WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THIS NIGHT, I WILL ANSWER."**

"Were you trying to corrupt me?" Mike asked quietly. "Was this a plan to turn me evil so that you could get me damned to Hell and claim my soul?"

" **WHEN I APPEARED BEFORE YOU TO WARN YOU OF AFTON'S ESCAPE, I TOLD YOU THAT I WISHED TO SEE WILLIAM AFTON'S SCHEMES CRUMBLE AND BURN TO ASHES BEFORE HIM, AND THAT I WISHED TO SEE HIM SUFFER AT YOUR HAND FOR THE INSULTS HE HAD COMMITTED AGAINST MY FAMILY AND YOURS,"** Nightmare responded, and the gravity of his tone, without any of its usual malice, made it clear to Mike and Serene that he was speaking the truth. **"I MEANT EVERY WORD THAT I SPOKE TO YOU THAT NIGHT, IN LETTER AND IN SPIRIT. I WILL NOT DISRESPECT YOU AND PRETEND THAT THE THOUGHT OF CORRUPING YOUR SOUL AND OUTRIGHT LEADING YOU ASTRAY ONTO THE PATH OF WICKEDNESS DID NOT CROSS MY MIND. BUT IT WAS MERELY A…PLEASANT AFTERTHOUGHT, AND LITTLE ELSE. AN INSIGNIFICANT, TERTIARY OBJECTIVE WHICH I CONTRIBUTED NO REAL THOUGHT OR EFFORT TO ACHIEVING FRUITION. FOILING WILLIAM AFTON'S PLANS AND SEEING JUST HOW BRUTAL YOU COULD BE IN MAKING HIM SUFFER FOR HIS CRIMES WERE THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT PURPOSES,** " only now did the demon lord's grin return, **"AND BOTH OF THEM HAVE SUCCEEDED TO A DEGREE FAR BEYOND ANYTHING I COULD HAVE POSSIBLY IMAGINED."**

Mike's eyes narrowed at the revelation that Nightmare had toyed with the idea of trying to damn his soul, but he forced himself to calm down. No matter how much he was tempted to, he had nothing to actually condemn the demon lord for, especially since the only reason why he was able to fight back against William so effectively was because Nightmare had gone out of his way to warn him. The failure of William Afton's escape had always been a goal that both he and Nightmare were fully dedicated to, and though Nightmare might have entertained the idea of corrupting him the demon hadn't actually followed through with it. Even Nightmare's demand that Mike "make William Afton suffer" in return for his aid had been vague and left up to the man's interpretation. Nightmare hadn't asked Mike to drown William in boiling blood and insects, break his limbs with the specters of the animatronics, or flay the skin off his soul. All that brutality and cruelty had been entirely of his own doing. If he couldn't even acknowledge his own sins, then did he really have any right to help his children overcome theirs?

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Serene smile softly and proudly at her son's self-control. Though she couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, she was pleased that Mike was able to so easily keep control of his emotions in the face of Nightmare's potentially provocative revelation.

" **I SEE NO REASON TO LINGER HERE,"** Nightmare continued, either unknowing or uncaring of Mike's and Serene's expressions. **"THE CONFLICT BETWEEN YOU AND WILLIAM AFTON HAS REACHED ITS CONCLUSION. I HAVE ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION IN FULL, AND I SEE NO REASON TO KEEP THE MONGREL ON EARTH FOR MUCH LONGER. DON'T KEEP THE DEVIL WAITING, AS HENRY WOULD SAY."** His body transformed into the roiling cloud of black smoke that Mike had seen earlier, with a tainted, fragmented red light that represented William's broken soul trapped at its edges. The clouds of smoke flew into the sky and out of sight, and Mike felt the two dark souls leave his mindscape completely.

Mike and his mother turned to look at each other, and Mike sighed. "I wish I could just stay here for a while," he murmured. "Stay here while my body sleeps, and spend a few more hours alone here with you."

Serene smiled at her son. _"You'll have that chance much sooner than you think, Mike. Heaven has given me permission to spend the night with you. And not just with you, but with your children too._ _I can't wait to meet my new grandkids!"_ She laughed a charming, melodious laugh, but then her expression sobered. _"But you have to wait a little while longer, Mike. Your kids need you. They've been waiting all this time, worried for your safety and for your very soul, and except for one of them they don't know anything about what's happened to you. They need you to go up there and tell them you're okay."_

Mike sighed. "You're right, mom. I can't leave them hanging any…" his eyes suddenly widened as a horrifying realization hit him. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "I left them with the Nightmares! All this time I've been fighting William, they could've…"

Serene gently lifted a finger to his lips, interrupting his frantic rambling. _"Take a deep breath and relax, Mike. Whether out of some lingering honor and morality, or out of pragmatism, the Nightmares will not harm you kids. Nightmare is far too intelligent to damage his standing with Heaven and risk forfeiting his privileges over something so petty as a cheap attack on your children."_

Mike let out another sigh, this time in relief. "You're right, mom," he agreed after taking a long breath, "you're right." He looked up at Serene and held out a hand. "Let's see this through to the end together, mom. Once all this unpleasantness with demons and damned murderers is over and done with, I can finally introduce the kids to you."

Serene grinned at her son, an expression that the ghost kids would have recognized immediately on their own father's face. She reached out and took her son's hand. _"Together,"_ she agreed. _"Even though you might not have seen me, Mikey, I've always been with you, every step of the way."_ The void around them suddenly began to lighten and glow, and Mike's entire vision began to fill with white as he sensed himself leaving his mental world to wake up in the real one. As he slipped into the transition from sleep to wakefulness, he heard his mother say one last phrase, one that reassured him beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would be waiting for him as she had promised. _"And there's no better time to prove that to you than now."_

/

A/N: A shorter chapter compared to the ones that came previously, but I needed a break after writing so many long chapters in a row.

Those of you who predicted that Mike's mother would be the one to stop Mike from going that extra mile of batshit crazy on William Afton, you were indeed correct! Even though Mike might seem like a confident, chill person who can nonchalantly tackle any problems that comes his way, keep in mind that he's still a person who saw his mother die violently as a child and had a fucked up life as a child and a teen. That's going to cause issues in a person, no matter how good or how much in control they may be. Mike's mom represented the peace, happiness, and innocence of Mike's life that was lost to him with her untimely death, so it only makes sense that she would be the one to bring that light back in his darkest moments, bring an end to his ruthless vengeance, and remind him of the person he truly is. And it's going to be quite interesting to see how the ghost kids react to their adoptive "grandmother" 😊

There was one reviewer who brought up the possibility that Nightmare might try to break apart Mike's family by leaving William Afton there. An interesting idea, but one that was never going to be possible. For starters, Nightmare DESPISES William for the many insults (real or perceived) that William has committed against him and his family, and he is outright eager to drag his sorry ass back to Hell so that Lucifer can deal with him and he and his family can go to town on the leftovers afterwards (and you can bet that whatever tortures they inflicted on him before his little stunt will be NOTHING compared to the level of cruelty they're going to unleash afterwards). And more importantly, the one redeeming quality that Nightmare has consistently demonstrated (and the one that distinguishes him from William Afton) is that he understands and values family. Keep in mind, when he made his deal with William all the way back in the 20s chapters, he bet that William would FAIL to break Mike's family apart. And one of the reasons why he came to Mike's aid was because he respects how the man places so much importance on keeping his new family safe and happy. Nightmare has many negative character traits and flaws, as you'd expect from a demon lord. But hypocrisy is NOT one of them.

There will only be one chapter left in this arc, and then we can move on to brighter and happier topics for the next couple of chapters (I need a break from the dark stuff just as much as I'm sure you guys do, and I already have some ideas for the "fun" chapters that I'm sure some of you would like to return to). Hope you guys enjoyed!


	84. Chapter 84 - Farewell to the Damned

A/N: The worst is over, at least where Nightmare Springtrap's attack is concerned. Mike has thoroughly beaten and broken him, and his mother has stopped him from going off the deep end. Now I think it's time we send William back into Hell where he belongs, and bring the ghost kids back in. It's been a long time since we've last seen them, after all.

BladesOfGlory: As far as this fic is concerned, Sammy is not canon or relevant. I may change my mind later on, but that's my stance at the current moment.

Chapter 84 – Farewell to the Damned

"Urrrggghhhh…" Mike blinked as he groggily opened his eyes. "Is it…is it finally over?"

" _DAD!"_ Charlie's voice blasted through his ears. He barely had time to react before the ghost girl rushed over to her father and wrapped him in a tight hug, not caring even remotely for the physical barrier between ghost and living. _"You're okay! You're all right!"_ she blubbered, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Mike smiled tiredly at her and stroked her spectral hair. "I'm here, Charlie," he murmured into her ear. "The worst is over now." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the ghost of his mother floating a few feet away exactly as she had promised, giving him an approving smile. Mike returned the gesture to her, relieved that the evening might end on a happy note despite all the terror that William Afton had brought with him.

" **IT IS INDEED,"** a demonic voice drawled. Mike and Charlie's heads snapped up to face Nightmare, who had an inhuman grin stretched across his face. In his hands, he was holding the broken, mutilated soul of William Afton, who was still groaning and whimpering in agony at the many attacks and torments that Mike had unleashed on him throughout their battles. Charlie shuddered and averted her gaze at the hideous sight. It was one thing to see her father brutally torture William's soul through the distance of a portal, as though she were looking at another world.

It was quite another to see the evidence of his potential for cruelty and darkness right in front of her very eyes.

" **HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN,"** Nightmare continued as both he and Nightmare Fredbear sneered at the wretched corpse of a soul. **"YOU THOUGHT YOURSELF FAR GREATER IN POWER AND IN STATURE THAN WHERE YOU TRULY BELONGED, WILLIAM AFTON, AND NOW THE RESULTS OF YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE DISPLAYED FOR ALL TO SEE. AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS A MERE** _ **MORTAL**_ **WHO ACCOMPLISHED THIS, SIMPLY BY UTILIZING THE POWER OF IMAGINATION IN THE DARKEST POSSIBLE WAY, JUST AS WE DO…THE IRONY IS SIMPLY** _ **DELICIOUS**_ **."**

Nightmare Fredbear grinned and held up a swirling fireball in his hand. **"I RECORDED THE WHOLE THING, JUST SO THAT I AND THE REST OF THE NIGHTMARES CAN FALL ASLEEP TO IT EVERY NIGHT, LONG AFTER THE ACTUAL SHADE HAS STOPPED HIS PITIFUL SCREAMING."**

"…I don't want my kids to see this, Nightmare…" Mike muttered. "Bad enough that Charlie had front row seats to the whole thing and I didn't even realize it."

" **AS AMUSING AS I AM SURE THEIR REACTIONS WILL BE, I WILL NOT RISK THE WRATH OF HEAVEN FOR OVERSTAYING MY WELCOME,"** Nightmare agreed immediately, surprising both Mike and Charlie. It was almost enough for them to wonder if the demon lord had another hidden motive, but right now their desire to get William Afton out of their plane of existence was far stronger for them to care. **"I HAVE DELAYED SENDING THIS MONGREL BACK INTO THE ABYSS LONG ENOUGH, AND IT IS TIME TO THROW HIM BACK INTO THE FIRE, THE COLD, AND THE EVERLASTING DARKNESS."** He gestured towards the door with his free hand. **"SHALL WE?"**

/

" **YES, YOU FOOLS! COME! COME TO YOUR DEATH!"** Nightmarionne cackled as he reveled in the slaughter that he was unleashing upon his victims. **"NO MATTER HOW MANY YOU SEND TO ME, NO MATTER HOW POWERFUL THEY ARE, YOU WILL ONLY FIND THE COLD EMBRACE OF THE GRAVE IN MY HANDS!"**

"… _you take this game WAY too seriously…"_ Jeremy muttered as he watched Nightmarionne maneuver Kratos into mercilessly killing hordes of undead warriors and Greek monsters. The rest of the ghost kids could only mutely nod in agreement, still stunned by the downright surreal situation that they were currently in.

When Nightmarionne had approached them and suggested that they _play a game_ , the ghosts had been understandably and utterly terrified at the idea of playing what a demon lord would consider fun and entertainment. Knowing that whatever a Nightmare would do to them would be far worse if they refused his request instead of going along with it, the ghostly children had followed his "request" to sit on the couch, surrounding a still-wounded Liz who was being comforted by her brothers. Worried sick for their father's well-being and their own, they prepared themselves for whatever mental or spiritual torment Nightmarionne had planned for them.

And then the demon lord had zoomed over to Mike's shelf of video games, picked up God of War III, opened up one of their father's incomplete save files, and promptly started butchering the game's enemies en masse.

" **AH, THE CYCLOPS KILL!"** Nightmarionne declared as he commanded Kratos to viciously reach out and rip the eye of a Cyclops on the TV screen, causing blood to spew all over Kratos' body as the now blinded giant flailed about and collapsed onto the ground in a broken heap. **"ONE OF THE MOST BRUTAL THERE IS…AND THEREFORE ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES! COME, TELL ME CHILDREN, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KILL THAT YOU HAVE SEEN SO FAR, HMM? I AM EAGER TO KNOW!"** The fact that Nightmarionne seemed _genuinely_ interested in their opinions only added to the ghost kids' confusion.

" _Uhm…uh…"_ Fritz mumbled incoherently. Up until this point, Mike had only shown them children's games, innocent ones like Pokémon. He had no idea that his dad had more mature games stashed away…or that those games could be so bloody and violent. _"The Centaur kill was kinda cool…in a really disturbing way…I guess?"_

Before his siblings or Nightmarionne could respond, they were all interrupted by the rumbling of loud, heavy footsteps walking above him towards the stairs. Nightmarionne looked up and his grin widened in anticipation. **"AH…IT APPEARS THAT MY BROTHERS ARE ABOUT TO FINISH THEIR…BUSINESS."** He paused the game and tossed the controller carelessly aside. **"LET US SEE HOW EVENTS HAVE UNFOLDED, HMM?"**

The ghost kids waited anxiously as the footsteps clamored down the stairs, fearing the possibility that William might have gotten his claws on Mike and committed unspeakable and horrific atrocities to him. Their nervousness only increased as Nightmare's silhouette appeared and stepped into the light of the living room…

…and just as Charlie had when she had first directly witnessed Mike's vengeance, all of them gasped in horror as one when they saw what Nightmare was holding in his hands.

The children clearly remembered Nightmare Springtrap's terrifying presence when he had first invaded their home. They remembered his power, his malice, the fiery cruelty in his eyes and the lethal sharpness of his claws. That image had nothing in common to the mangled, burned, and bloodied carcass that was all that was left of William's soul. Never, in all their years of existence as ghosts, had they seen such a display of horrific violence in their entire afterlives. Not even the sight of their own broken corpses or the victims they had forced into animatronic suits had ever been so grotesque and nightmarish.

Even Nightmarionne, a demon whose entire existence was based on torture and violent death, was surprised by the sight. **"WHAT IS THIS, NIGHTMARE?"** he asked. **"WERE YOU SO EAGER TO CLAIM YOUR VENGEANCE AGAINST WILLIAM THAT YOU UNLEASHED THE FULL FORCE OF YOUR FURY UPON HIM BEFORE YOU EVEN DEPARTED FROM SCHMIDT'S MIND? IF SO, I MUST PROTEST…IT SEEMS SO UNCOUTH TO CONDUCT INFERNAL BUSINESS IN SUCH AN UNSUITABLE ATMOSPHERE."**

" **OH, I WOULD DEARLY** _ **LOVE**_ **TO CLAIM CREDIT FOR THIS, NIGHTMARIONNE…"** Nightmare replied, a vicious grin spreading across his face, grabbing William's broken soul and lifted it into the air. **"YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT I WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO RAISE THE MUTILATED SOUL OF WILLIAM AFTON BEFORE HEAVEN, EARTH, AND HELL, FOR ALL OF CREATION TO SEE THE TORTURES INFLICED UPON HIM, AND DECLARE THIS MOST NOBLE WORK AS MY OWN. BUT ALAS,"** he lowered William's soul back to where it had been previously, **"I CANNOT. I CANNOT, IN GOOD FAITH, DO WHAT I HAVE JUST PROCLAIMED. BECAUSE THIS WORK WAS NOT** _ **MY**_ **DOING."**

" **NOR WAS IT MINE,"** Nightmare Fredbear added with a hiss.

" **THEN WHO…"** the answer hit Nightmarionne like the force of one of Nightmare's most powerful attacks, and if he was already surprised before, it was nothing compared to his expression now. The demonic puppet's eyes were flashing erratically in pure shock, and his jaw had outright dropped open, a sight that would have been amusing if not for the situation that they were currently in. And around him, one by one, the ghost children slowly began to realize exactly _who_ had been responsible for William's current state, and their expressions turned into horrified disbelief that mirrored Charlie's almost exactly. The only ones who didn't react this way were Mike and Eric, whose faces showed nothing apart from a grim, solemn acknowledgment that their father had reaped what he had sewn in his arrogance.

"… **YOU MUST BE JOKING, BROTHER,"** Nightmarionne finally spluttered. **"MIKE SCHMIDT, A MERE MORTAL…DID** _ **THAT?**_ **"**

" **YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT, BROTHER!"** Nightmare Fredbear replied, as he stepped into the living room behind Nightmare, a hungry and eager look in his eye. **"SCHMIDT PLAYED WILLIAM FOR A FOOL, DANGLING THE POSSIBILITY OF VICTORY IN FRONT OF HIM WHEN IT WAS NEVER ANYTHING MORE THAN A DELUSION THE MOMENT AFTON SO FOOLISHLY CHOSE TO INVADE HIS MIND. AND ONCE HE GOT TIRED OF PLAYING WITH HIS TOY…I MUST SHOW YOU AND THE OTHERS THIS WHEN WE RETURN TO OUR DOMAIN IN THE ABYSS."**

" _How…"_ Susie whispered in disbelief. No matter how much she despised William with every fiber of her being, to see such horrible violence inflicted upon another soul, by _her own father_ … _"how is this even possible?"_

" **THE POWER OF IMAGINATION, OF COURSE!"** Nightmare replied with a cruel laugh. **"TWISTED TO A DARKER PURPOSE. WERE YOU UNAWARE OF YOUR FATHER'S DARKNESS, LITTLE GHOST BRAT? YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED BY THE DEPTHS TO WHICH HE IS WILLING TO SINK AGAINST THOSE WHO HAVE TRULY EARNED HIS HATRED."**

The ghost kids looked at each other with growing unease. Just what in the hell HAD happened up in the bedroom while they had waited, fearing for their father's fate?

"It's not something that they have to worry about," a familiar and most welcome voice gruffly interrupted him. "Now, or ever." The children's eyes lit up as Mike stepped out of the shadows into the living room, looking heavily fatigued but otherwise completely unharmed. There were two ghosts, one on each side, holding him up to keep him from falling. They immediately recognized one of them as Charlie, but the other was a woman they had never seen before. As Mike dragged himself into the living room to sit down on his couch, Nightmare stepped aside to allow him and the ghosts holding him to pass. The children didn't recognize the significance of this gesture, but Serene, Michael, and even Eric certainly did, the latter two gazing sharply at each other and then at Mike but otherwise remaining silent.

" _DAD!"_ the children screamed out exactly as Charlie had done, only even louder than she had. They immediately scrambled off the sofa and rushed to wrap their father in the tightest, most adoring hug they would have ever given him. Mike's eyes slightly widened in panic, but before he could get overwhelmed the woman who had been holding him stepped in front of them and held out her hands to stop them.

" _Children…"_ she began, her voice soothing and compassionate, but also carrying with it the authority of a parent. _"Calm down. Mike has spent the last few minutes battling the demonically empowered shade of William Afton within the depths of his very mind, a battle between souls in which Mike was able to use several critical advantages that he would not have had otherwise."_ She gestured towards William's broken soul. _"As you can see, my son won his battle, but it has left him utterly exhausted. Please do not overwhelm him with your enthusiastic greetings, as tempting as it might be. I'm worried that you'll completely knock him out if you do."_

The children stopped, their faces falling slightly. _"You're right…"_ Gabe admitted. _"The last thing we want to do is accidentally hurt him."_ Her words suddenly clicked in his brain, and his eyes widened in realization as he looked sharply back up at the woman. _"Wait a minute. You just called Dad your son."_ The rest of the ghosts' expressions began to mirror their brother's as they came to the same conclusion. _"So…so that means…"_

" **THIS IS ALL** _ **VERY**_ **FASCINATING…"** Nightmare interrupted with that same condescending, disinterested drawl, forcing everyone's attention back to him. More than a few of the children gave him dirty looks, but it was clear that he didn't give a damn in the slightest, **"BUT YOU CAN SAVE YOUR INTRODUCTIONS FOR A LATER TIME. FOR NOW, THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO TEND TO. NAMELY…"** he lifted up William Afton's throat again, **"RETURNING THIS WRETCH TO HIS RIGHTFUL RESTING PLACE."**

"Yeah, let's take care of this now," Mike agreed with a faint growl. "I don't want to see this fucker in my plane of existence any longer than I have to."

Nightmare grinned. **"IT HAS BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME SINCE I HAVE DIRECTLY THROWN A SOUL INTO THE PIT OF ETERNAL DAMNATION DIRECTLY. I THINK I AM GOING TO ENJOY THIS."** He stomped his way across the living room, dragging William behind him. The Nightmares, ghosts, and Mike followed him out of the other living room doorway, through the hallway and the kitchen, and out the door into the backyard. Nightmare didn't stop moving until he was directly in front of Mike's pool, and Mike suddenly had a foreboding feeling that he knew what was going to happen.

Nightmare lifted his hand to the sky, and immediately the sky began to grow thick with heavy clouds and a dense, shadow fog began to surround them, doubtless to prevent any outsiders from viewing whatever ritual the demon lord was about to do. Once he was satisfied with the results of his sorcery, Nightmare lifted William's mangled and grievously wounded spirit until he was holding him directly above the serene waters of Mike's pool.

" **THE EMPEROR OF THE WOEFUL REAM IS EAGER TO RECEIVE YOU IN HELL, WILLIAM AFTON…"** Nightmare hissed, his eyes burning with a malicious glee. **"HE WILL BATHE IN THE TATTERED REMNANTS OF YOUR ESSENCE, DRINK DEEP FROM THE UNSPEAKABLE AGONY THAT HE SHALL CAUSE YOU. ALL OF HELL WILL WEEP AT YOUR FATE, EVEN AS THE DAMNED WHISPER PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE THAT THEIR FATES ARE KINDER THAN WHAT YOURS SHALL BECOME."** His voice, which had already been growing louder with each word, escalated into a deafening, volcanic roar. **"MY LORD! OPEN THE GATES OF HELL, FOR I HAVE A GIFT FOR THEE!"**

The moment he finished his final word, the surface of the pool suddenly began to ripple and churn frenziedly. A light began to glow within its depths, but it was the orange and scarlet light of flames, and the very sight of it cast a chill into the core of every soul that bore witness to it. The hellish flames and the now chaotically roiling waters of the pool began to spread and unite, until the entire pool was no a longer a pool, but a portal straight into the depths of Hell itself. Flames roared upward from its surface, grasping hungrily at William's feet even as he desperately tried to struggle and resist, and as they dared to look into the portal's depths, everyone could see a maelstrom of fire and shadow leading down into unfathomable depths, surrounded by storm clouds that crackled and blasted hellish lightning all around the edge of the maelstrom. Screams, roars, moans, and wails bellowed from the depths of the portal, destroying any doubt that the portal that Nightmare had created led directly into the afterlife of eternal suffering and damnation.

Even as those not of an infernal nature tried to comprehend the horror of what they were seeing, the flames billowing out of the portal suddenly erupted into a massive pillar of fire that spiraled towards the sky, an unholy pyre that consumed William within its depths. The murderer's agonized screams echoed throughout the entire backyard, causing the ghostly children to turn their eyes away in a terror that overrode even their hatred of William and their desire to see him suffer. Charlie was particularly overwhelmed by dread at what she was seeing, for the column of fire that Nightmare had summoned to engulf William was almost _exactly_ like the final spell that Mike had unleashed to annihilate the last of William Afton's demonic legions.

With one final, cruel laugh, Nightmare released his grip, and everyone watched as the murderer finally fell through the pit and into the infernal vortex, back into the damnation that he so rightfully deserved. Even through the roar of flames and the other wails coming from the portal, the others could swear that they could hear William Afton scream incoherently as he fell further and further down, long after he had disappeared from view. Nightmare clapped his hands and continued to laugh as the portal diminished in size and disappeared, leaving only the tranquil waters of Mike's pool and a faint memory of terror behind.

" **CONGRATULATIONS, ONE AND ALL,"** Nightmare declared once he had finally calmed himself. **"YOU HAVE JUST WITNESSED THE DAMNATION OF ANOTHER SOUL. WHAT THOUGHTS ARE ECHOING IN YOUR MINDS, NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT YOUR FATE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAD YOU FAILED TO TURN BACK TO THE LIGHT?"**

Everyone was silent for several moments. Then, Mike spoke up in the dry tone that his family was now so familiar with. "I'm thinking that I'm excavating this pool and getting it the fuck off my property as soon as possible."

His words defused much of the tension that had been generated by William Afton's second descent to Hell, and a few of the ghosts even giggled nervously. **"YEAH, THAT'S A FAIR REACTION,"** Nightmarionne commented agreeably to the bafflement of everyone besides the Nightmares. **"I'D PROBABLY REACT THE SAME WAY IF A DEMON LORD OPENED UP A PORTAL TO HELL IN MY POOL."**

Nightmare rolled his eyes at his brother but said nothing as he dispelled the dark magics that he had used to conceal his damnation of William. The clouds and fog parted to reveal the familiar starry night sky, which to the children appeared even more beautiful in comparison to the vision of horror they had witnessed seconds earlier. The demons, ghosts, and man returned the way they had came until they had congregated back in the living room, the only major difference being the obvious absence of William Afton now that he had been sent back into the Abyss where he belonged.

Liz let out another pained groan as she sat back onto the couch, and it was only then that everyone realized just how badly she had been wounded by William compared to the rest of the ghost kids. There were vicious slashes all over her body and on her claw, some of them with ghostly essence spilling out of them, and her eyes were flashing erratically with pain. Michael and Eric both immediately moved to try and comfort her, but Serene got there first.

" _I've got you…"_ she murmured as she sat next to her adoptive granddaughter. She lifted Liz and placed her gently on her lap, either not noticing or ignoring her bulky frame, and wrapped her arms around her from behind in a hug, making sure that her hands were being placed over some of Liz's wounds. Immediately, the girl felt a soothing warmth emanate from Serene's hands, and much of the pain from her injuries began to fade away. Though Liz could still feel the wounds themselves, the ghostly essence stopped spilling where she touched them, and Liz could feel the wounds begin to heal themselves, however slowly. _"Better?"_ Serene asked gently.

" _Y…yeah…"_ Liz answered as she let out a contented sigh. Michael and Eric both looked noticeably relieved that Serene was taking care of their sister, and much more effectively than they could. Michael's worry quickly reignited, however, as he realized that Eric had even more wounds on his body than Liz did, and all of them looked just as grave as hers had been.

" _What about you?"_ Michael asked his little brother. _"You look absolutely terrible."_

" **It looks much worse than it is,"** Shadow Freddy brushed his concerns off. **"Remember, Old Man Consequences made me into something…different…when he transformed me into this. I can handle** _ **his**_ **attacks far better than either you or Liz ever could."**

" _If you say so…"_ Michael didn't look convinced in the slightest, but he didn't press the topic further.

" **NOW THEN…"** Nightmare's unearthly voice drew their attention back to him. **"BEFORE WE DEPART, I FEEL THAT I SHOULD SPEND A BRIEF MOMENT TO CELEBRATE THE MAN OF THE NIGHT."** He turned to look at Mike. **"SCHMIDT…THE NIGHT WE FIRST MET, WHEN YOU FIRST RAGED AGAINST WILLIAM FOR MAKING A DEAL WITH ME TO BREAK YOUR FAMILY, I ONCE CALLED THE DARKNESS WITHIN YOU IMPRESSIVE FOR A MORTAL SO FIRMLY ENTRENCHED IN THE SIDE OF GOOD. I WAS WRONG. YOUR DARKNESS IS NOTHING SHORT OF** _ **INSPIRATIONAL**_ **."** The demon lord's mouth stretched into a fanged grin, and unlike the malicious sneer that had twisted his face almost every other time the family had seen it, this was the closest thing his grotesque visage could give to a true smile, one that displayed honest respect and even admiration. Somehow, that expression was even more disturbing to the ghost kids than his usual predatory rictus. **"THE CRUELTY AND VICIOUSNESS YOU UNLEASHED UPON YOUR MOST HATED, WRETCHED ENEMY WOULD BE WORTHY OF DEMON LORDS WITH CENTURIES MORE EXPERIENCE IN THE ARTS OF TORMENT AND VENGEANCE. TO WITNESS YOUR RETRIBUTION AGAINST AFTON WAS A RIGHT AND A PRIVILEGE THAT I AM HONORED TO HAVE WITNESSED. AND FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT I HAVE SEEN IN CENTURIES, I OFFER YOU A BOON, GIVEN WITHOUT PAYMENT AND FREE OF THE MALICE THAT SO OFTEN TAINTS THE GIFTS OF DEMONS."**

" _Cruelty?"_ Cassidy repeated numbly. _"Viciousness? What are you talking about?"_

" _He did something to Afton,"_ Gabe replied quietly. _"I mean, did you SEE what let's of him?"_

" _What did Dad do?"_ Fritz asked his sister. _"Charlie, you were there, weren't you? What did Dad do to him?"_

" _You DON'T want to know, Fritz,"_ Charlie cut him off, her eyes frantic and her tone intense with her warning. _"You really, REALLY don't want to know…"_

" _It can't be anything worse than what we did…"_ Jeremy began, but his voice trailed off at the thousand-yard stare in Charlie's eyes, _"…can it?"_

The raw fear in Charlie's eyes made it abundantly clear to them all that they really didn't want her to answer that question. Deciding to quickly change the subject, Susie turned to Nightmare. _"What…kind of gift are you talking about?"_ she asked, unable to fully hide the distrust in her tone. Nightmare might have helped them and Nightmarionne had been outright pleasant, if insensitive in forcing them to watch his video gaming, but that didn't mean she trusted any of the Nightmares in the slightest.

" **LET US CALL IT A…BLESSING,"** Nightmare replied cryptically. At the utterly baffled looks on everyone's face, he smirked. **"THE FORCES OF HEAVEN ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN BESTOW POSITIVE ENCHANTMENTS UPON OTHERS. THOUGH AS YOU CAN ASSUME, THE NATURE OF INFERNAL BLESSINGS IS RATHER DIFFERENT. WHAT I SHALL BESTOW UPON SCHMIDT WILL BE A BLESSING TO HIM…AND A CURSE TO ANOTHER."**

Nightmare raised his hand, and it began to engulf itself in a scarlet glow, similar to but not exactly a flame. The ghosts gasped as Mike's entire body began to glow with the same crimson light. Mike's eyes widened in confusion as he frantically looked towards his mother, but Serene merely smiled peacefully at her son and gave him a gentle nod, assuring him that everything was all right. Mike forced himself to calm down and accept Nightmare's mysterious and sinister gift, whatever it might be.

For several seconds, Mike's body continued to glow with the same red light, the other ghosts watching with nervousness and uncertainty as Nightmare channeled his spell. Then, to everyone's shock, the ghoulish image of a gigantic black, demonic skull with two ram-like horns appeared above Mike's head, engulfed in blood-red flames with eyes burning with malice. The symbol flashed with a dreadful intensity and then faded out of sight almost as quickly as it had arrived, but not before leaving behind the sound of demonic laughter that echoed long after the demon's head disappeared.

 **"͓̯͍̺̥̀HEH͇͎̝̱̻̘ ̢̣̩͓̯̀H͚̫͔͍̙͟E̸̡͉͡H͔͓͡͠ ̱̗͍̥̥͚̤H̠̬̟́͟EH̵̡̼͍̤̙͍̜̼̠͢ͅ H̘͕E̵̸̳̝̟̯͓̠̗̕H͕̤̠̞̟͙͟ͅ ͏̘̲͈̺̦̼̖̰̣͝H̩͞EH͖̻͔͚̟̝̯͚͞ ̸̢̼̥̘H̙̱͟A̛̮̲͙̳̬̘͡ ̢̪̹̗̣̠̗͉͕H͇̖̝̝̺̰͇͍͎A̜̘̜̫͡ ̢̡̺͝Ḩ͍̺̺̼̟͟A̜̗̥͎͖̥̝̘ ̠͖͇͢H̷̰̗̘͙̜̻̯̀͞A̵̭̹͓̭̕͢!͏̷̗̮̮̼̪̻̞"͕̠̭̙͍̞̞̠**

Everyone stared silently as the ghoulish laughter finally faded away. _"What…what the hell was that?"_ Fritz was the first to break the silence.

" _That laughter…"_ Jeremy shuddered. _"What the hell was that laughter?"_

" _Obviously it has something to do with the Nightmares,"_ Cassidy pointed out.

" _That must've been a vision of Nightmare's true form,"_ Liz speculated, wincing as she felt her wounds flare from her efforts to speak. _"A way for him to mark that spell as something he did."_

The ghost kids began to speculate and even argue, not noticing Charlie shudder in fear and glance sadly at them. She was relieved that they had been spared the true horror of seeing the full extent of Mike's brutality against William, but it was cold comfort in the face of the truth.

For she knew that it had been the head of Mike's darkest and demonic aspect that had manifested above his body, and Mike's unholy laughter that had echoed through their ears and into their very souls. The sickening grin that Nightmare Fredbear gave to her and _only_ her did nothing to improve her temperament in the slightest. For they both knew full well what those accursed symbols represented, and it was as though Nightmare Fredbear was mocking her with the fact that she would have to bear this knowledge alone, or risk ruining the innocence of her brothers and sisters.

Mike seemed to realize the truth as well, and his lips contorted into a grimace as the ugly realization churned in his stomach. It really was fortunate that Charlie had been the only one to really see what had happened in his mental world between him and William. Even though they hadn't yet spoken a word to each other about it, he could already tell that Charlie was taking it badly, and she was both the oldest ghost and the one who had arguably seen the most horror in the first, accursed part of her afterlife.

He did not want to think about what would have happened if any of the other kids had seen him at his worst…or what would have happened if his mother _hadn't_ stopped him.

It was almost relieving to hear Nightmare speak again, his voice cutting through and silencing the arguments and dark speculation. **"I HAVE INVOKED A RATHER UNIQUE SPELL UPON SCHMIDT. ONE THAT I CALL…THE ANATHEMA CURSE. THOUGH IN THIS CASE, YOUR FATHER IS NOT THE ONE WHO IS BEING CURSED."** He continued before the ghosts could let out gasps of horror or outrage at the idea of their father being cursed. Nightmare's scarlet eyes flared with the authority of a true lord of Hell as he spoke his next words. **"FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, MIKE SCHMIDT, YOUR VERY EXISTENCE SHALL BE THE BANE OF WILLIAM AFTON. YOUR BODY, MIND, AND SOUL SHALL BE ANATHEMA TO THE MURDERER OF YOUR CHILDREN BY THEIR VERY NATURE. TO MERELY STAND IN YOUR PRESENCE WILL DOOM WILLIAM AFTON INTO UNSPEAKABLE AGONY AND SUFFERING, THE LIKES OF WHICH CAN BE ONLY FOUND IN THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL AND IN THE BLACKEST CORNERS OF YOUR MIND. TO LAY A FINGER UPON YOU WILL RISK THE BREAKING OF YOUR GREATEST ENEMY'S VERY SOUL TO SCATTERED FRAGMENTS SCREAMING ENDLESSLY INTO AN UNCARING ETERNITY, JUST AS YOU SO NEARLY BROKE HIS SOUL UPON THE ALTAR OF YOUR VENGEANCE. EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR VERY BEING, BODY AND SPIRIT, SHALL NOW BE WILLIAM AFTON'S HELL ON EARTH. SO I HAVE DECLARED THIS BLESSING AND CURSE, THIS LITANY OF BENEVOLENCE AND MALEVOLENCE ALIKE, AND SO IT SHALL BE!"**

The house seemed to shake with the authority of Nightmare's words, everyone besides the Nightmares overwhelmed by the demon lord's declaration. Once they had gotten over their initial shock, Mike and the ghosts began reflecting over the words that Nightmare had uttered.

" _Wait a minute…"_ Jeremy was the first to speak. _"So…if I'm hearing what Nightmare said correctly, he just made it so that William Afton can't ever come near Dad again, or otherwise he'll be, to make a long story short, completely and utterly fucked."_

" _I…think that sounds about right?"_ Liz agreed with a little hesitation.

"… _so why didn't Nightmare just do this BEFORE William Afton decided to try and break into our house?"_ Gabe finished, only just barely managing to throw the demon lord an accusatory glare.

Nightmare only smirked. **"A SPELL OF THIS NATURE CAN ONLY BE BESTOWED PERSONALLY FROM ONE TO ANOTHER,"** he replied. **"AND BESIDES, IF I HAD SIMPLY CAST THIS SPELL UPON SCHMIDT, I WOULD HAVE DENIED MY BROTHER AND MYSELF SUCH WONDERFUL ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT."**

"… _you jerk…"_ Fritz muttered under his breath.

" **WE ARE DEMONS, LITTLE BRAT,"** Nightmarionne retorted with a mocking grin. **"DID YOU REALLY EXPECT ANYTHING ELSE?"**

There was nothing any of the ghosts could say to argue against that. Even they could, Mike was beginning to speak, and they didn't want to interrupt whatever he was going to say.

"When I first met you, Nightmare, when you attacked the dreams of my kids, you came very close to being the first person I have ever truly hated in my entire life," Mike began. "I thought you were just a coward and a jackass hiding behind darkness and demonic power. But then you revealed that the whole thing was a plot that was really William Afton's fault, and when you agreed to let me get my revenge on him I knew that there was something…different about you, and what you really had in mind."

He sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, I still have no idea what to think about you. On the one hand, you're very clearly an evil bastard. You torture the damned without any hint of remorse and thoroughly enjoy doing horrible things to people around you."

" **A FACT THAT I TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN DISPLAYING TO ALL,"** Nightmare interrupted with a smirk.

"But no matter how much I hate to admit it, I do respect you a lot more than I ever thought I would," Mike grudgingly conceded. The ghosts looked at him in shock, and even Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne seemed a bit surprised at how easily he revealed this. Nightmare's face betrayed nothing, and Mike took that as his cue to go on. "You've been oddly honest and open with us, telling us exactly why you chose to attack us in the first place even though you had absolutely no reason to. And much more importantly, the only reason I was able to fight back against William Afton so effectively in the first place, and the reason why I was able to prepare my kids for his attack with as low a risk of them getting hurt as possible, was because you gave us the warning ahead of time that he was coming. I'm not sure that I would've been able to prepare my mind and control over my dreams quickly enough to be ready for him if you hadn't, and my kids would've definitely been taken by surprise."

" **HE DARED TO INSULT ME AND MY KIN BY ESCAPING OUR GRASP WITH THE HELP OF ONE OF MY ENEMIES,"** Nightmare retorted. **"AND I DO NOT TOLERATE SUCH INSULTS."**

His mouth contorted into a sneer, but not quickly enough for Mike to notice the brief expression on his face. "Is that all there is to it?" he mused aloud, a faint smirk on his face. "I think there's something more. And if I'm right, which I think I am, then that's the biggest reason why I respect you out of all of them." Mike hadn't missed the brief flash of grief and rage in Nightmare's eyes that suggested much more than the term "insult" would suggest, and he hadn't noticed the hints of genuine camaraderie and brotherhood between him and his brothers, either. "But if you and your kin agree not to reveal the full details of what I did to William, then I won't mention that one, overarching reason."

" **A FAIR BARGAIN,"** Nightmare accepted. **"I ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT, SCHMIDT."**

Mike smiled with relief. "Good. No matter how evil you might be, Nightmare, you made a statement when you came to give me your warning. You proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were never as despicable as William Afton, and that unlike that murderous bastard, you actually have qualities that I can respect. So thank you, Nightmare. Thank you for warning us about what could have been an absolute disaster. Though I doubt we'll ever really be friends because of our opposite moralities, I forgive you for attacking us last year."

Everyone stared at Mike as he finished his speech, even the Nightmares unable to fully hide their surprise behind dismissive sneers and contemptuous glares in time. The only person who wasn't gaping at Mike was Serene, who was smiling approvingly at her son.

" _Did Dad just forgive Nightmare? Just like that?"_ Susie gasped.

" _I…I think he did!"_ Jeremy murmured in disbelief.

" _Even after he attacked us in our dreams last year?"_ Fritz whispered agitatedly, unable to fully keep his anger down.

" _That was nothing compared to what William Afton would've done if Nightmare hadn't warned Dad about his attack in time,"_ Gabe countered, defusing Fritz's frustration immediately.

In the midst of the chattering ghost children, Nightmare was silent for several seconds, clearly in thought. Nobody could tell if he was trying to think of something to say or pondering Mike's words. Finally, he turned to face his brothers. **"NIGHTMARE FREDBEAR, NIGHTMARIONNE,"** he addressed them. **"WE ARE DEPARTING FOR HELL NOW. THERE IS NO REASON FOR US TO REMAIN HERE ANY LONGER."**

The two demonic animatronics nodded, and with his claws wreathed in flames, Nightmarionne tore open a fiery portal that, despite its much smaller size and intensity, unmistakably led to the same Inferno that Nightmare had dropped William Afton into minutes before. Nightmare approached the hellish rift and was about to step through, when he suddenly stopped and turned to face Mike again.

And the expression on his face surprised everyone in the room, including the Nightmares. For the malice that was normally prevalent on his face had receded to a near minimum, and instead there was something akin to understanding in his eyes. Understanding and, if the ghosts dared to consider the possibility…respect.

" **SCHMIDT,"** Nightmare spoke, and just like his eyes his voice was entirely different from what they were used to. Mike had a feeling that this was the closest that Nightmare would ever come to expressing warmth and appreciation for a mere mortal. **"YOU DID WELL THIS NIGHT. IT HAS BEEN CENTURIES SINCE A MORTAL HAS EARNED MY RESPECT, AND EVEN LONGER SINCE I HAVE FOUND THE NEED TO EXPRESS THAT RESPECT OPENLY. YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED TONIGHT IN BOTH, AND I SALUTE YOU."** Then, as everyone watched in stunned silence, Nightmare clenched his right hand into a fist, raised it until it was over his chest, and bowed once. Sensing the importance of what was occurring even if he couldn't understand it, Mike reciprocated the motion, raising his own fist over his chest and bowing in turn. Then, without another word, Nightmare turned and stepped into the portal, vanishing out of sight and returning to the fiery underworld that his kind called their home.

Every single being in the room stared at the portal in blank shock, from the ghosts of the murdered children to the terrifying Nightmares. Even Serene, who seemed to possess a higher wisdom that the others around her lacked, was just as surprised by the united action of her son and the demon lord. _"Did Dad and Nightmare just…salute each other?"_ Liz finally dared to posit the question. Even though she had been put through many surprises tonight, many of them most certainly unpleasant, _this_ was the one that shocked her the most of all of them.

And judging by the reactions of everyone else, it was clear that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. **"DO YOU KNOW WHAT OUR BROTHER JUST DID?"** Nightmare Fredbear asked incredulously, all malevolence forgotten and not even bothering to hide his astonishment at Nightmare's actions.

" _What?"_ Gabe inquired, his curiosity overriding his fear of the Nightmares. _"What did he do?"_

" **HE JUST GAVE YOUR FATHER A WARRIOR'S SALUTE,"** Nightmarionne answered, his eyes flashing erratically and his tone filled with awe. **"THAT IS THE CLOSEST I HAVE EVER SEEN HIM COME TO ACKNOWLEDGING SOMEONE ELSE AS AN** _ **EQUAL.**_ **I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER THE LAST TIME HE GAVE THAT KIND OF RESPECT TO ANOTHER DEMON LORD!"**

" _WHAT?"_ everyone gasped. _"He respects Dad THAT much?"_ Charlie exclaimed.

" _But why?"_ Liz spluttered, ignoring her pain. _"What did Dad do? I know you keep saying you don't want us to know, Charlie, but WHAT DID HE DO?"_

" _I can think of a few reasons,"_ Serene answered quietly, all eyes turning to her, _"a lot of them related to the reason why my son respects Nightmare despite what happened last year. But since Mike chose to respect your master's privacy, I will too. But the main reason I can think of besides that, and the reason I think you will care most about, is because he accomplished something that nobody else has done. He did what a horde of rampaging, vengeful animatronics, a bloody and gruesome death in a springlock suit, two burning buildings, his son, and his business partner failed to do. Mike accomplished what even Hell itself could not, at least not to the same level of success."_

All eyes turned to Serene, fully engrossed in the intensity of her voice and in her eyes as she revealed the truth that they had been waiting to hear.

" _He_ _ **broke**_ _William Afton."_

/

A/N: In the beginning, the relationship between Mike and Nightmare was not a positive one in the slightest. Sure, Mike might have offered tips on how to torture William in Hell that Nightmare was receptive to, but it doesn't change the fact that the demon lord still tried to attack the minds and psyches of his children, even if William was ultimately the reason why that happened in the first place. But by coming to warn Mike of William's attack, and being the biggest and possibly only reason why Mike and his kids were able to defend themselves against Nightmare Springtrap so effectively, Nightmare made an incontrovertible statement that as evil as he is, he is nowhere near as despicable as William Afton, and is most certainly NOT on his side. Not only that, but Nightmare and Mike have recognized the positive qualities in each other, even if Nightmare will try his damn hardest to keep them secret. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether Nightmare's salute towards the end of the chapter was because of seeing Demon!Mike unleash unholy vengeance on William Afton, or if he saluted Mike for a different reason.

And yes, this DOES open up the possibility of future encounters between Mike's family and Nightmare that are, if not positive, at the very least non-hostile.

I was originally going to have the Aftons leave in this chapter, but I think I'll wait until the next one for that. I'm pretty sure Liz would love the chance to finally talk with _both_ of her brothers for the first time since her death, and the kids' reactions to Serene's presence and the revelation of who she is should speak for themselves.

Here's a description of Nightmare's damnation of William in spell form. I'm writing this not just because I'm in a huge "Age of the Ring" phase (it's a mod for Battle for Middle-Earth II: Rise of the Witch-King), but also to give you a hint to how powerful Mike would be if his powers in his mental world translated to reality.

Abandon All Hope: Nightmare grabs an enemy champion by the throat and opens up a fiery portal leading directly into the depths of Hell itself underneath them, engulfing his helpless victim with the unbridled, unrestrained wrath of the Inferno. Any enemy champion targeted by this spell is instantly killed. If the target is Evil-aligned, the victim is damned to Hell and permanently removed from the battle (this does not happen to Good or Neutral-aligned characters).

Does only 50% max health damage to Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmarionne, and Dark!Mike.

Does only 25% max health damage to Demon!Mike.

Has no effect on beings of a greater power level.

Well, the Nightmares and William are gone, and it looks like the first rays of sunlight are finally breaking through the dark clouds of this arc. But, I don't want to leave you guys TOO happy, so I have just one last thing to leave you with.

 **This will not be the last time you see Dark!Mike.**

 **.͞҉̟͎̼͓̗̩̟͞.͎̥.̀͏̣͕͈O̷̶̩͞ͅR̵̴̹̻̦̤̣̩̱ ̥̮̮̯̣͉͡͡T̷̪̼̞̩̜̗H̶̼̪̠͜E̷̞̼̠͎͘ ̶̫̥͓͟͜Ḻ̙̺̳A҉̴̘̪̲̘̫̺͠S̶͓̩̖͢ͅT͕̼̭̭ T̢̥̩͚̫̠̺͍̙̕Ị̺M͖̲̻̖̀͞E̞̱ ̨̼̤͈̕Y̸̥̹̣O̴̯̥Ṷ̢̠̳͖͙̳ ͈̥̩͟SE͙̱͔̹͟͜E̮̣̻͚̳͔͔͔͙͠ ̴̴̣͍͉̖̟̱̭̥̤DEM҉̠̮̳͙̲͜O҉͉̠̞͍N̟̝!̷̴̮͞ͅM͓͎͈̤͈̭͓I͢͏̜̥̙͟K̳͚͢͡E̼̙͓̥̕͜.͎̞̲**

 **(…OR THE LAST TIME YOU SEE DEMON!MIKE.)**


	85. Chapter 85 - Meet the Grandmother

A/N: And with this, we are finally bringing the darkest arc in this fic to a close. This will not be the last "dark arc" in this fic, but I cannot think of any future storyline, even those connected with future FNAF games, that will introduce any story arc as dark as this one. There's been enough torment and horror for a long while, and it's time we bring things back to the original purpose of this fic: happy moments for the ghost kids.

And what better way to start than to introduce the kids to their grandmother? :D

Greenden: It's not completely out of the realm of possibility, but not likely at the moment.

DeathTheWolf: Let me put it this way. If Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmarionne, or Dark!Mike (assuming that he didn't lose any power in the conversion from his mental world to reality) fought an army of a thousand demons, that battle would be known as a _shitstomp_.

If Nightmare or Demon!Mike fought against that same army, that battle would now be known as a **genocide**.

Oh, and I'm talking about true forms by the way, not their normal Nightmare animatronic forms.

Guest: MatPat's FNAF theories are not canon, and his latest ones have been straight-up **BAD**. The whole "Mike is Henry's son" theory is **complete bullshit** since the only evidence that even REMOTELY suggests it comes from the books, which Scott himself EXPLICITLY stated should not be used to solve the game lore. There is zero, and I mean ZERO, evidence that Michael is related to Henry in any of the games. Not only that, but William and Michael have the same voice actor and the files for _Sister Location_ explicitly label Michael as Michael AFTON. And if Michael really was Henry's son, why the hell didn't Henry acknowledge Michael as such in the FNAF6 Good Ending when he spent many seconds of his final speech giving his last words to Charlie? MatPat even stated himself that this theory is full of problems and that he doesn't really believe it. I respect MatPat for his work on FNAF in the past, but most of his latest FNAF theories make absolutely no sense and you need only go on Reddit to see entire essays destroying their viability. "Michael Emily" is an absolute **dumpster fire** of a theory that does not deserve to be taken seriously in any way whatsoever.

Also, what should Elizabeth be ashamed of? Being a curious child who wants to see her favorite animatronic? Like how tons of other children would normally react? William Afton left her alone around an animatronic that **he explicitly designed** to kill children. At best, he was ATROCIOUSLY NEGLIGENT for leaving Liz alone in the same building, let alone close to the same room, around an intentionally dangerous animatronic by herself (one that, once again, HE CREATED). At worst, he manipulated her with reverse psychology to getting herself killed so that he could mold and corrupt her into a killer like him later on. Either way, the blame for Liz's death falls squarely on him.

ImAFanficAddict: I'll be answering that question soon.

Chapter 85 – Meet the Grandmother

The family watched as Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne departed through the fiery portal back into the Inferno, not saying another word until the portal vanished into nothingness behind them. Once they were gone, they let loose a collective breath of relief now that they were certain that all things demonic had truly departed from their house. Even if the Nightmares had proved to be an unexpected source of salvation rather than a cause of terror this time around, the presence of so many unholy beings had sent chills of primal dread into each of the ghost children's souls that only now were lifting from their hearts.

" _The shadow has finally passed,"_ Michael was the first to break the silence. His mouth stretched into a faint, wry smile. _"Present company excluded, of course."_

Shadow Freddy's mouth twitched upwards. **"You need to work on your sense of humor, brother. But yes…it is finally over."**

Serene nodded. _"Yes. And now that all this unpleasantness is out of the way..."_ she turned her gaze onto the ghost kids and her mouth broke into a huge grin. _"I can finally meet my grandkids!"_

The children all smiled or grinned back at her, even Liz attempting to do so despite her injuries from her battle with her former father. _"This is so cool!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"Dad talked all about you!"_

Serene laughed. _"This is just as much of a surprise to me as I'm sure it is to you,"_ she replied. _"I always imagined my son growing up, finding a nice girl to fall in love with,"_ her keen eyes didn't miss the smirks that had appeared on Susie's and Cassidy's faces, _"and raising a kid or two afterwards. I don't think I would have ever expected Mike to become a father like this…but who cares how it happened?"_ She spread her arms out. _"Come here and give your grandmother a hug!"_

With excited shouts and cheers, the ghosts rushed towards their grandmother, extending their own arms towards her as they wrapped each other in a tight and loving hug. In just a few seconds, Serene was positively _buried_ in the embrace of the ghost kids, the power of the hug made even stronger by the fact that, since they were all ghosts, they could _feel_ it and all the warmth and affection that came along with it in full. Mike noted with no small amount of amusement that this was the exact same thing the kids had planned for him, though there was a slight tinge of sadness with the realization that, no matter how much they loved each other, he wouldn't be able to hug the children in the same way that Serene could.

Well, at least not until he died, anyway.

" _You're just like dad!"_ Susie declared as she leaned her head into Serene's shoulder. _"So nice and kind…"_

" _He's the best dad ever!"_ Cassidy joyfully agreed.

" _I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that dad was once a kid,"_ Gabe commented. He tilted his head to look up at Serene. _"What was he like? You know…before all the messed up crap happened to him?"_

Serene smiled fondly as memories resurfaced in her mind. _"He was such an adorable little child,"_ she recalled, her eyes clouding slightly. _"My precious little baby. He had so many little toys around the house that he loved playing with. And then there were his little quirks."_

Mike's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. "Oh, fuck me…" he groaned under his breath.

" _Every night, Mike would always ask me to carry him over to our bed so he could sleep next to us,"_ Serene continued. _"And it was so adorable. That and the way he sucked his thumb while he was sleeping. He didn't stop sucking his thumb until he was six!"_

The ghosts giggled and shot amused smirks at Mike, who was currently contemplating the merits of bashing his head against the wall.

" _And don't even get me started on his chewing habits,"_ Serene continued, unaware (or more likely uncaring) of her son's growing embarrassment. _"He used to bite on pencils all the time. I used to keep a little jar filled with pencils that Mike chew on whenever we weren't looking. Some of them looked like they'd been chewed up by rats!"_

"Oh my God, mom, stop, PLEASE!" Mike finally pleaded as the kids collapsed into laughter around their grandmother. Even Michael and Shadow Freddy couldn't resist the smirks growing on their faces. "WHY are you telling them this?"

" _I'm their grandmother, honey!"_ Serene replied with false innocence. _"It's my job to tell my grandchildren embarrassing stories about their father when he was just a little boy."_

"I thought my dead mother descending from Heaven to see me after decades was supposed to make things better, not worse!" Mike jokingly complained.

" _Tell us more, grandma!"_ Cassidy insisted. _"What other habits did dad used to have as a kid?"_

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the fucking Nightmares…" Mike muttered. "Welp, I spend the entire night establishing my badass credentials by beating the everloving shit out of William Afton, and my mother destroys every single one of them in literal seconds. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo…"

" _Aww, don't be like that, son,"_ Serene got up, floated over to her son, and gave him a hug. _"I'm just teasing you."_

Mike smiled and made the motions of hugging her back. "I know, mom," he replied gently as she made her way back to the sofa and was promptly swarmed by the ghost kids a second time.

" _Besides,"_ Serene smiled again, but this time there was sadness and regret in her expression, _"nobody can ever take those credentials away from you, after everything that you've been through in your childhood and teenage years."_

The ghosts' mood soured as they remembered the darker aspects of Mike's past…and who had been responsible for them. _"How could you have married that bastard?"_ Fritz snarled, his eyes emptying into black voids for a moment.

Serene sighed. _"My husband was never the abusive drunkard that he would become after my death. Grief changes everyone…and in his case, it changed him in the worst way possible. It broke my heart to see what he became…and what happened to Mike because of him."_ She wiped away a tear from her eyes. _"At the very least, he realized the error of his ways before it was too late, and at the very least managed to part with Mike on peaceful terms. As furious as I was with him, I never wanted him to suffer eternal torment in Hell…"_ her smirk returned, though her eyes were still simmering with distant fury, _"…though I can assure you that the first thing I did when I saw him again was slap him. Repeatedly."_

The ghosts returned the smirk. _"He deserved it,"_ Gabe commented in a dark tone.

Serene's expression turned sad again. _"I had to watch my son struggle through the many trials of his early life, and could do nothing but watch. So many times, I feared that those hardships would kill him, break him, or corrupt his heart."_ She turned her head and pointed her gaze directly at Charlie's eyes. _"You've seen just how strong his darkness can be, long after he has sworn himself to Good."_

Charlie shuddered as the memories of Mike's vengeance against William flashed in her mind. She would never forget the burning, hellish light in Mike's eyes, or his cruel, mocking layer as he tore apart William's soul one piece a time. She knew in her heart, without even the slightest trace of doubt, that a tainted, evil Mike would be a worse monster than William Afton had ever been.

" _Why?"_ Susie suddenly broke out. _"Why would God put Dad through all that? I never understood that, and I still don't!"_

" _I asked God that very same question when I first entered Heaven,"_ Serene replied, clearly lost in thought. _"I cannot tell you about events that are yet to come, for that knowledge is forbidden even to the dead. All that He told me is that my son would have a very important role to play in the future. In order to fulfill that destiny, my son would need certain characteristics…characteristics that Mike would only be able to develop if he endured great hardship in his early life. I did not understand what He meant then. But I understand now."_

She looked this time at her son, who nodded in understanding. _"What traits?"_ Jeremy asked curiously.

Serene smiled mysteriously _. "If you think about it, you already know the answer. The only thing I will say is that without those traits, Mike would never have survived your attacks in Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, he would not have been able to defeat William Afton tonight…and he would not have become the loving father that you have adored from the moment you met him."_

Silence fell upon the room as everyone pondered the words of Mike's mother. After several seconds, Serene turned her attention on Liz. _"How are your wounds healing?"_ she asked softly.

" _They're…they're doing better, I think…"_ Liz replied uncertainly. _"They still hurt, but…something about you is making them feel better a lot faster."_

" _I will be here all night, Liz…"_ Serene gently assured her. _"I won't be able to heal your wounds completely, but my presence should help them heal faster. Facing off against William like that…you are a very brave girl."_

Liz lowered her head. _"I don't feel brave,"_ she murmured, a trace of her past shame still lingering. _"I did and tried to do horrible things, and all I wanted to do was try and fix them."_

" _And that's all that anyone can ask of you,"_ Serene put an arm around Liz's shoulder again, and turned her gaze towards the rest of the kids. _"The same goes for all of you. You've been given a second chance, not just to make up for your wrongs but also to live the life that was stolen from you. And all of you have done incredibly well, especially tonight. Heaven is looking upon your actions and smiling in approval at your courage. I think we can all be grateful that the only real consequences of William Afton's rampage were the mess he made out of your animatronic bodies and the destruction of Mike's front door."_

Mike let out a loud groan as he took in the mangled remains of the Rockstar animatronics. "Ah, shit…" he muttered. "This is going to be a mess to get sorted out."

Serene shrugged unconcernedly. _"You have been through far worse than this, Mike. I'm sure you'll figure it out."_ Her smile returned, and it seemed as though the entire atmosphere of the room lightened at its radiance. _"Now then, children…tell me what you have been up to. I'm sure you've gone through so many adventures with my son. I want to hear about them all!"_

As the ghosts excitedly began to fill their grandmother in on the many adventures and gifts that Mike had given them, Shadow Freddy put a hand gently on Liz's shoulder. **"Do you mind if we spend some time alone with our sister?"** he asked Serene. **"This is the first time I've seen her in decades with her finally knowing who I really am."**

" _Go right ahead!"_ Serene replied, and Shadow Freddy gently took Liz by the arm and lead her out of the living room and into the kitchen, with Michael following behind. The three siblings exited the kitchen and the screen door leading to the backyard, Mike's pool still and serene in the night. Nobody would ever possibly suspect that the pool had been used by a demon lord to banish a wicked soul back into the fires of Hell for a second time. Liz sat down on the lawn, Shadow Freddy and Michael sitting on each side of her, and together they stared up into a peaceful and beautiful starry night sky. From opposite sides, Michael and Shadow Freddy wrapped their arms around Liz's shoulders, allowing her to relax into their arms.

" _This reminds me of the time when Dad took us all stargazing in this backyard for the first time,"_ Liz murmured wistfully. Serene's presence and comforting hands had significantly accelerated the healing process, but the scars from William's attack were still clearly there, and would likely remain for some time.

" _I don't know if I should consider this beautiful night ironic or fitting,"_ Michael commented. _"Ironic considering the horror that tonight brought upon us all…or fitting since everything turned out all right in the end."_

" **Well, look at the end point, Mike…"** Shadow Freddy replied. **"The three of us sitting out here peacefully in the night, and the rest of Liz's new family enjoying themselves with their grandmother at this very moment. I actually feel sort of selfish for taking Liz away from that, even if it's only for a short time."**

" _It's okay…"_ Liz leaned into Michael's body. _"I've wanted to see you two again ever since last Christmas."_

" **I really am sorry for not telling you who I was back in that old pizzeria,"** Shadow Freddy apologized. **"God didn't give me permission to do so until tonight. And besides, you have a new family now. It wouldn't be fair to weigh you down with the baggage of the old."**

" _We'll always be a family,"_ Michael assured her, _"but the Afton family is dead. The name of Afton has brought nothing but evil, and it should have died a long, long time ago."_ He smiled. _"The name Schmidt suits you a lot more."_

Liz smiled fondly at the many happy memories she had created in the past year, but her happy expression faded as a rather depressing thought occurred to her. _"I can't even remember any happy memories about us…"_ she murmured. _"Outside of reuniting with Mikey last Christmas. I can't think of anything!"_

" **It would be difficult for any of us to remember that far back into the past, even without the tragedy and torment that affected us all,"** Shadow Freddy offered consolingly. **"But remember this. Tonight might not have been a happy night, in the conventional sense. But we stood together, as siblings, and fought together against a true evil. The evil responsible for turning all of us into what and who we are today, for better or for worse. Happy? Perhaps not. But important, and something to be proud of? Absolutely."**

Michael rubbed the ghostly wires that currently made up his sister's hair. _"I didn't expect you to be so good at fighting,"_ he commented with an impressed tone. _"Did Mr. Schmidt teach you all that?"_

Liz giggled. _"He taught me a couple of tricks,"_ she replied.

" **You don't have to fight to keep your new dad safe all the time,"** Shadow Freddy advised. **"You may be the best physical fighter because of this form, but you have six others who are just as dedicated to protecting Mr. Schmidt as you are. It's okay to rest and pass that burden on to others sometimes."**

" _It's like what Mike's mother told you,"_ Michael added, _"Just keep doing what you believe to be the right thing, and that's all anyone can ask of you."_

" _I will…"_ Liz answered solemnly. _"I promise. It's the least I can do, after what I did to you."_

" _And what I did to you,"_ Michael silently added in his head, his thoughts directed towards Shadow Freddy even though he did not speak them.

The three siblings sat in silence for a few seconds more, until Liz finally asked the question that had been bugging her from the beginning. _"Will I see you again? Please tell me that I'll see you again soon!"_ she begged.

Michael and Shadow Freddy both looked at each other. **"I don't know how often we'll be able to see you,"** the latter responded. **"God is very strict on minimizing any visits to Earth by the dead."**

" _But if we can visit you every Christmas at the VERY least, just like I did last year, then we'll make sure we can do that,"_ Michael promised. _"But don't rely on us to be happy, Liz. Otherwise, is there any point in having a new family to begin with?"_

Liz nodded. _"I know,"_ she answered, _"and if that's the best you can give me, then I can be happy with that."_

The two brothers smiled and nodded approvingly at her words. _"Speaking of your new family, I think we've spent enough time with all this serious talk,"_ Michael decided. _"I don't want to spend our first full reunion as siblings depressing ourselves. Tell us all about how your new life, Lizzie! I heard you recently went on your first vacation to a different part of the world!"_

Liz perked up immediately, and for the first time the green light from Scrap Baby's eyes glowed with true, pure joy and excitement rather than malevolence or solemnity. _"It was amazing, Mikey!"_ she exclaimed. _"We went to Korea with a close friend of Dad's. There were so many cool things we saw…"_

/

In a realm that marked the border between life and death, surrounded by a vast forest of red trees, a crocodile-like figure wearing the simple attire of a fisherman watched the three Afton siblings talk and laugh together on the serene surface of a solitary lake. Old Man Consequences' mouth stretched into an approving smile as the image faded, the lake returning to its normal crimson waters.

" **PEACE IS RESTORED AT LAST,"** OMC declared contentedly as he prepared to cast his line into the waters again. **"THE EVIL RESPONSIBLE FOR SO MUCH MISERY, SUFFERING, AND DESPAIR HAS BEEN DEFEATED AND CAST BACK INTO THE ABYSS WHERE IT SO RIGHTFULLY BELONGS. AND IT IS ALL THANKS TO THOSE WHO GATHERED THE COURAGE AND STRENGTH TO FIGHT AGAINST THAT EVIL, EVEN WHEN IT ROSE FROM THE ASHES STRONGER THAN EVER."**

There was a rush of flame behind him, and OMC didn't need to turn his head to recognize the demon lord emerging from the fiery column. It was only after he stepped onto the crimson grass and the flames vanished that Old Man Consequences turned to face Nightmare. The demon lord had come alone, without either of his brothers accompanying him. OMC watched impassively as Nightmare did something that to an outsider would seem utterly unthinkable given his personality and position of power.

The demon lord bent his knee in front of Old Man Consequences and bowed.

" **MY LORD…"** Nightmare spoke, his voice filled with nothing but the utmost respect and deference. **"IT IS DONE. WILLIAM AFTON'S ATTEMPT TO UNLEASH HAVOC UPON THE MORTAL WORLD HAS BEEN THWARTED. I HAVE CONSIGNED HIM BACK INTO THE DAMNATION THAT HE SO RIGHTFULLY DESERVES. HE IS BROKEN AND HELPLESS, AND CAN DO NOTHING BUT WAIT TO RECEIVE THE FULL FORCE OF MY…** _ **OUR**_ **…DISPLEASURE."**

Old Man Consequences' mouth stretched into a grin again, but this time it was utterly cold, without any of the kindness he had displayed only seconds earlier. **"RISE, NIGHTMARE…"** he proclaimed, watching the demon lord rise to his feet before continuing. **"YOU HAVE DONE WELL THIS NIGHT. NOT ONLY DID YOU CRUSH VUCARIK'S REBELLION ONLY MOMENTS AFTER IT BEGAN, BUT YOU ALSO NEUTRALIZED THE THREAT OF WILLIAM AFTON QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY, EVEN IF IT WAS THROUGH A MOST…UNEXPECTED MEANS. I AM VERY PLEASED INDEED."**

Now it was Nightmare's turn to grin. **"I LONG SUSPECTED THAT DARKNESS LURKED WITHIN MIKE SCHMIDT. HIS PATIENCE AND CAPACITY FOR FORGIVENESS ARE FORMIDABLE INDEED, BUT AS TONIGHT HAS SHOWN…THEY ARE NOT INFINITE. BUT EVEN I COULD NOT HAVE IMAGINED WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WHEN THE DEPTHS OF HIS WRATH AND HATRED WERE FINALLY UNLEASHED."**

OMC's grin faded slightly and he shook his head. **"YOU WERE WISE NOT TO TRY AND CORRUPT SCHMIDT OUTRIGHT, NIGHTMARE. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU CONTINUE TO REFRAIN FROM ANY ATTEMPT TO DO SO IN THE FUTURE,"** he advised. **"AS YOU HAVE SEEN FOR YOURSELF, EVEN IF MIKE FELT THE TEMPTATION TO PERMANENTLY DESTROY PRINCIPLES FORGED FROM THE FIRES OF HIS TORMENTED YOUTH, HE HAS FAR TOO MANY MORAL ANCHORS IN THE FORM OF HIS FAMILY. AND THOUGH HEAVEN HAS FAR MORE GOODWILL TOWARDS YOU THAN MANY IN THE INFERNO, TESTING THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT'S PATIENCE IS…ILL-ADVISED."**

Nightmare resisted the urge to sneer. It would not do to insult _this_ being. **"I AM NO FOOL, LORD CONSEQUNCES. I KNOW WELL MY LIMITATIONS."**

" **GOOD,"** OMC replied. Sensing a certain amount of discontent within the demon lord, he continued. **"I SENSE SOME…MALCONTENT WITHIN YOU, NIGHTMARE. ARE YOU DISSATISFIED WITH MY ADVICE?"**

" **NO, MY LORD,"** Nightmare shook his head. **"THOUGH CORRUPTING SCHMIDT WAS A PLEASANT FANTASY, I NEVER HAD ANY REAL INTEREST IN FULLY PURSUING IT. IN FACT, I CAN APPRECIATE SCHMIDT'S POSITIVE QUALITIES JUST AS MUCH AS THE DARKNESS WITHIN HIM. AFTER ALL, SCHMIDT'S HATRED WOULD NEVER HAVE BECOME AS POWERFUL AS IT DID WERE IT NOT FOR THE LOVE HE HAS FOR HIS CHILDREN. NO, IT IS SOMETHING…DIFFERENT."**

" **THEN WHAT TROUBLES YOU?"** the crocodile-headed being asked.

Nightmare gritted his teeth in rage. **"THE FACT THAT, EVEN AFTER ALL OUR TORMENTS AND TORTURES, WE NEVER TRULY SUCCEEDED IN BREAKING WILLIAM AFTON,"** he snarled. **"SCHMIDT'S MOTHER WAS CORRECT. A MERE MORTAL DID WHAT WE COULD NOT, AND BROKE WILLIAM AFTON COMPLETELY. I CAN SEE NOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN COMPLACENT, SO CONFIDENT IN OUR SUPERIORITY AND OUR CAPACITY FOR MALICE THAT WE DID NOT EXERCISE THE CRUELTY AND TAINTED CREAVITY THAT WE WERE TRULY CAPABLE OF TO BREAK THAT MONGREL'S SOUL. A MISTAKE THAT ALL OF OUR CLAN, INCLUDING MYSELF, HAS MADE."**

The demon lord's eyes glowed red with malice. **"BUT NO MORE. WE HAVE SHOWN ALL OF HELL THAT THE NIGHTMARES ARE NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH. AND WE WILL TEACH THIS LESSON TO WILLIAM AFTON IN FULL. WE WILL MAKE HIM BEG FOR THE DAYS HE SUFFERED IN HELL BEFORE HE DARED TO ATTACK OUR OWN. ALL OF HELL SHALL WEEP AT THE SOUND OF HIS SCREAMS!"** he vowed, his fists clenched and glowing with hellish flames.

Old Man Consequences raised a hand to calm him. **"I AM PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN FAILINGS, AND SEEK TO OVERCOME THEM,"** he calmly replied. **"HOWEVER, MAY I SUGGEST THAT YOU CONSIDER A…DIFFERENT APPROACH, IN ADDITION TO WHATEVER PLANS YOU ALREADY HAVE."**

Nightmare nodded in acknowledgment of the entity's words. **"I AM ALWAYS WILLING TO HEED YOUR WORDS AND YOUR WISDOM, LORD CONSEQUENCES,"** he declared.

" **THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO BREAK A MAN,"** Old Man Consequences explained as he cast his line into the lake. **"YOU HAVE FOCUSED ALMOST ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS UPON THE AVENUE OF PHYSICAL TORMENT. A METHOD TESTED BY TIME AND THE DEFINING STRATEGEM OF SUFFERING IN THE INFERNO, BUT IT IS ONLY ONE PATH. WHAT MADE SCHMIDT'S VENGEANCE SO EFFECTIVE WAS NOT NECESSARILY THAT HE WAS CRUELER THAN YOU OR YOUR FELLOW NIGHTMARES, BUT RATHER THAT HE UNLEASHED ONE TORTURE AFTER ANOTHER WITHIN A SHORT SPAN OF TIME BECAUSE HE HAD ONLY A LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO SEEK HIS REVENGE AND TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT."**

OMC gazed intently into Nightmare's scarlet eyes. **"WILLIAM AFTON IS A MAN OF MANY DEFICIENCIES AND INIQUITIES. ABOVE ALL, ONE OF HIS GREATEST SINS IS ARROGANCE. ARROGANCE THAT HIS WILL WAS GREATER THAN THOSE AROUND HIM, ARROGANCE THAT CAUSED HIM TO VIEW ALL OTHER LIVES APART FROM HIS OWN AS WORTHLESS AND EXPENDABLE. ARROGANCE THAT MOTIVATED HIM TO ABANDON HIS VERY CHILDREN IN PURSUIT OF HIS DEPRAVED GOALS."**

" **I UNDERSTAND, MY LORD,"** Nightmare answered as he bowed his head in deference once again. Part of him was furious at himself for not recognizing this sooner…but no matter. He had the rest of eternity to come up with a new plan to break William Afton's soul in the way that Old Man Consequences had described, and the old ways would be more than enough to satisfy his thirst for vengeance for the time being…albeit with more than a little _escalation_.

A smile that was both knowledgeable and vicious returned to the entity's face. **"IF YOU WISH TO BREAK WILLIAM AFTON THROUGH A MEANS THAT HE WILL NOT SEE COMING, THEN TAKE THAT MONSTROUS VANITY…AND** **T͓͓̼R̬͇̼̣A̗̳̞͉͚̳͞ͅM͍͔͠P̘̳̭̜L̴͔̜̝̼̭̼͉E̬̘͈̝͇ ̣̟̣̬̙͜I͎̮Ṭ͎̜͉̺ͅ.̧"̠̤͈͚̱**

/

A/N: Whoo boy, this was quite the dense chapter despite being shorter than the others. Three cheers for family gatherings…and I mean GENUINE family gatherings, not the bullshit that William Afton tried to pull in the last couple of chapters.

So we finally have a reason for why God allowed Mike to go through all the shit that he went through as a child and a teen (it's up to you whether you think it's a good one or not). Those characteristics that Serene mentioned: resourcefulness, fearlessness, determination, cunning, honed survival instincts/street smarts, a keen mind for strategy and tactics, his moral principles, even his ruthlessness…Mike only developed these traits because of either his years of hardship or under Oskar's guidance. And without them (or Nightmare's warning), he wouldn't have stood a chance against William. The suffering of his youth ultimately saved him and his family. That and the fact that God also gave him a fuckton of money after Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria that was enough to make him a millionaire as an apology, so at least there's that :P

Old Man Consequences is quite the fascinating character, and he is one of the biggest mysteries both in FNAF and in this fic. There's a popular theory running around that Old Man Consequences is actually Satan, but if that is true, then he's a remarkably benevolent interpretation of a character generally considered to be the Ultimate Evil, given that he encourages the Vengeful Spirit in UCN to leave his victim and finally rest.

There are many possible interpretations for who Old Man Consequences is. Maybe he actually IS Satan, a version of Satan who, against all odds, repented of his crimes and was rewarded with a new position as the guardian of the antechamber to the afterlife (while still being the ruler of Hell). A Satan who now offers genuinely helpful and heartfelt advice to those who need it, with the occasional indulgence in his old cruelty and evil to reassert his dominion over Hell.

Perhaps he is a different demon lord who repented and was rewarded in a similar manner. Perhaps he is an angel in disguise. Perhaps he is an entirely different entity unaligned with Heaven or Hell, neither angel nor demon, who nevertheless ultimately serves God in his own way.

Regardless of which interpretation you choose, the very fact that **Nightmare** , of all people, BOWED IN RESPECT to him should speak volumes. And if that hasn't already convinced you, here's a little fun fact:

Remember that "Abandon All Hope" Damnation One-Hit Kill spell that I wrote up for Nightmare last chapter? Old Man Consequences is immune to it. **Completely**.

Anyways, the dark times are finally over, and I'd be hard-pressed to think of anything that could be as dark as the last few chapters. That's not to say that NOTHING in the future will be dark, but we'll be going back to lighter, happier, and funnier times for the next couple of chapters. I need a break from the darkness just as much as I'm sure you guys and the Schmidts do. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	86. Chapter 86 - Restoring Order

A/N: Surprise! I bet you weren't expecting a weekly update this time around! Fortunately, I had much more time than I expected this week, so here's an early chapter!

We've hit a milestone with this fic, ladies and gentlemen! 1000 reviews! I am amazed and so grateful that you've devoted so much time and interest in this fic, and it inspires me to continue to deliver the high quality writing and storytelling that you guys have come to expect.

The night of terror is over, and it's long past time for us to return to happier (and hopefully funnier) times. I need a break from tackling FNAF lore after the massive monstrosity that was William Afton's escape from Hell anyway.

Cow: In hindsight and from an author's perspective, yes, I should have handled that better and had the kidnapper brought over to the police. Absolutely a mistake on my end. I will say, however, that in-universe Liz has been trapped in existence as Circus Baby for decades and there's a decent chance she may not really know what the police is (it's not like there's anything on Earth that can threaten her as a ghost). Even if she does, she may not necessarily trust the police considering how badly the cops fucked up the past investigations into CBEAR and/or Fazbear Entertainment.

JZKiller96: Technically, since Michael and Eric (not Christ) can go to Heaven whenever they wish, it's only Liz that hasn't seen her mother yet. That wouldn't be a bad idea for a Christmas chapter, actually, since that seems to be the only time God is willing to let ghosts visit Earth (besides special emergencies like, you know, Nightmare Springtrap being an asshole).

Norja: Arrogance is absolutely one of his greatest character flaws, that's for sure.

Fnaffan418: I don't know, why DO you have UCN vibes? *wink wink nudge nudge*

DISCLAIMER: I don't know how Law actually works and I don't have the time to look up laws in Utah or whatever. I apologize in advance if the details are wrong.

Chapter 86 – Restoring Order

When Mike woke up in his bed the next morning, he found himself surrounded by all of his ghost kids. With the terrors of last night still clearly in their minds, the ghosts had apparently taken it on themselves to make sure that their dad would spend the rest of the night safe and undisturbed, that nothing else bad would happen without them knowing about it. They had either climbed on him or laid down beside him while he had been sleeping, and the way they snuggled up and snoozed next to him (or at least the closest to an equivalent as ghosts) was positively adorable. His eyes fell upon Liz, who was sleeping comfortably in front of him; his mother had apparently healed Liz enough that she could finally turn back into her normal form without consequences, though she had warned her that the scars and possibly some remnants of pain would continue to bother her for days if not weeks to come. Mike could clearly see the scars on Liz's hand where William Afton had sliced at Scrap Baby's claw, and forced himself to quell his rage at the sight. With his mother's gentle but stern advice clearing his mind, he would only use his capacity for hatred and wrath when he was absolutely forced to, and under no other circumstances.

He smiled wistfully. After Serene had bonded with her adoptive grandchildren, spending hours talking with them about what their new life in Mike's family was like and the many adventures they had gone through together, Serene had spent the remainder of the night back inside of Mike's mental world, where his mother had gushed over and praised him over how he had overcome all the obstacles thrown in his way and lived a successful life in college and as the chief engineer of Eisensteel. To Mike's everlasting mortification, even after having seven adoptive ghostly grandchildren, Serene continued to insist that Mike get married and have some kids.

" _Oskar told me all about that lovely woman you spent that vacation in Korea with,"_ Serene casually told Mike, a knowing smirk on her face and a teasing glint in her eyes. _"Why don't you invite her over to a nice dinner date sometime? It's not like you have problems handling money."_

"Moooooooooooommmmm…." Mike whined. "That's not what's going on! We're just friends!"

Serene's smirk grew. _"Really? Because you seem to care a lot for someone who's just a friend. You took her out on a vacation to her home country!"_

"I did that just as much for the kids!" Mike protested as he groaned and buried his face in his hands and his mother laughed at her son's flustered expression. The man was thankful that the ghost kids weren't around and that they were still naïve and innocent in the aspects of romance.

He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle the embarrassment if they started trying to pair him with Melody.

Apart from that little SNAFU, however, the hours that Mike and his mother spent together had given him the closure that he had subconsciously needed ever since he had been a young child, and the light and joy from their reunion had been enough to pacify whatever traces of darkness that remained within him.

" _I'm glad to see that you're awake, Mike."_

Mike turned his head towards the door to his bedroom. His mother was floating there, smiling gently at him. There was a trace of sadness in her eyes, however, and Mike instinctively understood that she would be leaving soon. _"Please wake your children for me. I have one last bit of advice to tell them before I go."_

Mike nodded in understanding and began waking his children as quickly as possible. Though they were still groggy and responded only by snuggling harder in protest, their exhaustion quickly vanished when Mike told them that their new grandmother would be departing back to Heaven.

" _Do you really have to go?"_ Jeremy asked sadly.

" _We just met you!"_ Cassidy added in protest.

" _Can't you stay a little longer!"_ Susie begged.

Serene shook her head. _"I am very lucky that God allowed me to spend the entire night with you to begin with. But my time on Earth is about to end, and I can already feel myself being called back to Heaven."_

The ghost children sighed sadly, Liz foremost among them. Not just because of Serene's impending departure, but also because her brothers had departed from the house soon after their reunion in Mike's backyard. God had apparently given them much less time to visit than He had given Serene, just enough for siblings to finally reunite for the first time in decades and promise one more time that they would see each other again as soon as possible.

" _One last hug?"_ the orange-haired ghost girl suggested.

Serene smiled and spread her arms out. _"Of course."_ The ghost children grinned and rushed to give their grandmother one final hug, embracing her in a way that they could not embrace their father until the day he succumbed to death. Once they had separated from the hug, Serene looked her son and grandchildren in the eyes.

" _There's a movie that I see in Heaven every Christmas, one of my favorite movie adaptations from an old and classic tale about Christmas,"_ Serene began, preparing to give her final piece of advice and wisdom before she returned to Heaven. " _There is one particular line from that film that could very well be one of the most important messages in the entire movie. A lesson that I believe would be very important not just for you children,"_ her eyes turned to gaze directly at Mike, _"but for you as well, my son. If you don't remember anything else, remember this,"_ though her voice didn't change in tone, there was an intensity in her next words that would resonate deeply within their souls. _ **"As freedom comes from giving love, so prison comes with hate.**_ _Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"_

The children nodded solemnly. _"We do,"_ Gabe answered solemnly, _"and we're trying our hardest to let go of the hate that turned us into murderers."_

" _We hated everyone around us for what happened to us, and we nearly killed the most important person in our afterlives,"_ Jeremy added. _"We won't make that same mistake again."_

The ghosts all made various expressions and statements of agreement, but none of them noticed the troubled look on Charlie's face. It could very well be true, and probably was true, that Serene was referring to their murderous rage when they had been trapped in the animatronics. But Charlie instinctively knew that Serene was primarily speaking not to her many grandchildren, but to her one living son. And she couldn't help but feel some relief that Serene was directing this message towards him.

The former Marionette would never forget the unholy glow of his burning scarlet eyes, the cruel, mocking laughter, and the hideous tortures that had broken William Afton's decrepit soul piece by piece.

Serene's ghostly form began to flow, and she gave them one last sad smile. _"It is time for me return,"_ she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. _"I may visit you again on Christmas, but don't look for me at any other time. You've been given the beautiful gift of a new life. Take advantage of it to the fullest. It is time for me to say goodbye."_

The ghostly children all but shouted their farewells towards Serene as the light around her intensified and her spirit began to fade, but in those final moments the woman had eyes only for her son. The two met each other's gaze, both of them filled with emotion without needing to say a single word. _"I'll miss you, son…"_ Serene whispered.

"Goodbye, mom…" Mike finally murmured, lowering his head in a final, respectful bow. His eyes didn't leave his mother as there was a brilliant flash, and Serene finally vanished from the mortal plane to return to the Kingdom of Light. "See you soon," he whispered.

He and the ghosts stood silently for several seconds that seemed like an eternity. _"I know that she stayed as long as she could…"_ Susie finally broke the silence. _"But why did she have to go?"_

" _I'm just happy we got to meet her at all,"_ Jeremy replied. _"She was just as awesome as dad said she was."_

" _At least she stayed for the whole night,"_ Liz replied with more than a little twinge of Mike's familiar dry tone. _"My brothers left a few minutes after we went out to the backyard."_

Cassidy turned to Mike. _"What did you and grandma talk about in the dream world?"_ she asked curiously.

Mike shrugged. "Eh, just talked about what we did during my life. Basically college and Eisensteel. I already told you about the basics there."

" _I wouldn't mind hearing about what you did a little more,"_ Gabe offered.

"Another time, maybe," Mike replied.

" _I still can't believe that was our grandmother!"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"I always thought that grandmas were supposed to be old and wrinkly. But our grandma was young! And hot!"_

And just like that, whatever solemnity that had been established by Serene's departure had been utterly demolished by the lovable redheaded idiot of the family. _"Oh my God, Fritz…"_ Liz groaned, torn between cringing and laughing.

" _You do realize that there's a very serious reason why she died young, right?"_ Gabe deadpanned. _"A reason that we really don't want to talk about?"_

" _THAT'S the thing you choose to focus on, out of all things?"_ Cassidy spluttered in disbelief.

" _I mean…he's not wrong,"_ Jeremy admitted.

" _Not you too, Jeremy!"_ Susie groaned.

Mike resisted the urge to burst out laughing as the ghost kids debated over the hotness of his mother. Even though he might have had his sensibilities offended by this conversation under normal circumstances, anything that washed away the horrors of what had happened last night was good enough for him. "They're going to be okay," he thought contentedly. "They're strong, they've been through worse. Also, thank God they're just kids, if they were older and less innocent they could've started using terms like MILF or GILF to describe their grandma and I'd cringe myself straight into the grave."

" _Uhm…guys?"_ Charlie's voice broke through the debate and Mike's thoughts. _"As interesting as this discussion is, I think we need to address the elephant in the room."_

The ghosts and Mike turned to face her. _"And that is?"_ Fritz prompted.

" _The fact that we have a front door that's been busted open and the Rockstar animatronics are currently lying on the floor of the living room in pieces."_

The ghosts stared blankly at each other as they realized that, despite how lucky they had been to make it through the night in one piece without any major injuries, William Afton had done more damage than they had realized. All eyes turned to Mike, who merely smacked the top of his face with his hand and groaned.

"I fucking hate everything…"

/

As it turned out, the damage to the house was thankfully minor. Aside from the front door that had been ripped off its hinges and smashed to pieces, most of the damage had been done to the furniture with claw marks and cracks in a few places throughout the walls. It was certainly ugly to look at and making all the appointments with the appropriate people would be irritating to say the least, but arranging the necessary repairs wouldn't be difficult to deal with overall.

The REAL problem was the broken remains of the Rockstar animatronics scattered on the floor of the living room. Though the ghosts themselves were thankfully unharmed, William Afton had torn the Rockstars apart just as he had broken the bodies of the classic animatronics in the abandoned remains of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria. One look at the remains was enough to tell Mike that there was absolutely no way he would be able to repair the animatronics by himself, let alone within a reasonable amount of time.

" _Who are you going to get to fix them?"_ Cassidy asked a bit sadly. _"I really liked the Rockstars."_

"That is the question, isn't it?" Mike answered with a shake of his head. "The safest bet would probably be Eisensteel thanks to the connections I have there, but even then I need to make sure that they keep this whole thing a secret. I don't want people to know that I have the last Freddy Fazbear animatronics in my house. The worst-case scenario is that you guys are revealed, and I think we all know just how much of a shitshow that would be."

" _No kidding,"_ Jeremy muttered. _"Especially if people ever found out…what we did."_

" _Maybe you could ask Mr. MacGregor for help?"_ Charlie suggested. _"The man we met back at my old house?"_

Mike nodded thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea. Even if he can't help us with our current problem, he might be able to help us in another way." The man flipped open his cell phone and called Nelson. To his relief, the man was both at home and available to meet with him. About thirty minutes later, Mike opened the gate to allow Mr. MacGregor access to his house.

"What happened here?" Nelson asked in shock, taking in the smashed front door and the broken Rockstar animatronics.

"William Afton broke out of Hell and tried to fuck up our family," Mike answered curtly, and the growl in his tone made it clear he wasn't joking. When Nelson's eyes widened in horror at the implications, Mike quickly added, "that problem has been dealt with. But as you can see, he left quite a mess. I need to send these off to the robotics company that I was a chief engineer for once to get them repaired and I'd like to try to keep this as secret as possible. Do you have any tips?"

Nelson thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "I don't think I'll be able to help you with this specific problem, Mr. Schmidt, but I think I can help you with another one that you may not be aware of."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Do tell."

"You see, Henry left me the Rockstar animatronics in his will before he died, and gave me authority to pass them onto whoever I felt deserved to have them," Nelson explained. "By granting you full ownership of the Rockstars, nobody will be able to legally take them away from you even if the existence of the animatronics is exposed."

"Why would this be an issue though…oh, God…" Mike smacked his forehead with his palm. "You think someone might be stupid enough to try and revive Fazbear Entertainment? Again?"

"Considering how there were fools who thought Fazbear's Fright was a good idea, I wouldn't discount the possibility," Nelson replied. "And should that accursed, imbecilic business return to life, there is always the chance that they might seek to seize control of the Rockstars away from you. Fortunately, they lost their copyrights when they went out of business last time and never bestowed them upon a successor. By giving you ownership of the Rockstars through the authority of Henry's will, they will have no legal grounds to claim your animatronics even if they discover that they exist and where they are located."

"So, essentially a backup plan in case people hear about the Rockstar that we don't want them to hear about," Mike summarized, his tone laced with approval. "Not a bad idea. I'll take your advice, Nelson. Thank you for helping me sort this out."

"A pleasure, Mr. Schmidt," Nelson replied as he shook the man's hand. "The children and the Rockstars seem to be in good hands. And I would very much like to keep things that way in honor of Henry and the dream he tried to create before William corrupted it with his evil."

The two men exchanged farewells and Nelson departed with the promise that he would officially cede ownership of the Rockstars to Mike as soon as possible. Nelson's offer wouldn't solve all the problems that could potentially arise with sending the Rockstars off to a robotics business for repairs, but it would at least make sure that nobody could take the Rockstars away if they found out. Mike asked the ghosts to move the broken pieces of the animatronics to his garage workshop, a request that they happily complied with. Once the pieces had been moved out of the way and separated into piles corresponding to each animatronic, Mike felt more comfortable calling Mr. Santor and relaying his…special request.

"Our main facility was destroyed in the fire, but I believe we can fulfill your request in another location," Mr. Santor answered once Mike had finished relaying his quest. "Though I must confess that I am a bit confused as to why you are so insistent on keeping this a secret. Fazbear Entertainment was closed, if I recall correctly. I can't imagine you would face any legal repercussions since the company no longer exists."

"I can't really explain, Mr. Santor," Mike replied. "But it's important for me that this whole thing is kept under wraps as much as possible. Preferably with fewer people working on it, and people we can trust to keep quiet."

There was silence on the other side of the line for several seconds. Then, Mr. Santor sighed. "I'm not going to pretend to understand your rationale and insistence on secrecy, Mr. Schmidt. But you've served our company faithfully for a long time, and you were one of our best and brightest. If it really is that important for you that we repair these…Rockstar animatronics with as much secrecy as possible, I'll do my best to keep everything under wraps as much as possible. It's the least we can do."

Mike breathed out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Mr. Santor," he gratefully thanked his former boss. "I don't think I'll ever return to a full or even part-time job at Eisensteel, but if the company needs my help for something, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mike," Mr. Santor chuckled. "I'll send a truck and a few people we can trust to pick up those animatronics you are so inexplicably fond of."

"Will do," Mike finished, and hung up his phone. Once he was done, he sat down on the couch in his living room and breathed a heavy sigh, his ghostly children surrounding him with concerned expressions.

" _Are you all right, dad?"_ Liz asked worriedly. _"You look tired."_

Mike chuckled tiredly. "This is probably the most I've interacted with the outside world in a long while," he commented. "You guys know you have to hide yourselves when all the people come by to fix the house and pick up the animatronics and whatnot, right?"

The children nodded. _"We know,"_ Gabe assured him.

"If things take a lot longer than I expect, we'll go out to a hotel somewhere for a night, but hopefully everything is taken care of in a short time," Mike decided. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly got up from his couch. "You know what?" he declared. "We've been through a lot of crap last night, all of it either terrifying or depressing as fuck. So enough of the serious shit, let's go do something fun!"

The ghosts' eyes lit up at the idea of doing something fun. _"Can we go visit a city?"_ Susie asked excitedly.

Mike opened his mouth to answer, when a thought suddenly struck him. "I just realized that I haven't taken you guys to a single American city besides Las Vegas yet, and yet I've also taken you guys out of the country," he remarked. "Wow, that is some ass-backwards travel planning on my part."

The ghosts giggled at their father's self-deprecating humor. _"In all seriousness though, how soon will we be able to visit a city?"_ Jeremy wondered.

Mike thought for a moment. "Not right now," he decided. "We need to be around for when the people come by and repair the house. I don't think I need to tell you this, but taking a trip to a different part of the country when your front door is literally smashed to pieces is a fucking God-awful idea."

An image of the thief that had tried to break into Mike's house many months ago flashed in their minds. _"No kidding,"_ Gabe muttered.

"We can talk about visiting a city at a later point," Mike declared. "But what I'm talking about is introducing you to a very popular video game that came out a long time ago. You can set up your own entire server so that all of you can play on it at the same time."

The ghosts' eyes widened. _"Really?"_ Fritz asked eagerly. _"I don't think we've played any game that big before!"_

"Oh yeah, it's REALLY popular," Mike replied with an encouraging grin. "There's a lot of Youtube videos made by some really funny people that summarize all the crazy shenanigans you can get up to. And frankly, the fact that it took me more than a year to introduce a game this popular to you is an embarrassment and a black mark on my reputation as a fun parent."

" _When you put it that way, this HAS to be good!"_ Cassidy exclaimed.

Mike grinned. "Oh yeah, there's so many ways you can have fun with this game. Go and bring your laptops over here, kids. I should have introduced you guys to Minecraft months ago."

/

A/N: For once I'm actually going to be telling you what's in the next chapter for a change :D

Yep, this chapter signals the return to the happiness and fun for the ghost kids that was always meant to be the primary purpose of this fic. More than one of you has recommended Minecraft for the next "Fun with Video Games" chapter, and since this is a game that I'm actually familiar with and have plenty of inspiration to create funny moments for (mainly from the videos of VanossGaming and his friends), it's one that I definitely have a lot of material to work with.

As you may have noticed, I mostly glossed over the details of Mike fixing the damage done to his house by William and how he's going to get the Rockstar animatronics repaired. I didn't want to bore you guys with the details about how things are going to go "back to normal." Though maybe Mike is being overly cautious. Surely nobody would be stupid enough to bring back Fazbear Entertainment…right?

Lastly, you get a special kudos if you can identify where Serene's last, most important piece of advice came from. Considering the ghost kids' bloody pasts and what Mike did to William in the last few chapters, it really is a lesson that can be learned by everyone.

That's all for now. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	87. Chapter 87 - Fun with Video Games 4

A/N: Honestly, with the many opportunities Minecraft provides I could create an entire sub-arc dedicated to Minecraft shenanigans.

Since I actually haven't played Minecraft technically, I'm going to be using ideas from Youtube videos to write this chapter. Specifically, the ghost kids' upcoming Minecraft shenanigans will be heavily inspired by the Minecraft videos posted by VanossGaming and his friends.

Also, WOW, there are a LOT of people who want reactions to FNAF songs. With this many people wanting them, how can I say no? I don't have an issue with the number of reviews requesting them, but I do have to point out that a few of the requests were borderline rude, and I have to politely ask that you be a little more courteous in the future. The FNAF song chapter will NOT be the next chapter or the one after that, as I have a Halloween chapter planned on Oct. 31 and that requires another chapter before that to set things up. On the plus side, this means that, yes, you will be having WEEKLY chapters for the rest of the month because of what I have planned. That being said, please recommend any FNAF1-3 songs that you are particularly interested in having the ghost kids respond to (since 4 and beyond don't exist in this fic).

JZKiller: Don't worry, UCN will be coming into play VERY soon.

Rockstar Ballora: No, I actually don't know which meme you're talking about. I'm not really all that knowledgeable on meme lore. Like, at all.

AlchemyWriter: Eh, I actually don't play many (translation: almost ANY) Horror games outside of FNAF. Despite the last arc serving as evidence to the contrary, I'm really a little chickenshit when it comes to most horror games :P

Gpinto: I'm going to wait until after the chapter to answer your review (since I already responded privately and it would take up a huge chunk of space), so let me just say that I disagree with your argument that Charlie is the second most evil character in FNAF. COMPLETELY disagree.

Chapter 87 – Fun with Video Games 4

Over the next few days, Mike introduced each of the ghost kids to the wonders of Minecraft. It had been a while since he had last played the game, but he understood the basics well enough to pass on the minimum amount of information that the kids would need to understand how Minecraft worked. Mike refused to give the children detailed instructions on how to create their own houses, instead encouraging them to experiment and explore the new world they found themselves in by themselves.

Which, as the ghost kids understood by now, meant that he was either too busy to help them or too lazy. Both of which were equally valid options, considering that Mike was still dealing with the issues caused by Nightmare Springtrap's attack on their house.

With nothing better to do for the next few days, the ghost kids got to work building their own houses. Together, the children swore an oath not to sabotage or otherwise interfere with the construction of each other's houses, promising to wait until after their houses were finished and saved under Charlie's administrative powers before they began trolling each other. This decision turned out to be a wise one, as the skeletons, zombies, spiders, and ESPECIALLY the creepers caused more than enough problems for children who were barely familiar with the game when night rolled.

At the end of the week, thanks to a combination of their own dedication and the helpful advice of Youtube guides, the children had succeeded in making houses that were nothing short of impressive for how completely new they were at the game.

Gabe had created a three-story modern-style house next to the beach with glass walls that opened up to a beautiful ocean view, a beautiful summer abode complete with its own pool. Jeremy had carved out a network of caverns for a home straight into one of the small mountains that dotted the landscape, taking the extra time to clear out the monsters inside. Susie and Cassidy had opted to work together to create an ornate mansion, easily the largest house out of all of them, a structure of grandeur and elegance that reminded them of Mike's own home except on an even grander scale. Fritz, in a gesture that was simultaneously predictable and creative, fashioned his Minecraft home in the form of a pirate ship, creating an expression of his love for pirates and Foxy on a different beach than Gabe's. Liz, perhaps drawing on her British roots, created a small medieval castle, with plans to make it much larger and grander once she gained more experience with Minecraft as a whole. And Charlie, feeling a sense of daring, had created a treehouse that towered above the rest of the houses on their island and even much of the island itself, her wooden structure seamlessly integrated into the natural environment of the tree.

The children were delighted with how their homes had turned out, and their happiness increased with the compliments they received from each other _and_ from Mike. Once they had finished furnishing their homes, stockpiling numerous resources in chests, and saved all their hard work under Charlie's administrative powers.

And with that final step…their accord was now broken.

As the other children explored the world of Minecraft, gathering materials and fighting creatures, three of them surreptitiously met in Charlie's treehouse to plot and scheme against their friends and family.

" _All right, Cassidy, Susie, Charlie, glad you could make it,"_ Gabe muttered as the three characters, all of whom were fashioned in the likeness of their respective animatronics, met in Jeremy's treehouse. _"I've brought you all here for a…_ _ **special operation."**_

" _Ooh…"_ Susie breathed out excitedly, _"what've you got planned, Gabe?"_

Gabe grinned, and the mischief in his expression immediately set off alarm bells in Charlie's mind. Out of all the ghost kids besides herself and maybe Liz, Gabe had the most well-developed sense of responsibility…which only made her even _warier_ of his plan.

" _A little prank to screw over everyone who's not here,"_ Gabe explained. _"You see, over the past few days, I've been collecting materials to make tons, and I mean TONS, of TNT crates."_

The moment Gabe said the words "TNT crate", the rest of the ghost kids' minds clicked immediately. _"You're going to blow up Jeremy's, Fritz's, and Liz's houses aren't you?"_ Susie realized.

Cassidy gasped, torn between outrage and amusement. _"That's SOOOOOOOOOOO mean!"_ she exclaimed.

" _Isn't this going a little too far?"_ Susie pointed out. _"I know we broke our peace agreement once we finished building our houses, but we put so much work into making our first houses! Blowing them up seems really vicious and cruel."_

Gabe gestured with his thumb at Charlie. _"That's why Charlie's here, so that she can reset the servers after we blow them up with no lasting harm done. The only real risk is that they lose something really valuable after the server reset, but all of us already have full diamond resets and everything, so what's the worst they could lose?"_

Cassidy breathed a sigh of relief. _"If we're going to fix the houses with a server reset after all this, then I feel better about it."_

" _That's the ONLY reason why I'm agreeing to this,"_ Charlie huffed. _"And even then, I'm not going to be the one who puts all the TNT crates under their houses or pulling the trigger."_

" _That's fine,"_ Gabe replied. _"We only need you to reset the server afterwards, but if you really wanted to help us you could distract Jeremy, Fritz, and Liz somehow so that we can set up our prank without them knowing about it."_

" _Hmmm…"_ Charlie thought for a moment. _"I do have a treasure map that I haven't yet checked out yet. I can get take those three on an adventure…"_

"… _while we set up the TNT crates,"_ Susie grinned. _"That's a great idea, Charlie!"_

Charlie smirked in response. _"Dad wanted me to lighten up a little,"_ she replied. _"No time like the present, right?"_

" _That's perfect!"_ Gabe declared. The four children shared mischievous grins and then turned their attention to their laptops. _"Now then…let's get to work."_

Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy got out their diamond pickaxes and prepared them for digging. The moment they were ready, Charlie led Liz, Fritz, and Jeremy on treasure hunts with her maps as a distraction. It was surprisingly easy to convince the three to follow her lead, as all the ghosts intrinsically trusted Charlie (a normally wise decision that would prove to be a grave mistake in this particular instance) and the ghost children were already exploring the world of Minecraft by their own initiative. As their targets moved away from the safety of their homes, Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy all started digging tunnels from several spaces away from their target's houses, completely undetectable on the surface, until they were right below their siblings' houses. They then proceeded to dig out caverns underneath the homes that were big enough to fill with several blocks of TNT crates, and laid down Redstone trails that would all be ignited by switches close in proximity to each other.

By the time that Charlie and their siblings had returned from their treasure hunts, Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy had buried so many TNT crates underneath their target houses that the explosion would be more than enough to wipe out any trace that had a structure had ever existed, or at the very least blow a huge crater in the buildings. Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy were very grateful that they were all spread out throughout the house and communicating to each other via voice chat rather than being physically next to each other, or they would have had a very difficult time masking suspicious behavior.

" _Are you kidding me? That was three, THREE maps that led to literally the same fucking treasure chest that we opened first!"_ Fritz was ranting to the siblings who had joined him. _"I mean, why the fuck would multiple pirate ships even have the same fucking treasure map to begin with!"_

" _He does have a good point,"_ Liz agreed, calmer than her sibling but her tone was still noticeably displeased. _"It does kinda kill the whole point of burying your treasure in the first place."_

" _At least that second chest we found had a few diamonds and emeralds,"_ Jeremy tried looking on the bright side. _"Better than nothing, I guess."_

" _If that's all the treasure these guys had, no wonder they sank to the bottom of the sea,"_ Fritz grumbled. He was about to make another unflattering remark when he suddenly noticed Gabe, Susie, and Jeremy standing close to a castle that none of them had built.

" _Hey guys!"_ Susie called out to them. _"We've found something really cool!"_

" _Look at this really cool castle!"_ Cassidy added, turning her character to face one of the mountains that dotted the landscape. _"We wanted to wait for you guys to come over here so we could explore it together."_

" _And why haven't you explored it by yourselves already?"_ Jeremy asked with a trace of suspicion in his voice. Something about this didn't seem quite right to him…

Fortunately for this, Gabe was more than prepared with a plausible explanation. _"Because the last time we went into a castle like this, there was a dungeon full of monsters and we got the crap beaten out of us. I mean, come on, we only just started playing this game! If we tried to go in ourselves we'd get our buts kicked!"_

Behind his computer screen, Jeremy shrugged. His senses had been going off that _something_ was wrong, but since Susie was flat-out admitting that there was danger, she was probably telling the truth.

" _Why don't you guys quickly go down to the entrance of the dungeon, quickly see what's inside, and come back up?"_ Susie suggested. _"We've already seen what's down there, so once you have a better idea of what we're up against we can come up with a plan to tackle it."_

" _Sounds like a plan,"_ Liz replied. She, Jeremy, and Fritz began walking towards the castle. Once they were inside, Gabe quickly moved over to one of the switches that they had hidden underneath a pile of blocks, the one they had rigged to blow up the castle. Smirking, he flicked the switch.

" _Wait, I don't see a dungeon around here,"_ they could hear Fritz say. _"Did you guys hide the entrance or something?"_

Gabe, Susie, Cassidy, and Charlie grinned. _"The only thing we hid is the fact that you're all about to GET FUUUUUUUUUCKED!"_ Gabe cackled.

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ was all their victims had time to say before the castle suddenly exploded, the many TNT crates they had buried underneath the castle detonating simultaneously. With so many explosives, there was absolutely no chance for Fritz, Jeremy, or Liz to escape the blast radius in time. The three victims all shouted in outrage and disbelief as they were instantly killed, their screens turning red as the messages informing of their deaths appeared in the bottom left corner of the screen.

" _What the FUCK just happened?"_ Fritz yelled once he had respawned and recovered from his shock.

" _We got blown up is what happened!"_ Liz answered, sounding more than a little irritated now that she had realized that she had been the victim of a prank.

" _I had 35 levels, you jerks!"_ Jeremy shouted. _"And now they're all gone!"_

" _Please tell me that we at least get to keep our stuff, right?"_ Fritz asked.

" _No, because it all got blown up along with us!"_ Jeremy growled.

" _Are you FUCKING kidding me?"_ Liz exclaimed furiously. _"I had a full diamond armor set in there!"_

Gabe's eyes widened. _"Oh, shit…"_ he muttered. _"Uh, Charlie? I didn't realize that all TNT instantly destroyed all your stuff."_

" _Calm down, guys!"_ Charlie placated everyone. _"Luckily, I saved the server a few minutes before you guys went into the castle. Let me reset back to that point."_ She began working on her computer and triumphantly clicked on her mouse. _"Annnnnnnnnnd….done!"_

The victims of the prank all breathed a sigh of relief as the server returned to back where they were before the prank had happened. One quick check was enough for them to see that they all had their stuff back in their inventory, safe and sound.

" _Oh, thank God…"_ Liz breathed a sigh of relief. _"Charlie, you're the best!"_

" _No problem!"_ Charlie replied.

" _Wait a minute…"_ Jeremy's tone was suspicious again. _"How did you know to save the server right before we went into the dungeon?"_

" _Because I was in on it,"_ the former Marionette cheerfully answered.

" _You WHAT?"_ all three of them exclaimed.

" _Yep!"_ Charlie grinned. _"Those treasure hunts I took you guys on were all just a distraction while Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy set up the TNT crates underneath the castle. You guys fell for it hook, line, and sinker!"_

Fritz shook his head in disbelief. _"Wow…"_ he muttered. _"I can't believe that Charlie and Gabe of all people were the ones behind this!"_

" _I wish I could've seen the looks on your faces when we blew you guys up!"_ Cassidy giggled.

" _All right, all right, you had your fun…"_ Jeremy retorted. _"But I think you should let us blow up the castle this time!"_ he added, excitement creeping into his voice.

" _Not until I put everything I have in an Ender chest,"_ Liz interjected. _"After you already blew us up once, I am NOT trusting my safety with you guys without taking some security measures first."_

" _That's fair,"_ Gabe agreed. _"We'll be waiting for you."_ He, Susie, Cassidy, and Charlie waited for their targets to put away all their things and return to the block where he had hidden the switches. It had been a slight risk to let them return home with the TNT crates stockpiled underneath their houses, and part of him had been tempted to stop them from putting their things away. But that would have immediately tipped them off that something was off, and so he kept his silence. He didn't think that his siblings would notice anything anyway, and he was proven right when they came back, giving no sign that they had discovered or even suspected the death traps buried underneath their houses.

" _Here you go, guys!"_ Susie chipped away a block hiding one of the switches. She barely managed to hide her feeling of smugness. The former Chica inhabitant had revealed a switch…but not the switch that had led to the castle. If they had been more observant, their targets would have noticed that the switch was a little closer to the beach than it was to the castle…

…specifically the beach holding Fritz's pirate ship.

" _Whoo, let's blow this thing sky high!"_ Fritz enthusiastically declared as the pranksters desperately tried to contain their sniggers. Without even thinking about the consequences, he immediately flipped the switch. For a few tense seconds, nothing happened as the former Foxy inhabitant looked expectantly at the castle. And then…

 **BOOM!**

Fritz whirled around to his pirate ship, excitement quickly replaced by disbelief and horror as he watched his beloved pirate ship get utterly _shredded_ by the force of several exploding TNT crates. _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ he dramatically howled in despair. _"WHAT? HOW? I THOUGHT THE CASTLE WAS SUPPOSED TO BLOW UP!"_

Gabe, Susie, and Cassidy all collapsed into hysterics, and even Charlie and the other two targets couldn't hold back their laughter. _"Oh my God, Fritz, you're such an idiot!"_ Susie managed to choke out in between laughs. _"You fell for that hook, line, and sinker!"_

Fritz groaned as he stared at the ruins of his beloved pirate ship. Because part of it was next to the water, the TNT crates hadn't _completely_ destroyed it. But they had done more than enough damage to reduce it to a smoking ruin surrounded by a giant crater that even now was being filled in with water. _"Please tell me you're going to reset the server, Charlie!"_ he pleaded.

" _In a little bit,"_ Charlie replied nonchalantly. _"I want to admire the burning ruins of your ship first."_

" _I am never trusting you guys in a video game setting ever again,"_ Fritz muttered.

" _Then I guess you finally learned something,"_ Gabe commented with a smirk. His tone suddenly became businesslike. _"Enough messing around, though. Now let's show the rest of these guys how cool these explosions are from the outside. They're so crazy that we could all get blown to bits if we're even a tiny bit too close!"_

" _As you could probably tell,"_ Cassidy explained, _"we were lying when we said that the switch we uncovered before was the one that led to the castle. Obviously it actually led down to Fritz's pirate house."_ She mined down another block to reveal another switch. _"THIS one is the real switch."_

" _I can't believe you made set up more than one explosive trap,"_ Liz stared at the switch, before turning her attention back to the ghost kids. _"Wait a sec…"_ she muttered, her tone clearly conveying suspicion. _"How do I know that this switch won't ALSO blow up someone else's house? Like, oh I don't know…_ _ **mine?"**_

" _You think we actually had time to rig the house of every single person who wasn't part of our pranks?"_ Gabe asked incredulously, masking his nervousness that their cover might be blown. _"Seriously, we're barely familiar with the game as it is!"_

" _Yeah, there's no way we'd be able to pull this off on ALL the houses,"_ Susie added. _"We only planted a bunch of explosives under Fritz's house because he's way too easy to make fun of."_

" _HEY!"_ Fritz protested, but everyone ignored him.

" _Gotta say, though,"_ Cassidy interjected, dreamily imagining the sheer amount of chaos they could cause. _"That would be so fucking GENIUS if we did that!"_

" _After all the crap you've put us through, you'll forgive me if I don't…OH SHIT!"_ Liz suddenly screamed.

" _What?"_ Gabe exclaimed.

" _Creeper!"_ the orange-haired ghost girl shouted frantically. _"CREEPER!"_

The ghosts' eyes widened frantically as they saw the lime-green blocky abomination crawl shamble in their direction, its black face sneering menacingly at them. They had been so caught up in their arguments over explosive pranks that _none_ of them had noticed Minecraft's most iconic monstrosity sneak towards them. If they had been prepared, they would have considered fighting it. But with nothing valuable or useful on them, they could only think of one thing to do.

" _RUN FOR IT!"_ Susie shouted frantically. The ghost kids' characters all scrambled away as the Creeper began to light up. After a few tense seconds, the monster exploded, detonating the area where they had hidden the switches and leaving nothing but a smoking crater where the blocks had been seconds before.

" _Oh, thank God…"_ Jeremy breathed in relief. Susie was about to join him, but then a worrying thought occurred to him.

" _Wait a minute…"_ she thought out loud, _"that's the spot where we started all the Redstone trails, right?"_

"… _yeah?"_ Cassidy confirmed.

" _And the Creeper explosion counts as a regular explosion, so…"_ everyone's eyes all widened in horrified realization. _"…OH GOD NO!"_

"… _Shit,"_ was all Liz had time to say before the sound of multiple, thunderous explosions shattered the silence… **from multiple directions**.

 **BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

The sound and sights of piles of TNT crates utterly _annihilating_ the houses of Jeremy, Liz, and the bait castle echoed around them, two ghost kids could only watch in transfixed horror as they watched their greatest Minecraft achievements and the culmination of all their hard work get blasted to pieces by the ruthless explosions. Where there had once been proud houses, now there were only massive craters. To add insult to injury, Jeremy had been standing too close to the bait castle, and the force of the explosion actually sent a TNT crate flying towards him, catching him in its own explosion and instantly killing him for a second time.

" _Oh, come the FUCK ON!"_ Jeremy ranted, sounding very much like how his father did whenever he was ranting at the Rockstar animatronics during one of their "Five Nights at Freddy's" recreations. _"HOW IS THIS EVEN FAIR?"_

" _ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Liz yelled in incoherent fury, so agitated that her voice was slipping and transitioning frenziedly between her normal child and Scrap Baby voices (as was her ghostly form, even though nobody could see it).

Fritz snorted. _"At least I'm not the only one anymore,"_ he muttered.

Strangely enough, however, none of the prank perpetrators seemed to be all that pleased with the chaos and devastation that had been released. _"God DAMMIT!"_ Gabe shouted in irritation. _"The prank's ruined now because of that FUCKING Creeper!"_

" _Somehow the Creeper ruins our fun even when it doesn't blow us up,"_ Charlie observed, also sounding displeased.

" _We had such an awesome idea planned and now it's gone straight to Hell!"_ Cassidy complained.

In his room, Jeremy threw up his arms in exasperation. _"What are YOU guys complaining about?"_ he demanded. _"You're not the one whose houses got blown sky-high!"_

" _We were going to trick either you or Liz into blowing up your own house,"_ Charlie explained, sounding more than a little disappointed. _"Don't lie, Liz, you were about to flick that switch."_

"… _okay, fine,"_ she grumbled. _"But even if I did blow up my own house, there's NO way Jeremy would fall for it after both of us did it twice!"_

Gabe smirked. _"We know,"_ he replied, _"which is why we would've, ahem…_ _ **encouraged**_ _…either Fritz or you to blow up his house instead. That way, you would've gotten angry at him and forgotten about us while we laughed at how hard we trolled you from the sidelines."_

" _But thanks to that goddamn Creeper, the whole second half of our prank is fucked!"_ Cassidy finished with a grumble.

"… _that is one of the most devious things I've ever heard of,"_ Jeremy admitted. _"If my house wasn't currently BLOWN TO PIECES, I'd actually be impressed."_

"… _I have to admit, now that I've seen what it can do, I want to play around with TNT crates a bit,"_ Liz commented, her interest increasing now that her anger at seeing her house destroyed had cooled somewhat. A hint of mischief suddenly entered her tone. _"Who knows? Maybe I'll end up blowing one of YOUR houses instead…"_ she finished with a menacing giggle.

" _Hey, the only reason we even went through with this prank in the first place was because we knew Charlie could reverse it,"_ Susie reminded her sister. _"If you blow up my and Cassidy's mansion and we CAN'T recover from that, I'm going to be VERY mad."_

" _I suppose now would be a good time to reset the server,"_ Charlie decided, much to the relief of the prank victims. _"But keep in mind…that Creeper is going to regenerate along with your houses. Once I reset, I highly recommend that you erase the redstone trails so that if the Creeper does explode again, it won't take your houses with it for a second time."_

" _That is a VERY good idea,"_ Fritz muttered, and the moment that Charlie reset the server, the ghost kids scrambled to clear away the explosives that had led to so much havoc and mayhem. The pranksters did most of the work clearing away the TNT crates and erasing the redstone trails but left most of the now empty caverns intact, as the ghost kids realized that they could actually make for some excellent basements once they had time to refine their work. As Charlie had predicted, the Creeper had respawned and blown up in about the same area, but thanks to the quick work of the ghost kids, the only building that exploded was the unclaimed castle that nobody cared about, and the ghost kids could all enjoy an explosion without any of their houses being obliterated in the process.

" _Things look a whole lot different when it's not your building getting blown up for a change,"_ Liz commented once the explosions had safely died down.

" _It was fun while it lasted but I'm glad there's no more TNT crates underneath my house,"_ Jeremy agreed. _"Right Fritz?"_ But Fritz didn't immediately respond. _"Uh…Fritz?"_ Jeremy verbally prodded him. _"You alright?"_

" _Guys…"_ Fritz spoke unusually softly, but the enthusiasm in his voice was unmistakable. _"I just got an amazing idea. What if we made a statue of Springtrap, stacked it with TNT crates, and blew the everloving fuck out of it?"_

There was silence from the rest of the ghost kids for a second that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Then…

" _Oh. My. God. Fritz…that is the BEST IDEA EVER!"_ Gabe exclaimed in delight. _"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're a fucking GENIUS!"_

" _Every time we saw him, we couldn't ever really do anything to stop him,"_ Cassidy remarked, sounding just as excited about the idea as Fritz was. _"I know this isn't the same thing, but I'm loving the idea of exploding that rabbit zombie asshole and wrecking him harder than you guys wrecked our houses!"_

" _Count me in,"_ Liz added, determination and resolve echoing in her voice. _"I want to pay him back for attacking me and my brothers from my old family as much as I can!"_

" _And when we're done, we can fill in the crater that's left behind with lava and pretend that that's the pit to Hell that the Purple Guy fell into!"_ Susie finished gleefully. _"I need to find some lava right away!"_

The ghosts' characters started scrambling around and scattering, eagerly trying to get their hands on as many appropriately colored blocks and TNT crates as possible. The only one who didn't move was Charlie, was still laughing lightly at the antics of her younger siblings. Though part of her was admittedly disturbed by the speed at which the other ghosts acted on their revenge (even if it was by proxy), as well as by the scenes of Mike's own brutal vengeance that played in the most distant corners of her mind, Charlie couldn't deny that the ghosts needed some form of closure after Nightmare Springtrap had beaten them so easily.

" _I really need to thank Dad for introducing us to this game,"_ she thought as she left to go collect some lava and play her part. _"There are so many opportunities here. It's amazing to think that games could have advanced so far compared to when I was alive."_ Her brow furrowed and a thoughtful look appeared on her face. _"Maybe I should ask Dad about what he was talking about when he mentioned Mods…"_

/

A/N: There really are a lot of ways I could have written this chapter out, but I chose to write the Minecraft chapter out this way because, as Michael Bay would tell you, you really can't go wrong with explosives and TNT crate pranks.

This chapter was inspired by VanossGaming and friends' TNT crate prank videos on Youtube, specifically the ones where Vanoss and Terroriser rigged a Homer Simpson and many of their friends' houses with explosives. There was also elements of a previous video in which they pranked and blew up Wildcat's house, as a Creeper ended up ruining the prank for them too (albeit in a different way). Creepers are such fuckers, aren't they? Even if they don't kill you directly, they're still ruining your life :P

There will be two chapters coming out in the next two weeks in preparation for Halloween, and THEN I'll tackle FNAF songs. I'll consider it "Jamming with the Schmidts 2" even though it strictly doesn't follow the formula of the first Jamming with the Schmidts, because fuck it, this is my story and I make the rules.

With that out of the way, hope you guys enjoyed!

Oh, and as I mentioned in the beginning, here's my response to Gpinto in full, saved until the very end since I didn't want to clog up the intro before the chapter.

First off, Charlie may have been the one to enable the children to possess the animatronics, but she was NOT responsible for enslaving them or trapping them on Earth to begin with. In the books (and before you say anything, the books have different plots but story elements ARE shared between book and game universes), the children's souls couldn't move on and were trapped in the animatronics even WITHOUT Charlie's intervention. And even after the children springlocked William Afton (with the animatronics destroyed in the process), they either refused to pass on or couldn't (if the original animatronics were made of Remnant). If anything, the Puppet's participation in the FNAF3 minigames presents the exact OPPOSITE conclusion: she was trying to FREE them.

Secondly, I HIGHLY doubt that Charlie is an evil bitch who murdered innocent night guards just for the hell of it. The ONLY evidence that even remotely suggests this is ONE single UCN quote, "The Others are Like Animals But I am Very Aware." However, there is NO evidence whatsoever that this quote is representative of Charlie's thought processes outside of UCN. Unless a quote explicitly refers to a past event (such as Charlie not being afraid of William anymore), there is no evidence to suggest that the UCN quotes are referring to anything outside the state of affairs in UCN.

And this is assuming that the ACTUAL Charlie is down there to begin with. It's entirely possible that the Marionette in the UCN is merely a REPRESENTATION of Charlie created by the Vengeful Spirit, and that this representation has more awareness because the original Charlie was naturally more intelligent. Most of the other animatronics seem to merely be "constructs" created by TOYSHNK to attack the protagonist, either having "tailor-made" personalities to fit their respective animatronic (eg Foxy, Funtime Foxy, the Mediocres when VS is not speaking through them) or not having any voice-lines at all (eg Freddy, Chica). The Puppet may have a higher degree of sentience compared to the other animatronics, but when the Puppet says "she's very aware", all that means is that she's more intelligent than the rest of the UCN cast and knows its true nature. That's it.

Not to mention the fact that if Charlie really was a murderous evil bitch, then why didn't she attack anyone in FNAF1? She was obviously there from what we see in the FNAF2 flashback cutscenes, but if she really did intend to murder innocents then she should have been the first and foremost attacker in FNAF1.

There's also the fact that she still can't tell the difference between William and Mike in FFPS, even though they are in the same building together. People seem to think that she knows what William Afton looks like when he murdered her, but here's the thing...the night she was murdered was dark and stormy, and at the time of her death Charlie was looking into the pizzeria AWAY from William. Which means that it's entirely possible if not likely that she didn't see William's entire face and only a part of his body, like a purple sleeve, which would only have told her that "a guard killed her" and not William Afton specifically. Granted, she could have figured out the specific identity of her killer later (like during the FNAF3 cutscenes showing Springtrap's death), but even then she still couldn't figure out the difference between William and Mike in FPPS (it doesn't help that they both look like rotting corpses by now). Alternatively, she might have distinguished between the two but instead mistakenly believed that Mike is as evil as his father. The fact that the other family member, Elizabeth, is also evil by this point doesn't exactly help his case, especially if Charlie's aware of Mike's role in BV's death.

Lefty has nothing to do with the Puppet's mental state or morality. In canon, the blueprints make it clear that it was made to TRAP the Puppet. And the "risk assessment of 9" means absolutely nothing considering that the whole pizzeria was very likely a trap to begin with.

Am I saying that Charlie is an innocent little angel? No, of course not. She's still killed night guards just like the rest of the missing children. But that just puts her into the same category as the Missing Children in that regard, and is not any more or less guilty or innocent than they are. She certainly isn't the second most evil character in the franchise under any metric.

Also, a brief statement on Henry, there is NO evidence that Henry was involved in Fazbear Entertainment's fucked up business practices. He helped create Fredbear and Friends, the PREDECESSOR to Fazbear Entertainment, but he was never explicitly connected to Fazbear Entertainment outside of FNAF6 (which, again, was a lie and a trap). Henry's presence is never connected to Fazbear Entertainment in the FNAF1 and FNAF2 locations, let alone that he was one of the ones behind covering up the murders of the kids or the night guards or the kids. I will give you that he was irresponsible in leaving Charlie alone to die and the Springlock suits; however, the Fazbear companies stopped using them almost immediately after the first springlock accidents. And the dangerous nature of Fredbear was more than likely William's design, with Henry ignorant of it.

Your argument that Charlie is the second most evil character in the franchise is based entirely on a specific interpretation of a single UCN line, an interpretation that is flawed by its very nature.


	88. Chapter 88 - The Beauty of a Dream

A/N: Glad you guys enjoyed the Minecraft chapter. I'm still accepting requests for FNAF songs and will continue to do so until the Halloween chapter next week. This chapter will not only provide critical setup for said Halloween chapter, but it will take a concept that we have only just recently explored and make it much…happier, peaceful, and all around lighter. Hah, I bet you expected me to say "darker", didn't you? I don't write dark stuff ALL the time :P

Everyone who wants FNAF fan games: I honestly don't know any FNAF fan games outside of "Five Nights at Fuckboy's", so that option is likely off the table simply because I wouldn't be able to write chapters properly for them. Sorry.

WriterRA01: I…actually didn't know that explosives don't trigger Redstone. Shit. Though with that being said, since the fic is currently taking place around 2025, it's entirely possible that in _that_ universe, Minecraft has been updated to allow explosives to automatically trigger Redstone. And they were in creative mode, there's NO way they would have been able to build all the houses with only a week's worth of experience in Survival Mode (and heck, the only reason they would even be able to make those houses in a week AT ALL is because they literally had nothing else to do).

TARDISFan: Fritz might be somewhat creeped out by Mangle but otherwise either be indifferent to it or think it's kind of cool-looking.

Ghostlyassassin Jesse: At this point, the only way that Mike could get genuinely enraged at the kids is if they did something like start murdering innocents again just for the hell of it. Which would (a) defeat the entire point of this fic to begin with and (b) essentially has a 0% chance of happening.

Chapter 88 – The Beauty of a Dream

Charlie counted down as the rest of the ghost kids eagerly watched. _"And 3…2…1…"_

 **BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

The ghosts cheered as they watched the effigy of Springtrap that they had created explode into a million broken pieces, leaving a massive crater where it had once stood. They had spent most of the day on this statue, giving it just enough detail to vaguely resemble the decaying rabbit animatronic without putting in the effort to actually care about the specifics of murderer's appearance. Once the explosions had ceased, Susie and Liz quickly got to work filling in the crater with lava, creating a symbol of William Afton's defeat and damnation.

" _I wish our characters could piss in the crater,"_ Fritz commented ruefully as he stared at the lava pit.

" _I wish we could have added five Withers like Gabe wanted to earlier,"_ Liz added, shuddering at the unpleasant memories. This was actually second time that they had blown up the Springtrap effigy, the first time being when they had tried to summon a Wither to unleash havoc on the statue as well. Unfortunately, the rampaging Wither had rapidly spiraled out of control, attacking both the ghost children's characters and the entire surrounding landscape, even going so far as to target their houses. Without either the strategy or the items to even consistently damage it, let alone take it down, the Wither effortlessly fucked up the entire server before Charlie finally got fed up and reset the server.

Needless to say, none of them were keen on summoning a Wither again.

" _I think this is a good place to stop for the day,"_ Charlie decided. _"As entertaining as it is to blow up William Afton over and over again, I am not going to let anything representing him disgrace our server."_

" _Yeah, me neither,"_ Jeremy muttered. _"Let's just enjoy the lava pit we created for him and leave it at that."_

Susie yawned. _"I'm so tired…"_ she murmured sleepily. _"How long have we even been up?"_

Gabe looked at his laptop's clock. _"Oh, geez, it's already 11 PM? Man, we've really spent a hell of a long time on this game today."_ He shut down his computer. _"I'm going to bed now. Night, everyone."_

" _Night!"_ his siblings chorused. As Gabe left, the ghosts shut down their laptops and made their way to their rooms, ready to call it a night. Cassidy was the last to leave, and as she made her way to her and Susie's bedroom, she heard a groan of annoyance from Mike's room. The former Golden Freddy inhabitant approached her father's bedroom, filled with concern at what could be bothering him.

" _Dad?"_ Cassidy asked as she peered into the room.

"Oh, hey Cass…" Mike answered her with a somewhat irritated tone. "I've just been trying to go to sleep for the past couple of minutes and I just am NOT falling asleep no matter how hard I try," he laid back on his bed, covered his face with his hands, and groaned. "Ughhhhh…there's a certain state of mind where you're too lazy to work, bored as hell and yet can't fall asleep, and let me tell you, Cass, that state of mind is a special kind of SUCK."

"… _I'll take your word for it,"_ Cassidy answered with a frown.

"You know what?" Mike suddenly sat up on his bed. "Let's try this. I know that you have some magic power, Cass, even if you haven't worked on it as much as Charlie. Put your hand on my forehead and try to magically make me fall asleep."

Cassidy stared at him. _"Are…are you sure, dad?"_ she asked with some hesitation. _"Wouldn't Charlie be better for this? And what if I accidentally hurt you?"_

Mike chuckled dryly. "Cass, I was able to handle a demonically empowered William Afton invading my head and beat the everloving shit out of him. I'm pretty sure I can handle a little magic from you. Besides, at this point I'm too irritated to give a shit about the risks. Just put your hand on my head, focus your energy on it, and lull me to sleep." He smiled encouragingly at her. "I'm sure you can do it!"

" _O…okay!"_ Cassidy agreed. The black-haired ghost girl approached her father and raised a tiny spectral hand towards his forehead. _"Just close your eyes, dad. I don't know how well this is gonna work."_

Mike did as she instructed. "If I feel like things start going to shit, we stop and get Charlie to help out instead. Sounds good?" he asked.

" _Yep!"_ Cassidy confirmed.

"Okay…go for it." Cassidy closed her own eyes and focused her power into the ghostly hand that was trying to touch Mike's forehead. She willed her dad to fall asleep, to close his eyes and relax. "Ehhh…" Mike muttered, "I felt that a little but not as much as I'd like. Try again, a little harder."

" _All right!"_ Cassidy acknowledged as she repeated her movement, this time putting more force and will into her desire to lull Mike into sleep. _"Sleep, dad, sleep…"_

To her delight, she heard her dad yawn. "Good…job…" Mike murmured sleepily. "Keep…going…"

" _Sleep!"_ Cassidy commanded, pushing one more time. Suddenly, Cassidy felt herself falling forward, straight towards Mike's body. _"Wait, what?"_ she gasped. She didn't even have time to open her eyes before she suddenly felt herself passing through an invisible barrier of some kind that she couldn't quite comprehend and found herself falling, falling through an expanse of nothingness. _"What's going on?"_ she exclaimed as she finally opened her eyes, panic filling her. She had never experienced anything like this before, and had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly, the void flashed a brilliant white light, causing her to close her eyes again and cover them with her arm. When the light faded, Cassidy found herself standing in the living room of a house that she had never seen before. It was a far smaller and simpler room than the one in Mike's mansion, and yet there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that soothed the panic she had initially felt when everything had suddenly gone wrong.

"A little different than what you're normally used to, isn't it?" a familiar and very welcome voice asked.

Cassidy turned around to see Mike standing in the doorframe, whatever lingering fears she had quickly evaporating at her father's presence. Mike smiled faintly as he looked around the room. "This was Oskar's old home," he explained wistfully. "This was the first place where my life wasn't a complete and utter piece of shit after my mom died. I try to remember what it looked like as best as I can, but there's only so much you can remember after 30 something years." He shook his head and looked down at Cassidy. "I didn't expect you to end up in my mind, Cass, though I tried to calm things down as soon as I realized you were around."

The former Golden Freddy inhabitant shuffled about guiltily. _"Sorry, dad…"_ she mumbled. _"I didn't think this was going to happen."_

Mike brushed her apology off. "Nah, if it's anybody's fault, it's mine since I was the one who insisted that we go through with this shit to begin with." His face took on a thoughtful expression. "You know, now that I think about it…you ending up here actually reminds me a lot like how William Afton invaded my mind." Seeing the horrified look on Cassidy's face, he quickly added. "Though unlike with that fucker, it's not at all invasive, hostile, or anything even remotely bad this time around."

He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the guilty feelings fade. _"Dad…is this…your dream world?"_ Cassidy asked, the gears slowly turning in her head. _"Did I somehow enter your mind?"_

"You know…I think you have," Mike answered. A look of realization and happiness appeared on their faces as they realized the implications. "I think you can actually give me a hug now, Cass." He held out his arms. "Want it to give it a try?"

Cassidy didn't need to be asked twice. With a yell of delight, she rushed towards her father, who scooped her up in his arms and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Ever since they had first met Mike, she and all her siblings had wanted nothing more than to hug their father like any child would hug their parents, a wish that had always been denied to them because of the boundaries that separated the physical body from the spirit. But now that she was in the world of Mike's dreams, those boundaries no longer mattered. For the first time, Cassidy had access to Mike's mind and soul.

For the first time, that long-desired dream could finally become a reality.

Cassidy let tears of joy flow freely from her eyes as Mike kissed her gently on the forehead and held her up into the air, the two of them laughing together like any other father and daughter playing together. _"This is AWESOME!"_ the girl cheered as she wrapped her tiny arms around her father's neck. _"I can finally hug you for real!"_

Mike grinned at her, before a sudden thought occurred to him. His smile faded just a tiny bit as he lowered Cassidy backed down onto the ground. "You know…" he said slowly, "it isn't fair for just the two of us to enjoy this. Now that we know this is even possible, it just wouldn't be right to leave everyone else behind."

"… _you're right, dad,"_ Cassidy agreed. A small, selfish part of her wanted to have this moment with her father all to herself, but she forced it back down and crushed it. She knew she'd feel hurt and even betrayed if another one of her siblings had discovered the opportunity she now had and hogged it to herself. Besides, she had gotten the _first_ true hug from her father out of all of them. And that was enough for her. _"How do I get out of here so I can tell the others?"_

Mike thought for a moment. "When that fucker Afton tried to escape after I beat his ass down into the ground, he simply tried to float up and out. Obviously I wasn't going to let him get away, but it seems to be surprisingly simple. Still, considering how you came in here by accident, it would probably be a good idea to help you out." He raised a hand towards the sky, and a portal tinged with green energy suddenly swirled into existence. Cassidy could see her dad's bedroom in the real world beyond it. "Hopefully by making this portal it'll send you right back outside. If it doesn't, I'll bring you back here and we can think of something else. If you do get out, get the others and have Charlie bring you back in this time. She's better at controlling her magic than you are and would have a much better chance of bringing you all in here, especially since I'll be helping her out this time around."

" _All right, dad!"_ Cassidy gave her father one last quick hug and started floating up towards the portal. She let out one last giggle. _"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when I tell them all about this!"_

Mike smirked back at her. "It'll blow their minds, that's for sure!"

Cassidy laughed and flew into the portal. To her immense relief, she felt herself pass through that same indescribable barrier she went through the first time, and after a flash of white, she found herself flying out of Mike's head and back into the real world. Wasting no time, Cassidy immediately rushed over to Susie's room and started shaking her frantically. _"Susie!"_ she positively shouted. _"Susie, wake up!"_

" _Hnrrrrrrggggghhhhh…"_ her sister groaned sleepily.

" _Susie!"_

" _Go…to…sleep…Cass…"_ the former Chica inhabitant muttered groggily.

" _SUSIE!"_ Cassidy insisted.

" _Ugh…what?"_ Susie grumbled with more than a bit of irritation.

" _The most amazing thing happened!"_ Cassidy exclaimed. Her sister gave her a skeptical look, but as Cassidy explained what had happened in the past few minutes Susie's fatigue made a very fast exist. By the time Cassidy finished, Susie's eyes were positively glowing with excitement and she was practically bouncing up and down in the air.

" _OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!"_ she babbled. _"I WANNA GO HUG DAD! I WANNA GO RIGHT NOW!"_

Cassidy giggled at her sister's enthusiasm. _"I know, Sus, but we have to get everyone else first,"_ she pointed out. _"Otherwise they'd hate us for leaving them out, and I can't really blame them."_

Susie sighed. _"Yeah, you're right. Let's go get everyone else as quickly as possible!"_ With excited shouts, the two girls spread throughout their brothers and sisters' bedrooms, waking them and spreading the news about Cassidy's unexpected discovery. Some of their siblings had already fallen asleep and were less than pleased with being forcibly awakened, while others had only just gotten settled in for the night. But regardless of how they might have been feeling, all of them quickly shared in the joy and excitement of finally being able to interact with their father on an equal plane, and it wasn't long before they were gathered around Mike's bed and his sleeping form.

" _Are you sure about this?"_ Gabe asked, skepticism creeping back into his voice. _"He looks so peaceful. I feel like we'd be bothering him."_

Cassidy shook her head. _"He's waiting for us, Gabe!"_ she protested.

" _Then let's not keep him waiting any longer,"_ Charlie declared. _"Everyone, I'll send you guys into Mike's mental world one at a time, and then I'll come follow you in from behind. Get in line, and close your eyes as I send you in."_

The ghosts did as they were instructed, with Jeremy being the first in line. Charlie closed her eyes and focused her power on sending Jeremy into the dream world. To her surprise, Jeremy disappeared into Mike's body almost instantly, and she not only felt no resistance, but felt an unknown force actively helping her achieve what she wanted. Realizing that Mike was indeed helping them access his dream world from within, Charlie sent the rest of the ghost kids into Mike's mind in quick succession. After she sent the last of her siblings in, Charlie closed her eyes and focused on entering Mike's dreams herself, and felt herself pass into the world of her father's mind just as Cassidy had just a few minutes before.

Even before she opened her eyes, she could hear the excited gasps and shouts of the children, and instinctively understood that their passage into Mike's mind had been a complete success.

"Took you guys long enough!" Mike addressed them with the dry and amused tone that the ghosts had long come to associate with their father. "Come and give me an ACTUAL hug for a change!"

The screams and cheers of the children were positively deafening as they rushed towards their father, wanting more than anything to finally feel their father's warm embrace, and the gentle love of any parent, for the first time in decades. It was a good thing that Mike was prepared for this and had made a comfy sofa behind him, because he was so overwhelmed that he immediately fell over backward due to being hit by the combined force of so many eager children. The ghosts scrambled over each other trying to hug their father first, or at the very least trying to find a good spot on the couch to snuggle next to him once they had gotten their turn. Out of all the ghosts, only Charlie and Cassidy refrained themselves, the former since she wanted her younger siblings to get their chance first, and Cassidy because she had already gotten her turn.

Once Cassidy had gotten her (technically second) hug, Charlie finally approached the sofa, moving more slowly and reservedly than her siblings. With a hopeful smile on her face and tears of joy brimming in her eyes, she leaned forward and hugged her father, burying her head into his chest. _"This is real…"_ she murmured. _"I can't believe it. This is actually real."_

"This is my dream world, Charlie," Mike answered gently. "Here, our dreams can come true." The two separated slowly and Charlie sat down on her father's right side, the other ghosts making room for her. "Now then!" he declared, his mouth stretching into a mischievous grin. "For the next few hours, I can basically make reality my bitch."

Gabe's eyes widened. _"Oh my God, that's right!"_ he exclaimed. _"This is DAD'S dream world! And he can do anything here!"_

" _There's so many things we can do here!"_ Jeremy added. _"I can't even think about what I want to do!"_

"And that is the big question of the night, Jeremy. What DO you guys want to do?" The ghosts opened their mouths to barrage him with answers, prompting Mike to immediately add, "talk to it, come to a group decision, come back to me."

For the next few minutes, the ghost kids vigorously debated on what they wanted Mike to do for them. Some, like Fritz, wanted Mike to go all-out with his imagination, with similarly extreme suggestions like recreating an entire city for them to explore or even recreating a D&D campaign with them playing as actual characters. Other cooler heads, like Gabe, quickly reminded everyone that Mike was doing this for their benefit, and that he could very easily exhaust himself from the strain of holding seven ghosts in his head and bending the mental world to his will in such an extreme way. In the end, Susie of all people was the one to come up with a solution that everyone could agree with, an experience that would be very fun for all of them that they wouldn't be able to ever enjoy in the real world due to their ghostly natures.

Liz was the one who presented the idea to Mike. _"We want you to make us a water park!"_ she declared. _"We saw Alex and Meghan talk about going to a water park during the summer, and it sounded really fun!"_

" _We can't swim in water because we're ghosts, but we can now that we're in your mind!"_ Susie added.

" _This won't be too hard for you, dad, will it?"_ Charlie asked worriedly.

Mike smirked and shook his head. "Nah, if I can make an entire army of shadowy monsters and warriors from my own inner darkness and single-handedly massacre an army of thousands of demons from the depths of Hell itself, making a water park for you guys will be easy shit in comparison," he replied nonchalantly.

" _That's good,"_ Gabe replied, sounding relieved. Then, Mike's words clicked in his head. _"Wait, wha…?_

"WATER PARK TIME!" Mike interruptedly loudly. "I've only been to water parks a few times in my life, but I think I've got plenty of imagination to fill in the missing bits." He clapped his hands together. "Let's have some fun, kiddos!"

The ghosts looked on excitedly as Mike closed his eyes and concentrated. There was a blinding flash of light that caused everyone to cover their eyes, and when the light faded they were standing at the gates of a water park. Past the front gate, the ghosts could see the silhouettes of water slides recreated from the depths of Mike's memory, many of which emptied into large pools. Some of the slides were steep, straight drops, while others twisted and winded around. The ghost children might not have remembered much of their childhoods before their violent deaths, but they all knew one thing.

These were by far slides that were much cooler than anything they'd ever seen while they were alive.

"Now, before you guys all go crazy, I have to tell you that we're going to tackle one slide at a time," Mike instructed, his eyes and tone making it perfectly clear that he was not joking around. "This might look like I'm basically making this water park with a snap of my fingers, but the truth is that I'm only really thinking about the basic shape of the rides. To make sure these water slides are both safe and as realistic of an experience as possible, I can only focus on one slide at a time. Which means that we all go on one slide at a time as a group. Do you guys understand? Do NOT go off to do your own thing, because if I'm NOT focusing on a slide then it might not even manifest properly. Do I make myself clear?"

" _Clear!"_ the ghost kids all responded as one. Even Fritz, the chaotic troublemaker of the group, knew better than to go against his dad's orders when they were serious. Satisfied with their response, Mike guided the kids over to the first water park ride, which seemed to solidify into focus the closer they approached. It was a tall wooden structure with stairs leading up to it. At the top of the structure there was a wide wooden platform, out of which seven slides snaked down to the bottom in a wave-like formation, each a different color of the rainbow but otherwise all identical. Even from further away, the kids could see the water rapidly rushing down the length of the slides.

"I thought we'd start with a little race," Mike smirked. "Have each of you go down a slide at the same time and see who wins. Oh, and before I forget," he snapped his fingers, and suddenly each of the kids was in a bathing suit of some kind that had a similar design and fashion to the clothes they had worn coming in. "Now go have fun, kids!"

" _Thanks, dad!"_ the children all exclaimed, before rushing towards the entrance at the bottom of the water slide and quickly climbing up the stairs leading to the top. Each one sat down on a slide of their fancy, eyeing each other competitively. If they had still been alive, Mike would have needed to demonstrate the necessary safety posture to avoid harm. But this was the imagination, and the only thing the kids needed to be safe was Mike's will to make the slide safe.

Mike lifted three fingers into the air, and even from a far distance the kids could somehow clearly him as though he were right next to them. "On your marks! Three! Two! One! GO!" At this last word, the kids raced down the slide, whooping and cheering in delight as they felt gravity and the rush of the water on their back push them down towards the ground.

" _WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_ Susie screamed happily.

" _THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!"_ Cassidy cheered.

" _WE'RE GOING SO FAST!"_ Fritz hollered.

Whether it was because the natural rules of gravity still applied even in Mike's dream world or just an odd coincidence, Charlie was the first to reach the bottom, making a huge splash as her slide leveled out even as the others followed a few seconds behind her, each making their own smaller splashes due to their smaller size. _"THAT'S what water slides are like?"_ Jeremy asked incredulously once he got out of the slide. _"That was so COOL! Outside of roller coasters this has to be like the best thing ever!"_

" _The water is so realistic!"_ Charlie marveled as she dipped her hand into the slide's water. _"I don't know remember what water really feels like after so long, but this feels like the real thing!"_

" _What's next, dad?"_ Liz was practically hopping down in excitement. _"Can we go on something with a tube like Alex and Meghan did?"_

" _Oh yeah, those tube rides looked really fun!"_ Fritz piped in. _"I think the slides are bigger too!"_

Mike grinned. "That is an excellent idea!" he agreed. "In fact, the tube rides at water parks are easily my most favorite parts of the whole thing. Let's start out with something simple and then we can take things up a notch from there!"

The kids cheered as Mike led them away from the race-like water slides, which faded back into obscurity as they left them behind. Another ride solidified into focus in front of them, this time with slides starting from more than one floor. Unlike the relatively straightforward nature of the slides that they had just enjoyed, these ones twisted around in less predictable patterns, including spirals and other crooked shapes as they descended down into a giant pool at the very bottom. Some of the slides were only partially covered, alternating between exposed to the open air, while others were covered completely from beginning to end. And as Fritz had predicted, every single one of them was larger and thicker than the slides they had just previously gone on.

The kids could see a few tubes laying around next to the pool, inflated and ready for use. "A lot of the time people go up on these tube slides in pairs," Mike explained, "but you can ride single tubes if you want. Either way, it'll be perfectly fine, since we've already established reality can go fuck itself."

Fritz looked over at Liz. _"Wanna go down that really crazy looking slide that's completely covered?"_ he asked eagerly.

Liz grinned. _"Sure thing. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like going down a completely dark slide?"_

Susie shuddered as she picked up a tube. _"Going in the dark might be cool and all, but I want to see what Dad's park looks like while I'm going down the slide."_

" _I'm with you, Sus!"_ Cassidy agreed.

Gabe, Jeremy, and Charlie each picked their own tubes. _"We can handle the slides by ourselves!"_ Gabe declared proudly.

"You do you, man," Mike replied nonchalantly. With their inflated riding tubes in their hands, the kids climbed the stairs leading up the platform to the slides of their choice. The experience felt almost a bit _too_ authentic, as the tubes felt almost as exactly as heavy as they would have been in the real world, and more than once the kids struggled to pull them. Once they were at the top, they were surprised to find that Mike was already waiting there.

" _What the hell?"_ Jeremy spluttered. _"How did you get up here before us?"_

"Uh…the world of my mind? I can do whatever I want? Hello?" Mike answered in amusement, causing the former Bonnie inhabitant to facepalm. "I realized I forgot to tell you how to actually get on the tubes, so let me show you real quick." Using Liz and Fritz as an example, Mike showed them how to position themselves properly on a double tube and then showed them how to get on a single tube using Charlie. "Normally, you'd have to wait until someone was done riding down to the bottom before being able to go next for safety reasons, but what's the motto here?"

" _Fuck reality!"_ the ghosts chorused, earning a grin from Mike.

"Yep!" he replied cheerfully. "Fuck reality indeed." As if to prove his point, he snapped his fingers and vanished, reappearing at the edge of the large pool several feet below them. The ghosts looked at each other uncertainly, shrugged, and positioned themselves at the slide of their choice.

The rides on the tube slides turned out to be even crazier than the water slides they had slid down before, causing them all to scream in delight. The children who had chosen the fully covered slides were treated to a thrilling ride in absolute darkness in which the unpredictable twists and turns took them completely by surprise and left them guessing what direction they were going to go next. Those who had opted for a more open slide were treated to occasional glimpses of the world that Mike had created, able to see the rest of the park for a brief moment before they were plunged back into momentary darkness. Regardless of the type of slide, however, all the children felt the rushing water propel them downward, and all of them were treated to a thrill that reminded them so very fondly of the roller coaster they had anchored themselves to back in Las Vegas. Only now, they could feel the joy of riding the water slide in its entirety, without the barriers of physical and spiritual blurring the experience.

" _HELL YEAH!"_ Gabe cheered as his tube zoomed into the pool with a huge splash. _"This is so fun!"_

" _I'm coming in hot!"_ Jeremy shouted as he charged out of the black mouth of his chosen slide a few seconds after Gabe.

" _WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ Liz and Fritz both shouted, laughing together as their tube sped out of the slide and into the pool.

Mike watched contentedly as the rest of his kids slide into the pool one tube at a time. He still remembered how much he had at the first water park he had gone to, when his friends had invited him over during one of the less busy weekends at college. He was glad he could share tha moment with his kids in some form, since they would never be able to fully experience it in real life.

The kids climbed out of the pool drenched in water, still giggling and laughing as they tossed the tubes aside. _"What's next, dad?"_ Cassidy asked eagerly.

Mike smiled. "Believe it or not, not everything cool about water parks is about crazy slides. There's other things you can do when you want to take things easy for a change. Let me show you…" Mike led them away from the slides, which too faded away into an obscure shadow, and for the next few minutes he showed the kids the calmer and more relaxed aspects of a water park. The ghosts greatly enjoyed riding the chaotic waves of the wave pool, the fact that they had long since forgotten how to swim since their deaths easily negated by Mike's will (and the life jackets he created for them). And while they were initially skeptical of the "lazy river", which seemed positively boring compared to the excitement of the slides they had just ridden, the ghosts soon quickly realized just how relaxing a calm ride around a large circle could actually be, and many of them ended up outright snoozing as they began riding around in their tubes.

Mike smirked as he looked at the sleeping ghosts. Lazy rivers often had small fountains and even miniature waterfalls pouring down on them from above to keep things interesting…but they didn't know that. He snapped his fingers, and seconds later he heard the shrieks of indignant ghosts as their slumber was rudely broken by sudden blasts of water splashing on them from above.

" _Gah!"_ Fritz yelped. _"The hell?"_

" _Eeeek!"_ Susie shrieked as a waterfall fell flat on her face and the shock nearly knocked her off her tube.

" _Screw you, dad!"_ Cassidy called out, sulking that her nap was ruined. They could hear Mike laughing at them in the distance, which only caused them to roll their eyes in irritation. Still, the kids enjoyed the rest of their ride throughout the lazy river, though they kept a careful eye on the fountains that were now spouting out water to make sure they didn't get any more unpleasant surprises.

Once they had left the river, Mike guided them over to other water slides that he conjured from his mind, most of them falling under the category of body or tube slides similar to the first two rides. The kids eagerly rode on all the slides that they could, and without the long wait lines that so often plagued amusement parks in real life, they had more than enough time to ride down every water slide that they possibly could. After an amount of time that simultaneously seemed to go on forever and yet also pass by in a blink of an eye, they had gone through almost every variety of water ride that Mike could think of.

"Yeah, there's only so many ways you can play around with the idea of a giant water slide leading down into a large pool," Mike commented dryly once they had climbed out of the pool of their latest ride, a tube slide with a basin in the middle that stimulated the feeling of being sucked down a whirlpool. "Kinda running out of ideas here."

" _It's okay, dad!"_ Liz assured him. _"We've had so much fun here!"_

" _Yeah!"_ Gabe agreed. _"Now I know why Alex and Meghan loved going to that water park so much!"_

" _I think now would be a good time to wrap things up,"_ Charlie advised. _"It seems like Dad is pretty close to finishing this water park anyway, and we don't want to tire him out especially after what happened a week ago."_

"I'm not getting tired exactly, but I should probably get some actual sleep soon," Mike agreed. "With that being said, I have one last water ride that you definitely haven't seen before, and I think you're going to enjoy it."

" _Lead the way, dad!"_ Liz insisted, with the other kids making various noises of agreement. Mike grinned and guided them over to one last water slide. Unlike the others, this one was accompanied by a humongous funnel decorated with yellow and blue stripes that dwarfed even the platform leading up to the start of the ride. The kids could hear the sound of water rushing rapidly inside the funnel, far faster and louder than the water coursing through the other slides they had ridden up until this point.

"No water slide can ever really beat a roller coaster in terms of pure thrills," Mike explained, "and I'm not sure I can even make a roller coaster in my mind since there's a lot more to think about than what's basically a glorified slide. You're probably better off just anchoring yourself to a roller coaster in all honesty. But I think this last slide will come pretty close."

Jeremy shrugged. _"Who cares? It looks fun, so I'm down!"_

Charlie being, more observant, noticed that the tubes at the edge of the pool were also MUCH larger than what they were normally used to. _"Oh my God, these are huge!"_ she exclaimed. _"You could fit like four people in those!"_

"That's because you're SUPPOSED to fit three-four people in those," Mike chuckled. "You're in for a wild ride, kids, and single and double tubes just aren't going to cut it here. Split up in half, take a tube, and go see yourself what you're about to get into."

The ghosts were only too happy to comply, and they shared the burden of the bulky tube amongst themselves. To make things a bit easier, the older kids split up between the two groups, with Charlie helping out Cassidy and Fritz, while Gabe and Jeremy went along with Liz and Susie. As they climbed up the staircase leading to the start of the slide, they were able to see the full view of the funnel from inside…and bore witness to the full fury of the rushing rapids within.

" _Holy crap!"_ Fritz gaped. _"Look at all that water!"_

" _It's like those rapids we saw back at the Grand Canyon!"_ Liz agreed, eyes wide. _"Only inside of a water ride!"_

" _Damn, this looks insane!"_ Gabe whistled. _"Let's get going, quick!"_ They quickly climbed to the top, carrying the large tubes between them. When they got there, Mike was already there waiting for them.

"This is a bit of an extreme ride by water park standards, so I'm going to make sure you guys only go in one at a time _just_ to minimize what little safety concerns existed to begin with," he explained. "Plus, since I can see everything from this angle too, I can watch you guys from up here just fine. So who's first?"

" _US!"_ Cassidy and Fritz shouted before anyone else could.

" _Awww…"_ the others groaned.

"Welp, they called it," Mike declared. "Put your tube down and hop in." Charlie, Fritz, and Cassidy all sat down in the tube, stretching their legs out and leaning back while grabbing the handlebars. Once they were all settled, Mike pushed the tube through the opening of the slide, where was water pouring down from the top. The kids all shrieked in delight as their riding tube sped downward and the slide spat them out into the funnel, where the rampaging rapids pushed the tube up the walls of the funnel, only to fall back down and go flying in the other direction.

" _WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_ Cassidy and Fritz screamed as they were propelled up the sides of the funnel again and again. _"THIS IS AWESOME!"_

" _Hang on!"_ Charlie yelled as the tube finally approached the end of the funnel, slipping past another waterfall that drenched them all as the tube landed in the pool with a tremendous splash.

" _Best water slide ever!"_ Cassidy cheered as she stumbled out of the tube. _"Does something like this actually exist in real life?"_

" _Dad said that all of the water slides he made were based on things he actually went on, so yeah!"_ Fritz pointed out.

" _Man, now I wish we could go see an actual water park,"_ Cassidy remarked a bit sadly. _"Too bad we can't ever really enjoy them because we're ghosts."_

Not wanting her sister to dwell on gloomy thoughts, Charlie fortunately had the perfect distraction at hand. _"We should get out of the pool, the others will be coming down soon."_

" _Oh, right!"_ Cassidy, Fritz, and Charlie quickly scrambled out of the pool. A few seconds later, the other four siblings zoomed through the mouth of the funnel and into the pool, laughing and giggling just like they had been seconds earlier.

" _I don't know how I'm having almost as much fun on a water slide as I had on a roller coaster,"_ Susie gleefully commented as he waded out of the pool. _"I think this was the most fun I've had outside of our vacations!"_

" _The water is so realistic!"_ Jeremy marveled. _"How is Dad able to make all of this feel so real?"_

" _Maybe he remembers what it's like and was able to recreate that here?"_ Gabe asked.

" _Has to be,"_ Liz remarked. _"Some of this stuff can't be all that hard to imagine, because otherwise if Dad had to think hard about every little detail, he'd either screw something up or his head would probably explode!"_

"It's actually not that hard, surprisingly," Mike interjected, having overheard their conversation after teleporting back down to the edge of the pool. "As long as I'm only focusing on one thing at a time. That's why I made you all stay at one water slide, so that I wouldn't have to split my concentration and therefore not have everything turn into a giant mess. And with that being said, did you guys enjoy my little water park recreation?"

" _YEAH!"_ the ghosts all cheered. Mike grinned and snapped his fingers, vanishing the water park and returning them back to the living room of Oskar's home. The children rushed their father to give him another giant hug, who was ready for them this time and sat down on the sofa in advance to stop himself from being barreled over a second time.

" _You're the best, dad!"_ Liz gratefully complimented him once they were all settled on the couch and cuddling up to him like teddy bears.

Mike smiled. "Thanks, Liz. I'm glad I was able to make all this work out so well."

" _Can we do this again soon?"_ Fritz asked, and many of the others looked just as eager. _"Please?"_

To their surprise and disappointment, Mike shook his head. "Not often, Fritz. Maybe once a month or twice a month at most, but that's it. This is a dream world, a fantasy. Like it or not, this isn't reality. It isn't a good idea for us to get lost in our dreams while forgetting all the things that we have to deal with in the real world, good or bad. Not only that, but we don't know just how dangerous having multiple ghosts stuck in my head can be for my health, or at the very least how quickly it might tire me out. We can do something like this once in a while, but no more than that."

" _Aww…"_ the ghosts groaned in disappointment.

Charlie spoke up to Mike's defense. _"Dad's right, guys,"_ she commented. _"Maybe most of our existences were nothing but a nightmare, but ever since he adopted us we've seen a lot more good things in the world than we'd ever expected to see back in that Fazbear hellhole."_

"… _I guess you're right,"_ Cassidy reluctantly admitted. _"And I don't want Dad get to somehow get hurt from doing this."_

One by one, the ghosts expressed their agreement, some more willingly than others. Mike smiled gratefully at them for their understanding, and then his lips suddenly stretched into a grin. "With that being said…" he interrupted them, causing them to look up at him hopefully. "Halloween is coming up next week. And I have an idea of what I want to do that night."

" _Trick or treating with the Marshalls again?"_ Susie asked hopefully.

"Well, yes, but I want to do something a little different," Mike explained with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I want you guys to come back into my mental world on Halloween, and this time I'm going to try to scare _you._ "

" _How are you going to do that?"_ Liz asked. _"Are you going to recreate the Five Nights at Freddy's games in your mind?"_

"Pfft…no!" Mike snorted contemptuously. "I'm going to recreate a different game…one that me and my friends absolutely adore and still play all the time to this day. It will also serve as a little test for your courage. I obviously won't force you to relive your horrible deaths or anything nearly as obscene as that, but there will be references to murder. How far have you risen above the fears and nightmares of your past? I learned a long time ago that the best ways to defeat your fears is to face them head-on."

The ghosts looked at each other uncertainly, and then looked up at their father with resolve in their eyes. "It'll take more than a little murder to scare us!" he proclaimed defiantly. "You won't scare us that easily, dad!"

Mike nodded approvingly. "Good," he answered. "And now it's time for you guys to go." He lifted up his hand to the sky, and a portal similar to the one that Cassidy had seen earlier appeared. "Fly up to that portal and you should find yourselves back in the real world. Good night, everyone."

" _Good night, dad!"_ his children chorused. As one, they flew up through the portal and back into the real world. Mike felt the children's presences fade from his mind, and a quick message from Charlie confirmed that they had all made it back into the real world without any problems. Mike smiled, glad that they were safe…and then promptly raised his hand again.

Only this time, for a **very** different purpose.

Chanting in an unholy tongue that had long since been forgotten on Earth, Mike spoke the words of a spell to open up a fiery portal very similar to the one that Nightmare Fredbear and Charlie had used to spy on the man's battle with William Afton. The flaming portal distorted itself into existence, a vortex ringed with faint flames. On the other side was a mighty black throne…and a very familiar figure slouched atop it, staring at him with burning scarlet eyes.

"Good evening, Nightmare," Mike greeted the demon lord coolly.

" **SCHMIDT…"** Nightmare growled, though his tone carried surprise more than any genuine anger or even annoyance. **"I MUST CONFESS, I AM QUITE SURPRISED THAT YOU ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY. AND OUTSIDE OF AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, NO LESS."**

"If you're busy with something at the moment, then I apologize," Mike replied, his tone conveying respect but not a trace of fear.

Nightmare chuckled in sinister amusement. **"YOUR TIMING IS FORTUNATE, AS IT TURNS OUT. WE HAVE JUST FINISHED TESTING OUR LATEST TORMENT ON WILLIAM AFTON. NIGHTMARIONNE WAS QUITE IMPRESSED BY YOUR FLAYING TECHNIQUE, SCHMIDT, AND HE FELT THE NEED TO PROGRESS ONE STEP FURTHER. HE HAS FLAYED THOUSANDS OF DAMNED SOULS WITH HIS FINGERS THROUGHOUT HIS CENTURIES OF EXISTENCE…BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME HE HAS EVER FORCED A SHADE TO DEVOUR HIS OWN FLAYED ETHEREAL FLESH AFTERWARD."** Mike was suddenly very grateful that he had already sent the kids out of his mind. **"THE SPECTACLE HAS PUT ME IN ENOUGH OF A GOOD MOOD THAT I FEEL GENEROUS ENOUGH TO SPARE YOU A FEW MINUTES OF MY TIME."**

"Yes, well…here's the thing," Mike explained. "A few moments ago, I invited my kids into my mind to try and let them enjoy themselves in the world of my dreams. I plan on doing the same next week on Halloween…only this time, I'm going to try and scare them instead. Nothing that would actually traumatize or genuinely terrify them, but I'm thinking I might be using my dark aspect. Maybe even…my demonic one."

Nightmare suddenly sat up straighter on his throne. **"NOW THIS** _ **IS**_ **A SURPRISE…"** he hissed. **"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HIDE THOSE ASPECTS FROM YOUR CHILDREN. WHY THE SUDDEN CHANGE OF HEART?"**

"I promised myself I'd keep as few secrets from them," Mike explained. "And I don't want them to discover my darker side in the worst possible way, like Charlie did. I'm going to reveal my darker and maybe even my demonic aspect to them in a way that will clearly show them what they are without utterly horrifying them. In fact, I think that what I have planned will even be fun for them while still being scary enough for Halloween without going too far."

" **YOU HAD MY IMMEDIATE AND UNDIVIDED ATTENTION THE MOMENT YOU MENTIONED YOUR DEMONIC ASPECT,"** Nightmare answered. **"BUT I FAIL TO SEE WHY YOU REQUIRE MY HELP FOR THIS."**

"It's actually a rather…unique request," Mike explained. "I need a way to temporarily access things from my short-term memory. Things that I would see on a computer screen and then promptly forget only minutes later. I have no idea how to go about this, and as a demon lord who is an expert in the mind I figured you would be my best source of help for what I'm looking for."

" **I CAN INDEED OFFER YOU SOME AID IN THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION,"** Nightmare replied, **"THOUGH YOUR FRAIL MORTAL MIND WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO HANDLE A FEW BITS AT A TIME, AND ONLY FOR A SHORT WHILE."**

"A few bits at a time is all I need," Mike replied.

" **HOWEVER, YOU HAVE STILL NOT TOLD ME WHY YOU NEED MY ASSISTANCE, AND UNTIL YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION I WILL NOT OFFER YOU ANYTHING,"** Nightmare growled.

Mike's mouth stretched into a grin. "It's actually quite simple, Nightmare," he replied. "Have you ever heard of a game called… **Trivia Murder Party?"**

/

A/N: That's right, ladies and gentlemen. The Halloween chapter will be **Trivia Murder Party** from Jackbox Games, with Dark!Mike and possibly even Demon!Mike as the host. I told you that you hadn't seen the last of Dark!Mike or Demon!Mike, but I bet you didn't expect them to come back so soon. This is going to be one of my first real exercises in Black Comedy (something that has popped up surprisingly rarely in this fic so far), and it's either one of the best or one of the worst ideas I've ever had. But fuck it, WE'RE DOING IT ANYWAY!

Trivia Murder Party is BY FAR one of my favorite games ever from Jackbox Games, and if you watch a few videos of it on Youtube you'll soon see why (especially 2). At first, I was merely going to have it as another "Fun with Video Games" chapter, but then I was like: "No. Fuck that. There is WAY too much potential here to waste it on a Fun With Video Games chapter." The Trivia Murder Party that will take place next week will have combined elements of Trivia Murder Party 1 and Trivia Murder Party 2, as well as my own unique spin to keep things fresh and interesting.

Both Trivia Murder Party games feature an audience playing along, especially TMP2 where the audience can actually win the entire game and kill all the main players. Obviously, we won't be able to simulate that in the next chapter, but that doesn't mean that we can't have some… **audience participation** …in advance.

Choose ONE Nightmare out of the two listed below.

Nightmare B) Nightmarionne

Why am I making you pick a Nightmare? It's quite simple. We only have seven ghost kids, and Trivia Murder Party, at max capacity, is an **EIGHT player game**.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the wholesome dream world water park chapter!


	89. Chapter 89 - Trivia Murder Party Part 1

A/N: Well, I waited until Monday to start this chapter, and although the votes were initially close a couple of the later votes decisively swung the poll in favor of Nightmarionne. So in the interest of actually getting this chapter done on time, we're going to go with Nightmarionne as the Nightmare/8th player joining our TMP game.

With that being said, Happy Halloween! This is gonna be a VERY different chapter from the last Halloween chapter (which IIRC wasn't even posted anywhere near Halloween lol).

Alex: Who knows? And at least Fritz didn't somehow insult two of his sisters in the short time it took to climb up the water slide platform stairs, which is progress…I guess.

Phillip: This won't be a Trick-or-Treating chapter this time around, I have something VERY different planned.

Jack0Lanterns: Nightmare taught Mike ways to contact him in case of an emergency, like if the battle between him and William had REALLY gone South. It's merely a communication device, Mike can't do things like summon demons in his mind or anything like that (not that he'd want to because that sort of action would be, to put it mildly, really fucking stupid).

JZKiller: Jeremy Fitzgerald doesn't exist in this fic. Back when I first started writing it, I believed he was one of Michael Afton's personas. And while I don't believe that NOW (it's probably only Fritz that was a disguise), it's way too late to make that kind of change at this point.

Chapter 89 – Trivia Murder Party Part 1

The ghosts' second Halloween turned out to be just as enjoyable as the first.

As they had done last year, the Schmidt family drove over to visit the Marshalls, and the two sets of siblings enjoyed another fantastic movie together, this time watching _"The Nightmare Before Christmas"_ to really get in the Halloween spirit. The kids were delighted by the antics of Jack Skellington as he tried to understand Christmas, though they were a little uncomfortable with the idea of Jack kidnapping Santa Claus even though it was clear there was no malice behind his actions. After Meghan broke up a lengthy debate between Susie and Jeremy over whether _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ qualified as a Halloween or Christmas movie, the kids all went trick-or-treating a second time, and their night was just as enjoyable as it had been last year. The only real differences this time around was a sense of ease now that Charlie was no longer at risk of discovery from being in the Puppet (though Alex and Meghan were both disappointed that she couldn't carry an extra bag of candy anymore) and there was no potential child kidnapper lurking in the bushes (Liz was more than happy with this, as she had privately come to realize that she had been too lenient on the last guy and in hindsight should have exposed him and dragged him over to the police). By the time the kids were done trick-or-treating, it was well past 10 PM, and the families happily exchanged their good-byes and went their separate ways.

" _I REALLY wish I could eat candy,"_ Cassidy sighed as Mike pushed open the front door to his house. _"I mean, it's not like we'd get any health problems from it since we're dead and all."_

"Oh, sure…" Mike drawled, "…we'll just be rotting MY teeth instead. And don't even get me started on the fact that we still don't know if you'd end up being affected a sugar rush, something that I am NOT testing."

Gabe shrugged. _"Was still fun, at least. Hanging out with Alex and Meghan after a long time."_

" _Didn't Dad say he was going to do something tonight for Halloween in his dream world?"_ Susie asked. _"Something about how he was going to try do something both scary and fun?"_

Mike nodded in confirmation. "That's right, Susie!" he declared. "I'm going to actually try to scare YOU for a change. Nothing that should actually traumatize you or anything too bad, but keep in mind that the game I have in mind for my dream world may remind you of your…unpleasant pasts." The ghosts grimaced slightly at this. "If this was back when we first met, I wouldn't even think about doing this. But you guys have been here for a year now, and you've already faced your fears in the worst possible way when the rotten rabbit douchebag who shall not be named tried to fuck things up like an asshole a few weeks ago. I think you guys can handle what I have planned."

Fritz gave Mike a defiant look. _"You won't scare us!"_ he challenged.

Mike grinned. "Good, because this is supposed to be more fun than scary anyway." He beckoned to Charlie with a finger. "Come help me get to sleep faster so I can set this up more easily."

" _I'm not sure if ghost-induced supernatural sleep is healthy for a living person,"_ she muttered in bemusement, _"but since we're only doing this once a month I assume we'll be fine."_

"Just don't stop my breathing or something like that and we should be good," Mike joked as he and Charlie made their way to Mike's bedroom. Charlie put a spectral hand on Mike's head and lulled him to sleep, and within a few seconds he was snoozing soundly.

Charlie floated back over to the rest of her siblings. _"Give Dad a few minutes to set up whatever he's setting up, and then we'll all enter his mind together."_

" _Gotcha,"_ Jeremy replied. The kids spent the next few minutes mindlessly checking their phones as they waited for Mike to set up whatever scare he had planned. Once they were satisfied that their father was ready, Charlie led them up the stairs and into his room.

" _We're going to do this the same way we did last time,"_ Charlie instructed. _"Ready?"_

" _Yep!"_ the ghosts chorused. Charlie sent the kids into Mike's mental world just as she had once before, and followed soon after. She felt herself cross into Mike's mind…and immediately knew right away that the atmosphere was very different than it had been last time. And not in a good way.

She could see the rest of her siblings a few steps away, but everything else around her was an empty black void disturbingly similar to the nothingness that Mike had trapped William Afton in moments before he had utterly destroyed the murderer's tainted spirit. Charlie could see her brothers and sisters looking around in confusion and growing nervousness.

" _W-where are we?"_ Cassidy asked nervously.

" _I don't know,"_ Gabe mumbled.

" _Dad?"_ Liz called out into the emptiness. _"Where are you?"_

There was no verbal response, but a giant screen similar in size to the screen of a movie theater suddenly flickered to life in front of and above them. The ghosts looked up at the screen as ominous music began to permeate into the void. The screen immediately turned black except for the phrase "A Jackbox Games production, adapted by Mike Schmidt" written in white in the very center.

" _Jackbox Games?"_ Susie read the name in confusion.

" _I dunno,"_ Liz shrugged, just as equally baffled as her sister.

The first image to appear was a picture of the 1993 Freddy Fazbear pizzeria from the outside in the dark of the night, the building long abandoned and in a state of disrepair.

" _Yikes, the place has really gone to shit…"_ Fritz commented as he stared at the ruined restaurant.

The image disappeared, replaced by a phrase, "starring Gabe as" with a plushie of Freddy Fazbear directly underneath it.

" _Is that plushie supposed to be me?"_ Gabe asked.

Another image appeared, this time showing the office of the 1993 pizzeria from the perspective of the FNAF1 game. The kids watched as the light switch to the hallways flicked on…revealing the hulking figures of Bonnie in the west door and Chica in the window right outside the east door. Before the ghosts could shudder at their past selves the mini-film vanished, revealing a Bonnie and Chica plushie with Jeremy's and Susie's names above them.

" _This is creepy as hell…"_ Jeremy mumbled.

The screen returned to the 1993 location, this time with Golden Freddy sitting in the office staring at the player with his empty eyes. The air began to twitch and hallucinations began to distort the office, but before Golden Freddy could complete his jumpscare, the image vanished and was replaced by a Golden Freddy plushie with Cassidy's name above it.

" _Dad's really going all out, isn't he?"_ Cassidy asked rhetorically.

The next image was not of the 1993 location, but of the 1987 location, showing the Marionette creepily climbing out of his music box on the laptop. The unseen player put down the laptop only for a withered version of Foxy to leap out from the shadows of the hallway, mouth gaping open in a ferocious roar. Right before the jumpscare could be completed, the vision vanished, replaced with plushies of Foxy and the Puppet accompanied by Fritz's and Charlie's names.

" _This is a disturbingly accurate representation of the FNAF2 game,"_ Charlie muttered.

The last vision was of a dark underground facility that took Liz a few seconds to recognize as Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. She could see Circus Baby's stage, with Circus Baby standing proudly on the center of the stage with two Bidybabs, one on each side of her legs. Liz watched with a weird combination of fascination and unease as Circus Baby's eyes suddenly started glowing a piercing green and she turned her head to stare directly at the screen. The image vanished and was replaced by a plushie of Baby with Liz's name next to it.

" _Thank you for not showing Scrap Baby,"_ Liz thought silently.

The plushie vanished, and the image of a head appeared on the black screen. A head covered entirely in shadows and darkness, with blood-colored flames burning around it and menacing red eyes glowing with the exact same color. The ghost kids let out fearful gasps and Charlie felt a thrill of genuine terror as she recognized the final stage of Mike's dark aspect just before he had turned into a towering demon.

" _Is…is that…?"_ Gabe stuttered, but before he could finish the question, the image suddenly vanished. A terrified scream echoed around them, and the giant words **"Trivia Murder Party"** flashed onto the screen. The words vanished, and finally the area around them began to glow with faint illumination. Charlie gasped as she realized that they were in an arena very similar to the one that William and Mike had battled in, complete with the towering pillars ringing around the edge of the arena and the demonic statues beyond. The one major difference, one that Charlie was very grateful for, was that this time there was no fiery abyss beyond the edge of the arena. Instead, the room seemed to end at the pillars, with only a small ring of faint fire surrounding them.

The kids, having seen this for the first time, were no less disturbed than Charlie had been when she had first seen this for themselves. _"Oh my God…"_ Jeremy breathed.

" _Dad REALLY isn't messing around,"_ Cassidy mumbled, answering her own question from earlier.

" _Is this…is this where Dad fought and beat William earlier?"_ Fritz asked.

" _Similar enough…"_ Charlie muttered in response.

" **Welcome…to TRIVIA MURDER PARTY!"** a booming voice interrupted all of them. The ghosts jolted and looked around them uncertainly. The words were spoken with an unsettling, inhuman inflection, echoing as though they were being spoken from everywhere and nowhere at the same time…but the core of the voice was undoubtedly Mike's. **"One of the best games I've ever played in my entire life, a game filled with rounds of trivia, fun…and murder. Can't forget the murder!"**

" _Wait, wha…?"_ was all any of them had to say before Mike's voice continued. As he spoke, several giant pictures appeared in front of the kids, though not as large as the screen from earlier. The first picture was of a line of four Freddy Fazbear plushies with a trivia question and 4 answer choices written underneath them.

" **I'm going to ask you a bunch of trivia questions. If you get a question wrong,"** Mike explained as he flipped to the next picture, showing just the correct answer. Two of the plushies had green check marks underneath them, while two of them had red X's marked overhead. **"you'll have to fight for your life in a super fun minigame!"** The next picture flipped up, revealing the two plushies with incorrect answers from earlier and what looked like a typewriter on the ground, **"Some of these minigames are straight from the actual games themselves, and some are things that I've added my own twist to. If you fail the minigame,"** the next picture flipped up, and more than one ghost gasped at a plushie that had a white X scratched onto its belly…and had been sliced in half, **"…I'LL KILL YOU. But don't worry!"** Mike's voice, which had deepened menacingly for those three words, reverted back to its casual and cheerful inflection. **"Ghosts can not only keep playing, but even flat-out win the whole game! When we have one person left alive, we'll go to the final round, where you'll have to fight for your life to be the first person to escape. Only one of you can win, and only one of you will live. I won't reveal any more details to you right now because spoilers."**

The pictures vanished, and a row of the exact same eight plushies that had been shown in the intro sequence appeared in the sky above them. Freddy for Gabe, Bonnie for Jeremy, Chica for Susie, Foxy for Fritz, Golden Freddy for Cassidy, Marionette for Charlie, and Circus Baby for Liz. The ghosts found themselves being separated a few feet away from each other by an unknown force, and a smaller screen almost exactly like a smartphone appeared in front of each one. **"Let's start with something easy, just to get you into the swing of things."**

A giant number 1 that glowed with purple flames appeared and vanished almost as quickly.

" **How many pawns are does each player start with in a game of chess?"**

1) 6

2) 8

3) 10

4) 12

The question and answers appeared both in large letters in front of them…and on the smaller screens that Mike had created for each of the kids. A timer also appeared, showing 15 seconds and already counting down. **"Use the screen to answer the question by pressing on an answer choice."**

" _Chess?"_ Charlie muttered. _"Dad just introduced this to us a few days ago."_

" _This isn't so bad,"_ Gabe mused as he clicked on the second answer choice.

" _Pretty sure it's this one,"_ Liz thought, her nervousness slowly fading.

The children clicked on their answers, and the moment the last one did the timer vanished. **"And the correct answer is…"**

 **2) 8**

A green check mark appeared under every single plushie, the symbol quickly turning into $1000 before fading away. _"Yes!"_ Susie cheered. _"Got it right!"_

" _Hell yeah, off to a good start!"_ Fritz pumped his fist in the air.

" _Not surprising, considering that we just learned about this game,"_ Charlie commented.

"… **crap,"** Mike's voice muttered, sounding disappointed. **"That was a little TOO easy. Next question."**

A giant number 2 appeared and disappeared, followed by:

" **What is the full name of the vampire on** _ **Sesame Street?"**_

1) Count von Numbers

2) Count von Marks

3) Count von Tally

4) Count von Count

" _Ooh, ooh!"_ Cassidy babbled excitedly. _"I know this! We watched this together, right, Sus?"_

Susie grinned. _"Easy question."_

Others, however, didn't seem to share the same opinion. _"The hell?"_ Fritz spluttered. _"That guy actually has a name?"_

" _I didn't even know Sesame Street even had a vampire!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"Hell, I can't even remember the last time I saw Sesame Street, that show is way below my age even when I was still alive. Uh…uh…uh…"_

He quickly clicked on an answer, the last one to do so. **"Who said…"**

 **4) Count von Count**

This time, only Susie, Cassidy, and Charlie had green check marks underneath their names. As for Gabe, Liz, Fritz, and Jeremy…

A blood red **X** appeared over the plushies' heads, and all four of them knew right away that they were in trouble.

" **And it looks like we have our first potential losers of the evening. Let's go do something fun…"** Mike's voice dripped with sadistic amusement, causing chills to crawl down the spines of every child (especially Charlie). The plushies immediately vanished, and the ring of fire surrounding the arena suddenly flared in intensity as the demon statues' eyes and mouths suddenly burst into flames as well. It reminded Charlie of the scene where Harry had faced against Quirrell in the first Harry Potter film…only with demonic statues.

" **Well, hello there! Welcome to the Killing Grounds,"** Mike greeted them cheerfully, and the ghosts couldn't tell whether he was being sincere or mocking. A projectile screen flashed in front of them, and the kids saw shadowy hands move the words **"SKULL DICE"** onto the screen. The moment the screen vanished, the Freddy, Baby, Foxy, and Bonnie plushies reappeared.

" **I figured we'd start things off with a little dice game. It's kind of familiar to a game you might've heard of. Does…Blackjack ring a bell?"**

The ghosts' eyes widened. _"Wait, isn't that the game where you want to try and hit 21?"_ Liz asked.

" _Yeah, but that game uses cards!"_ Jeremy pointed out.

" **Here's how this is going to work. You each will be given a dice, and you can roll that dice as many times as you want to add to your score."**

A green dice appeared under each plushie, with an identical dice appearing on the four players' screens.

" **In 30 seconds, I will kill the player with the lowest score. But if you go over 21, you die instead!"**

" _Ohhhhhhhhhhhh…."_ Gabe exhaled. _"Now I see the similarities."_

" **And since we can't have the safe players just sitting here and doing nothing, I'm giving them a dice too. If they roll a skull, that adds 1 to everyone's score!"**

" _Ooh...so we can help screw someone over!"_ Cassidy realized with a grin.

" **3…2…1…BEGIN!"** Mike shouted.

The ghosts immediately began to roll their dice. Liz started out with an early lead with a 6 while the others only got a 3 or lower, but they quickly caught up with high numbers of their own. Susie, Charlie, and Cassidy all tried to roll skulls repeatedly, and the former 2 both rolled 1 while Cassidy managed to roll 2. By the time 20 of the 30 seconds had passed, Liz had rolled a 19, Fritz and Jeremy both had 18, and Gabe was at 17. The Freddy boy grimaced as he realized time was running out, and he was currently the lowest. He knew he could try to wait it out and hope that his sisters rolled 3 skulls to knock Liz out, but that was a long shot. As 5 of the last remaining 10 seconds passed and only 1 of them rolled another skull, Gabe knew that he had to roll 1 more time. He rolled his dice…and cursed as he rolled a 6. Immediately, the dice vanished and Gabe's 23 turned a blood red color. He had made one last desperate move…and lost.

" **Well, would you look at that?"** Mike commented, and everyone could hear the smugness in his voice. **"You busted. And since you busted in this game…I get to bust open your life!"**

" _NOOOOOOO!"_ Gabe cried out as a white X scratched itself onto the Freddy plushie. The plushie was thrown into sharp focus as a scream identical to the FNAF1 jumpscare scream bellowed out. The scream was abruptly cut off with a strangled yell as the plushie suddenly exploded, and a ghostly figure took its place. The shape of the plushie was still unmistakably Freddy's, but it was now hollow and transparent, showing a clearly visible skeleton inside it with Xs over its eyes.

" **And it looks like we have our first death, ladies and gentlemen!"** Mike called out as the flames surrounding them faded back into dormancy. He brought up all the plushies in front of them, Gabe's ghostly Freddy plushie mixed in with the still living ones. The word "Scoreboard" flickered into existence, and the children could see how much money they had won so far. Susie, Cassidy, and Charlie both had $2000, while Gabe, Fritz, Jeremy, and Liz all had $1000. **"I know it's rough that you got killed first, but like I said, this game isn't close to being done yet! You can absolutely still win the game!"**

" _That's nice to know, I guess…"_ Gabe muttered. Some of his siblings were looking at him with sympathy, but a few were smirking. They remembered well the prank that had blown up their Minecraft houses, and were satisfied with how the mastermind was getting his just desserts.

" **Moving on!"** Mike's voice interrupted them as a giant 3 briefly materialized.

" **Which does P.S. stand for?"**

1) Per se

2) post scriptum

3) parce sepulto

4) pax sinica

" _Easy,"_ Jeremy scoffed.

" _So easy,"_ Gabe agreed, relieved that he knew the answer after his plushie had just gotten killed.

" _What?"_ Susie spluttered. _"I don't know this!"_

" _Sucks to be you,"_ Liz smirked as she put in her answer.

Once they were done, Mike continued. **"And the correct answer is…"**

 **2) Post scriptum**

Green check marks appeared for Charlie, Gabe, Liz, Jeremy, and Fritz…while Susie and Cassidy received red Xs over their plushies instead. **"Let's go someplace fun…"**

" _Oh, God no…"_ Cassidy groaned as the flames burst into life around them again.

" **Welcome back to the Killing Grounds!"** Mike greeted them as he revealed the next minigame, this one labelled " **MIND MELD."** This time, white cards appeared in front of every ghost, and the Chica and Golden Freddy plushies were both in the spotlight now. **"I'm going to give you a category and you have to write an answer that fits that category."** The other plushies appeared. **"Everybody else will be playing too! And if anybody matches your answer, or if you don't give a correct answer…YOU DIE."**

" _Seems simple enough, I guess…"_ Jeremy muttered.

" **One of the members of the Fellowship of the Ring."**

The ghosts quickly processed the members of the Fellowship through their minds, trying to decide whether writing an obscure or a seemingly obvious answer choice would be the better decision to make. After a few seconds, all of them had written their answers down, giant versions of the cards appearing face-down underneath each plushie.

" **Now let's see who's a potential mind reader."**

The cards flipped, revealing:

Susie: Merry

Cassidy: Boromir

Fritz: Gimli

Charlie: Legolas

Gabe: Sam

Liz: Aragorn

Jeremy: Gandalf

Susie and Cassidy both breathed a huge sigh of relief as they saw that nobody else had written their answers. **"Are you fucking kidding me?"** Mike asked incredulously, causing the ghosts to snicker. **"Not a single match? Bullshit!"**

The plushies vanished and they returned to the main screen. **"All right, I'm done playing nice,"** Mike growled.

" **What letter did author Vincent Wright never use in his 5,000 word novel** _ **Gadsby**_ **?"**

1) U

2) D

3) I

4) E

" _Uh…uh…uh…WHAT?"_ Cassidy spluttered.

" _The hell is Gadsby?"_ Susie exclaimed.

" _How the hell would any of us know this?"_ Fritz protested.

" _Ughhhh…."_ Liz groaned as she randomly picked an answer.

" **And the correct answer is…"**

 **4) E**

The ghosts let out exclamations of dismay as a red X appeared over _every single plushie_.

" _The FUCK?"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"No E?"_

" _So apparently this guy never used the word THE in his 5000 word novel!"_ Charlie commented in disbelief.

" _How the fuck is that even possible?"_ Fritz asked incredulously. _"I can't even think of five sentences that don't use the letter E!"_

Cold, chilling laughter interrupted their interjections, sending a shiver down their spines. **"Heh heh heh heh heh ha ha ha ha…everyone is wrong! Which means ALL of you can now join in the fun!"** The flames of the Killing Grounds burst to life…only this time, there was a pile of money on the floor. Mike put up the name of the minigame on the screen: **"ARENA."**

" **You spent 20 days hunting me down and trying to kill me. So I think it's time that I get to see you bring down that misplaced aggression on each other instead."**

" _That's a low blow, Dad…"_ Gabe muttered.

" **You can attack someone else,"** a sword appeared in the air, **"you can defend yourself,"** a shield appeared to next to it, **"or you can grab some money,"** a bag of money completed the trio. Arrows appeared, with the sword pointing to the money, the money pointing to the shield, and the shield pointing to the sword. The ghosts quickly realized that this was a rock-paper-scissors style of minigame. **"If you don't kill someone, then I will. So make your choice."**

The ghosts looked at the three symbols floating in the air, then looked at each other with wary eyes. Trying to guess what their siblings were going to do, each ghost made a decision and submitted it on his or her screen. **"Let's see some action, people!"** Mike declared.

Charlie and Susie had both picked shields. Cassidy had picked money, while Fritz, Jeremy, and Liz had all picked swords.

The first pair of plushies to appear was Fritz and Cassidy. Cassidy's eyes widened in horror as Fritz's sword hit the Golden Freddy plushie and carved a white x onto its body. _"WHAT?"_ she exclaimed. _"Fritz, WHY?"_

" _I still haven't forgotten that prank you did on us,"_ Fritz smirked. _"And since Gabe was already dead, it was down to you or Susie, and I picked you."_

" _This is why I picked a shield,"_ Charlie muttered. As if to verify her decision, the next pair of plushies to appear was Jeremy and Charlie. Jeremy's plushie tried to attack with a sword, but Charlie's shield raised up to block the attack and render it harmless. The last pair was Liz and Fritz, whose jaw dropped as Liz's Baby plushie used its sword to carve another white X into its body.

" _Liz!"_ he protested, his voice filled with betrayal. _"But why?"_

" _Because I had a feeling somebody would try to attack Cass and Susie, and you called me fat!"_ Liz smirked. _"Perfect time to get revenge!"_

" _But you already got your revenge!"_ Fritz whined.

" **Huh, you know, as much as I love some good ol' fashioned violence, this really didn't have the impact I thought it would. So I hope you don't mind if I finish the job."**

The Golden Freddy and Foxy plushies were both thrown into sharp relief with another scream. This time, a volley of nails impaled themselves straight into the bodies of the plushies, which let out a strangled yelp as they flipped over, transforming into ghosts just as the Freddy plushie had earlier.

" _This is BRUTAL!"_ Cassidy exclaimed.

The Scoreboard returned, with two ghosts now joining Freddy. Charlie was in the lead with $3000, while Cassidy was in second place with $2500. The rest of the ghosts all had $2000.

" _You know, I'd never thought I'd say this about a game involving murder, but this is actually really fun!"_ Fritz commented.

" _Yeah, I'm definitely having a good time, that's for sure,"_ Susie agreed.

" _Wish I wasn't dead,"_ Cassidy sulked as she stared at her ghostly skeletal Golden Freddy plushie.

" **Glad you're liking the game! Just for that, I'll throw you a bone with Question 5."**

" **What are the five consonants and one vowel that contestants receive for the bonus round puzzle on** _ **Wheel of Fortune?"**_

1) R, E, S, T, N, L

2) I, N, T, R, S, L

3) Y, E, R, L, N, D

4) P, L, O, T, S, G

" _Thank God, an easy one after that Gadsby bullshit,"_ Liz muttered.

The ghosts had no trouble answering this, and all of them answered in less than 5 answers.

 **1) R, E, S, T, N, L**

A green check mark appeared under every plushie that time. **"Yeah okay, I need to stop being this nice,"** Mike's voice grumbled as he moved on to question 6.

" **Where was Transylvania?"**

1) Russia

2) Romania

3) Slovakia

4) Nowhere – it's a made-up place

" _Transylvania?"_ Jeremy repeated. _"Isn't that the place where Dracula's from?"_

" _Yep,"_ Gabe confirmed.

" _Thought so."_

The ghosts mulled over the answer choices (all of whom had gravitated towards one of two answer choices) and made their decision. **"Who said…this one!"**

 **2) Romania**

Green check marks appeared under Charlie, Gabe, and Jeremy's plushies…while red X's appeared over Cassidy, Susie, Liz, and Fritz's plushies. _"Dammit!"_ Cassidy pouted. _"I thought that it didn't exist!"_

" _Yeah, me too!"_ Liz agreed.

" _Guess it does,"_ Fritz shrugged. _"Not that I care, I'm already dead!"_

" **The rest of you who are still alive…come with me."**

The Baby and Chica plushies were taken over to the Killing Ground, where Mike displayed the next minigame, **"WORDS."** A grid of 5 letters by 5 letters appeared in front of them, and Mike spelled out the word "REAPER" as an example.

" **Use letters to spell the longest word you can before time runs out."** The rest of the plushies appeared. **"Everyone else will be playing too. And if anybody can come up with a word that's longer than yours, I WILL KILL YOU."**

The grid vanished and a different one appeared in its place. The letters displayed were:

L, N, D, A, C

U, Y, E, D, M

A, S, E, T, B

Z, E, P, J, R

O, R, H, N, I

" _Okay…"_ Liz thought, _"what kind of word can I make out of this?"_

" _I've got to think of something good,"_ Susie thought, _"and fast!"_

After a few seconds that were counted down by a hourglass that Mike materialized, the time expired all too soon. **"So what did you come up with?"**

Liz had come up with the word "CONDEMNS (7)", while Susie had come up with the word "RESCUER (7)."

" **Not bad. But the real question is, did anyone do better than you?"**

Liz and Susie held their breath…and their eyes widened in horror as Gabe's ghostly Freddy plushy appeared with the word "DAMNATION (9)" and Charlie's Puppet plushy appeared with the word "MARTYRDOM (9)". The number count underneath the Chica and Baby plushies both turned blood red.

" **Oh, I'm so sorry. It looks like your vocabulary just wasn't good enough to carry you through. And you know what that means."**

" _Dammit!"_ Susie pouted as the Chica and Baby plushies were thrown into the spotlight. The two girls could only watch as the plushies representing their favorite animatronics were sliced in half, before flipping over and turning into ghosts.

Going back to the Scoreboard, the ghosts could see that only two players were still alive, Jeremy and Charlie. Mike proceeded to give all the ghosts a hundred dollars each for every letter they used in their words. Which meant that Gabe now had $4900, Jeremy had $4700, Susie had $3700, Fritz had $3600, Cassidy had $4200, Liz had $3700, and Charlie had a commanding lead with $5900.

" **To all of you haters out there, I recognize your hatred and I acknowledge it as a perfectly valid emotion to have. I just don't give a single flying fuck about your opinions."**

" _Who…are you talking to, exactly, dad?"_ Charlie asked in confusion.

" **Anyway, moving on!"** A giant flaming purple 7 appeared, followed by:

" **Where is Area 51…allegedly?"**

1) New Mexico

2) Nevada

3) Texas

4) Arizona

" _What's Area 51?"_ Fritz wondered aloud.

" _I think it's some super secret government facility somewhere,"_ Gabe answered. _"Apparently the U.S. military will shoot anyone who comes even close there. There's some really secret stuff there that they don't want ANYBODY knowing about."_

" _I heard they have something to do with UFOs,"_ Susie chirped in. _"But I don't have any clue where it actually is!"_

The ghosts shrugged and picked their answers. **"And the correct answer is…"**

 **2) Nevada**

Green check marks appeared under the Freddy and Foxy plushies, while red Xs appeared over everybody else. _"Yeah…I just completely guessed for this one,"_ Fritz admitted.

" **Ooh…it looks like our two living players both got it wrong. Which makes this more fun for me!"** Mike cackled. He forced the Bonnie and Puppet plushies over to the Killing Grounds, where he put up the words **"CHALICES."**

" **When knives and explosions don't do it for you, sometimes you've got to stick with some good old fashioned poison!"**

A plate suddenly appeared in front of them containing 8 chalices. While some of them were rather standard looking, there were some interesting ones in there as well. A chalice shaped like a skull, a cup identical to the Carpenter's cup from _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_ , and bizarrely, a white modern coffee mug with "WORLD'S #1 DAD" on it.

The rest of the plushies appeared. **"All the safe players get a poison pellet to put into a chalice. So pick one."**

" _Aww yeah, we get to try and kill someone again!"_ Fritz smirked.

" _If we all pick a different chalice, then there's only 3 safe ones for them to choose from!"_ Susie realized.

" _Yeah, but we can't see which ones the rest of us our picking, so I'm assuming we can overlap,"_ Gabe pointed out.

The sound of a drop echoed 5 times, signaling that each safe player and ghost had picked a chalice. **"Now you two…pick a chalice to drink from."**

Jeremy and Charlie both studied the 8 chalices carefully. After several seconds of deliberation, each made their choice. **"Yum yum…now let's see what everyone drank."**

The WORLD'S #1 DAD mug appeared under the Bonnie plushie and the skull chalice appeared under the Puppet plushie. Four wisps of smoke materialized from the selection of 8 chalices… _including the mug and the skull chalice_. Two skulls appeared underneath both plushies, signifying that they had both chosen an option that had led to death.

" _Dammit!"_ Jeremy cursed. _"I knew picking that mug was a bad idea, but I just couldn't resist!"_

" _I thought the skull chalice would be the obvious choice,"_ Charlie snapped her fingers in disappointment. _"I was like, oh, that's the obvious one, and because it was obvious nobody would pick it. But the only person I mind gamed was myself!"_

" **This is why you don't drink things from random cups at parties, kids,"** Mike interrupted them. **"I mean, not that you'd be able to, since you're ghosts and all, but…yeah, you get the point."**

Two white Xs scratched themselves onto the two plushies' bodies. Everyone watched as the plushies were frozen in ice and shattered to pieces, before they were replaced by ghostly versions of themselves.

" _Geez!"_ Jeremy exclaimed. _"That poison froze our bodies and broke them to pieces? What the hell kind of poison is that?"_

" _Liquid nitrogen?"_ Charlie deadpanned. _"I don't even know…"_

Back at the Scoreboard, Mike gave $500 to every player who had successfully poisoned either Jeremy or Charlie. Susie, Cassidy, and Liz each received 500 dollars. After this latest round, Gabe had $5900, Jeremy had $4700, Susie had $4200, Fritz had $4600, Cassidy had $4700, Charlie also had $5900 (tied with Charlie for first), and Liz had $4200. And all of them were dead.

" **Well, fuck!"** Mike cursed. **"I didn't think I'd end up killing ALL of you. I need one of you alive for the final round. Meh, I'll just pick you."**

The Freddy plushie flashed, and was suddenly restored to its original living state. **"It's kind of arbitrary, but you and Charlie both had the most money, and I basically did eenie-meenie-miney-moe real quick to decide which one of you should come back to life. Now that that awkward moment's out of way…TIME FOR THE REAL FUN TO BEGIN."**

Everything vanished into darkness, not just the plushies but the entire arena itself as well. The kids were treated to a sequence of several Freddy's animatronic jumpscares on a big screen that abruptly popped up out of nowhere, taking them completely surprise and frightening the crap out of them. When the screen vanished and order returned, the kids realized that the very environment had completely changed.

They were now standing atop a balcony, looking down into a vast rectangular chamber that looked like an enlarged hallway. The chamber was divided into rows that stretched from one wall to the other, and the ghosts shuddered as they saw that the walls flanking the hallway were a line of menacing demonic skulls, their mouths hideously elongated from the floor to only a few feet below the level of the balcony. The width of the mouths was just long enough to cover the width of a row, a detail that the older ghosts instantly found suspicious.

And to complete the dark and creepy atmosphere, ominous music that filled them with a sense of both thrill and anxiety began to play from around them.

 **[[NOTE: Begin playing Trivia Murder Party 2 Final Round theme by Andy Poland. Trust me, this will be a LOT more exciting if you have the appropriate theme music playing with it.]]**

" **So, you've made it here alive. Congratulations. But as you'll soon see, getting here alive and making it out alive are two VERY different things."**

The ghosts watched as the still living Freddy plushie was moved a few rows into the chamber next to the opposite wall, 14 spaces away from the other side. The rest of the ghosts were placed at the farthest left row, 21 spaces away, arranged from farthest to closest in order of decreasing amount of money held. **"I'm going to give you a category."**

 **MONTHS WITH 31 DAYS**

August, November

" **Tap on each answer that you think fits this category, and then submit your choices."**

" _Okay…"_ Gabe took a deep breath. _"This shouldn't be too bad."_ He clicked on the "August" on his screen and submitted his answer. **"Let's see what the right answer is."**

 **August,** XXXXXX

Two green check marks appeared above the Freddy plushie. **"You move forward one space for each correct answer."**

" _Yes!"_ Gabe whooped as his Freddy plushie moved 2 rows forward, so that it was now only 12 spaces away from the exit. Then, to the ghosts' astonishment, the end of the hallway opposite where they were starting from began to glow with light as a giant EXIT sign hovered over it.

" **You're on your way to escaping!"** Mike declared approvingly. Then, a sinister combination of menace and amusement appeared in his tone. **"But you're not the only one here now, are you?"**

" _Wh…what?"_ Gabe spluttered, whipping back to the left end of the hallway. To everyone's shock, the ghosts of the Puppet, Bonnie, and Golden Freddy plushies all moved forward 3 spaces, 2 spaces, and 1 space respectively, letting out a ghostly echo as they did so.

" **All the other ghosts get to play. And if a ghost catches up to you, they get to come back to life by stealing your life force. Then, they get a chance to escape and win the game."**

" _Oh my God…"_ Jeremy breathed. _"This is so intense!"_

" _How is a trivia game this freaking terrifying?"_ Liz gaped.

Cassidy grinned mischievously at Gabe. _"Look out, brother…we're coming!"_

" **Here's EVERYONE'S next question!"** Mike interrupted.

 **DRAGON POKEMON**

Tyranitar, Gyarados

" **And ghosts get a third option to help them catch up to you!"** A third option appeared, though this one was faded and written in white with the icon of a ghost next to it.

 _Salamence_

" _Crap, was Gyarados a Dragon?"_ Jeremy mumbled. _"I know two of them for sure, but…"_

" _This isn't too bad,"_ Fritz thought. _"Hope the other questions are like this."_

The ghosts made their selection, and Mike revealed the correct answer, as well as how many spaces each character had moved forward.

XXXXX, XXXXX, **Salamence**

Gabe: ✓✓ (to 10 spaces away from the exit)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 15)

Jeremy: ✓✓✓ (to 16)

Cassidy: ✓X✓ (to 18)

Fritz: ✓✓✓ (to 18)

Liz: ✓X✓ (to 19)

Susie: ✓X✓ (to 19)

" _Dammit, Gyarados is a Water/Flying, isn't it?"_ Cassidy cursed. _"Fuck!"_

The Freddy plushie moved up again, but this time all of the ghost plushies followed behind, emitting a spooky cadence that sent chills crawling down their spine as they did so.

 **THINGS THAT CONTAIN PEANUTS**

Mr. Goodbar, Kit-Kat, _Reese's Cup_

" _Aww, you guys got the EASY one!"_ Gabe complained.

" _Ooh, we just talked about candy with Alex and Meghan!"_ Susie said excitedly.

" _Yeah, but I didn't think about what was actually IN those chocolates before,"_ Charlie muttered.

 **Mr. Goodbar** , XXXXX, **Reese's Cup**

Gabe: X✓ (to 9)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 12)

Jeremy: X✓✓ (to 14)

Cassidy: ✓✓✓ (to 15)

Fritz: X✓✓ (to 16)

Liz: ✓✓✓ (to 16)

Susie: ✓✓✓ (to 16)

" _Mr. Goodbar was that candy in the yellow wrapper, wasn't it?"_ Gabe asked rhetorically, before snapping his fingers. _"Damn it!"_

 **GYMNASTICS MOVES**

Tick-tack, flic-flac, _jumpo_

The kids stared blankly at the question. _"Uh…uh…uh…WHAT?"_ Susie spluttered.

" _I don't have any fucking idea!"_ Fritz threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

" _Dad, you're a jerk!"_ Cassidy sulked.

XXXXX, **flic-flac** , XXXXX

Gabe: ✓X (to 8)

Charlie: XX✓ (to 11)

Jeremy: XX✓ (to 13)

Cassidy: X✓✓ (to 13)

Fritz: ✓XX (to 15)

Liz: ✓X✓ (to 14)

Susie: X✓✓ (to 14)

" _Just completely fucking guessed on that one…"_ Fritz muttered.

" _You're not the only one,"_ Charlie agreed. _"Only one that I was sure of was jumpo because that sounded way too fake."_

" **Ooh, that one was a bit rough, wasn't it?"** Mike asked, his voice dripping with amusement. **"And now here's something to make you feel just a little bit worse!"**

The moment he stopped speaking his words, the eyes on the demonic skull carvings flanking the farthest row suddenly glowed with a fiery orange light. The ghosts let out gasps of disbelief and horror as the mouths of the statues spewed out a wall of hellish flame that covered the entire row. The ghosts' fear turned into dread bordering on panic as the statues next to three more rows unleashed more of their flames, until they too were engulfed in flame. It didn't take a genius to understand what would happen to the plushies if the children moved too slowly. At the same time, the ominous music began to pick up in intensity, signaling that the next stage of the final round was about to begin.

Wall of Flame: 18 spaces from the exit

" _Are we in Dad's mind right now, or are we in Hell?"_ Gabe asked jokingly, though he couldn't hide his nervousness at seeing the four walls of flame that now covered the leftmost rows.

" _I wish I could laugh at that joke, but I can't,"_ Charlie thought morosely, her mind flashing back to the hellish battlefield where her father and her murderer had dueled.

" **Pick up the pace, if you know what's good for you,"** Mike hissed.

 **THE TWELVE APOSTLES**

Peter, Judas, _Andrew_

" _Those are those guys that followed Jesus, right?"_ Jeremy asked. _"I know we've talked about them a few times on Sundays."_

" _Two of them are pretty obvious, but I don't know about the third one…"_ Charlie muttered.

" _Those flames are creeping me out,"_ Cassidy gave the wall of flames and the skeletal mouths spewing them a nervous glance.

 **PETER, JUDAS, ANDREW**

Gabe: ✓✓ (to 6)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 8)

Jeremy: ✓✓✓ (to 10)

Cassidy: ✓✓X (to 11)

Fritz: ✓✓X (to 13)

Liz: ✓✓✓ (to 11)

Susie: ✓✓X (to 12)

Gabe's Freddy plushie advanced closer to the exit, but so too did the ghosts of the other plushies with another unnatural echo. Gabe gulped as he realized just how uncomfortably close Charlie's Puppet plushie was to his own.

" **Cutting it a little close there, aren't you?"** Mike gleefully pointed out, as if mocking the danger the Freddy plushie was in. To make matters worse, the skull carvings flanking the next two rows unleashed their flames, an omnipresent danger that was growing ever closer.

Wall of Flame: 16 spaces to the exit

 _ **ROALD DAHL**_ **BOOKS**

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, _The BFG_

" _Ooh, Dad showed us those during the year. Those were some fun books!"_ Cassidy gushed.

" _But were they Roald Dahl books?"_ Liz countered.

" _How the hell should I know?"_ Fritz grumbled. _"I didn't pay attention to the author name!"_

 **Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG**

Gabe: ✓X (to 5)

Charlie: ✓✓X (to 6)

Jeremy: ✓X✓ (to 8)

Cassidy: ✓✓✓ (to 8)

Fritz: ✓X✓ (to 11)

Liz: ✓X✓ (to 9)

Susie: ✓✓X (to 10)

" _It was all of them again?"_ Susie exclaimed in disbelief. _"Come on!"_

" _I just realized how close Charlie's ghost is to me,"_ Gabe mumbled. _"Shit!"_

The sounds of two more rows being consumed by flames silenced her protest.

Wall of Flame: 14 spaces to the exit.

" **That ghost is right behind you, waiting to claim your life,"** Mike hissed. **"Spooky, isn't it?"**

 **MULTIPLES OF 8**

8, 64, _154_

" _An easy one,"_ Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. _"Thank God."_

" _Wait, that's not good!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"Cause Charlie can get it easily and catch up!"_

" _Heh heh heh…"_ Charlie snickered.

 **8, 64,** XXXXX

Gabe: ✓✓ (to 3)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 3)

Jeremy: ✓✓✓ (to 5)

Cassidy: ✓✓X (to 6)

Fritz: ✓✓X (to 9)

Liz: ✓✓X (to 7)

Susie: ✓✓X (to 8)

" _Oh, I missed one!"_ Cassidy pouted. _"I can't do mental math."_

Gabe's plushie moved forward, tantalizingly close to the exit. The ghosts all moved forward with their unnatural wail…and Charlie's Puppet caught up to Freddy. _"NO!"_ Gabe moaned as his plushie was pushed back one space and turned into a ghost…while the Puppet plushie came back to life with a flash of light. More flames burst out from the walls, consuming the next 2 rows.

Wall of Flame: 12 spaces to the exit

" _Hah!"_ Charlie cheered. _"I'm back to life!"_

" **You killed your friend, claimed his life force for your own. Congratulations,"** Mike congratulated, before his voice descended into a snarl. **"But what happened to him, CAN MOST CERTAINLY HAPPEN TO YOU!"**

 **COEXISTED WITH DINOSAURS**

Horses, elephant seals, _kangaroos_

"… _what the fuck,"_ Fritz mumbled.

" _How the hell are we supposed to know this?"_ Liz exclaimed.

" _God, I have no idea…"_ Susie muttered.

XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX

Gabe: ✓X✓ (to 2)

Charlie: ✓X (to 2)

Jeremy: ✓XX (to 4)

Cassidy: XX✓ (to 5)

Fritz: ✓X✓ (to 7)

Liz: ✓✓X (to 5)

Susie: ✓X✓ (to 6)

" _None of them?"_ Jeremy whistled. _"Wow."_

" _Give me my life force back!"_ Gabe shouted triumphantly as his Freddy plushie raced up to the same row as the Puppet. This time, it was Freddy who came back to life, and the Puppet that was pushed back one row and into a skeletal, ghostly state. _"I'm so close to the exit, if I can answer these next 2 correctly…"_

 **[[NOTE: If you have not already reached this point, skip to 3:10 in the TMP2 Final Round Theme]]**

And that was when a massive black iron gate slammed down in front of the exit, glowing with purple flames, a hideous demonic skull engraved on the front with glowing red eyes glaring menacingly at them all. The music had escalated again into a thrilling and frenzied pitch, highlighting the intensity and the beginning of the final stage.

" **Did you really think that I was going to let you escape that easily?"** Mike questioned mockingly. **"If you want to make it out alive, you have to answer the next question perfectly."**

 **CHARACTERS SNAPPED AWAY IN** _ **"Avengers: Infinity War"**_

Nebula, Black Panther, _Okoye_

" **And when I say all of them…"**

The third answer choice suddenly solidified:

Okoye

" **I MEAN ALL OF THEM."**

" _Ohhhhhhhh, snap!"_ Susie muttered as she smirked at Gabe.

" _Fuck…who the hell was Okoye?"_ Gabe mumbled.

Liz's smirk matched her sister's. _"Like we'd tell you."_

" _Dammit, dammit, dammit!"_ Gabe muttered. _"Please tell me this is the right answer…"_ All the ghosts held their breath as Mike revealed the correct answer.

XXXXX, **Black Panther** , XXXXX

Gabe: ✓✓✓

Charlie: ✓✓✓

Jeremy: ✓✓✓

Cassidy: X✓X

Fritz: ✓✓X

Liz: ✓✓X

Susie: X✓✓

" _YES!"_ Gabe whooped, pumping his fist into the air as Charlie and the others groaned in disappointment. The Freddy plushie pushed forward, and as it approached the iron gate the barrier lifted back up into the air to allow the plushie to pass. The kids watched as the Freddy plushie entered into the light, and both it and the light vanished.

And now that Gabe had won the game, a far darker fate awaited the ghost plushies left behind. A demonic roar drew the kids' attention back to the hallway. The rest of the skulls lining the hallway rows unleashed their unholy flames, one row at a time, moving faster and faster with each second that passed. The kids gasped in genuine fear as the Foxy ghost plushie was the first to be incinerated, letting out a terrifying scream identical to the screams of the original animatronics as it was consumed by the flames. The Chica plushie was the next to be devoured, followed by the Golden Freddy and Baby plushies, the Bonnie plushie, and finally the Puppet plushie. The flames destroyed the plushies without leaving a single trace remaining and advanced well past their destruction, not relenting until the entire hallway was engulfed. Then, the moment the last row was engulfed, the flames suddenly exploded upward in the shape of a nuclear cloud, the force of the blast sending the kids flying backwards. Though none of them were harmed or even felt a significant amount of heat from the blast, it did little to comfort them. For the explosion "cloud" had shifted into the shape of a demonic fiend's head, black save for two foci of flame that served as its eyes. A plume of flame erupted from the top of the "head", while the pillar of flame that led up to the cloud from underneath made the whole thing look like a hellish, elongated jaw. The children stared in horror at the demonic head-shaped explosion blast in horror. For most of them, it was their first true glimpse into the darkest depths of Mike's personality and imagination, a glimpse that was more than enough for them to understand how William Afton had been reduced from a savage, hellish, and nigh-unstoppable monster into a broken, mangled corpse.

For Charlie, it was a nightmarish reminder of Mike's demonic aspect that embodied him at his absolute worst, and all the brutality and cruelty he had unleashed as he had tortured and broken William's soul, one piece at a time.

The explosion cloud thankfully faded along with the rest of the flames and the rest of their surroundings, returning them back into the darkness. The kids were treated to the image of a newspaper that appeared on the big screen, with the living Freddy plushie featured on a picture to the left.

" **GABE CLAIMS MACABRE $5900 PRIZE!"** the newspaper proudly proclaimed. **"DESCRIBES KILLER SHOW HOST AS SEXY BARITONE!"**

The kids couldn't help but giggle at the message, their subdued laughter helping to drive away the lingering terror of what they had just witnessed. The newspaper vanished, and the rest of the kids were all treated to pictures of their ghost plushies and how they had died.

" **So that's Trivia Murder Party for you guys!"** Mike's voice returned. Though it still had that deep and unearthly inflection, it was otherwise back to the friendly demeanor that the kids were used to from their father. **"What'd you guys think?"**

" _That…holy crap…that was…amazing!"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"I didn't think I'd ever enjoy a game about us being murdered by a serial killer, but this was seriously one of the most fun things I've done since we've come here!"_

" _I know!"_ Susie added in agreement. _"I want to play again! I want to try and win this time!"_

" _You really knew how to make the game both scary and fun, dad!"_ Liz praised. _"It makes me really want to go for a round 2!"_

" _You might have overdone it a bit with the last part, but otherwise, heck yeah! I'm down to go again!"_ Jeremy commented excitedly.

" **I'm glad you liked the game, guys,"** Mike replied with genuine appreciation. **"And I'm proud of the fact that you guys weren't affected by the references to murder. You guys have no idea how much I invested into this."**

" **THEY MAY NOT…."** a guttural, inhuman voice interrupted. **"…BUT I MOST CERTAINLY DO."**

The ghosts all gasped as they whirled around to face the source of the voice. They could feel the atmosphere tense up as Mike himself prepared to face their uninvited guest.

" **I MAY HAVE ONLY JUST ARRIVED. AND NIGHTMARE TOLD ME LITTLE WHEN HE ORDERED ME TO CHECK IN ON THINGS. BUT I MUST SAY THAT, BASED ON WHAT I HAVE SEEN SO FAR…"** Nightmarionne's eyes glowed and his grin widened. **"…THIS IS MOST CERTAINLY MY KIND OF GAME."**

/

A/N: The votes are in, and while the poll was initially very close between Nightmare and Nightmarionne, some of the later votes were decidedly in Nightmarionne's favor.

It's weird how writing works, sometimes. This was meant to be a fun chapter. This was meant to be a **joke** chapter. Hell, this was meant to be borderline CRACK. And yet it ended up being twenty-three pages on Word. TWENTY-THREE. And this is only the first round! Not to mention that formatting this chapter on the site was a major pain in the asscrack.

I've actually withheld from using some of the minigames that I consider "more fun" so that I could use them for the next round. Now that a Nightmare has joined the game, things will be a lot more…interesting. Especially since Mike was being fairly generous with his questions because this was the kids' first time playing TMP. Next time…he may not be quite as merciful.

Anyways, I'm probably taking next week off. Four weekly chapters in a row has exhausted me, and I need a break. I've also started getting assignments from rotations again, which isn't fun.

But with that being said, hope you guys enjoyed!


	90. Chapter 90 - Trivia Murder Party Part 2

A/N: Hey guys! I should let you know right now that for the next few months, this fic's chapters will be uploading more slowly (a chapter every other week at most, possibly even less). The reason for this is because my next rotation after this one is OB/GYN, and the hours are fucking BRUTAL. Quite possibly even worse than my Surgery rotation. And since each day will end at 6-7 pm, I'm going to be exhausted most days to write. And as I've said before, I'd rather slowly write good chapters than quickly write shitty ones.

With that being said, let's turn our attention back to Trivia Murder Party! Nightmarionne has crashed the party, and it's time to see if his interactions with the family are different than the other Nightmares'.

DJ KJZ: It's a neat little theory, but there's no real evidence actually supporting the idea that Mangle is Susie's dog. Also, unless I think of a reason otherwise, assume that Mangle is destroyed (though I don't directly address in the fic in case I want to bring it back).

Chapter 90 – Trivia Murder Party Part 2

Stunned silence filled the space of Mike's mind. The ghost children gaped at Nightmarionne with confusion, uncertainty, and more than a little fear, while the demon lord returned their stares with amusement.

It was Mike who finally broke the silence. **"Ahem…"** he addressed the interloper. His voice was guarded and suspicious, but not outright hostile…yet. **"I don't believe we've met."**

Nightmarionne turned to face the vast emptiness. **"AH, WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?"** the demon lord greeted Mike. **"THE NAME I HAVE CHOSEN IN THIS FORM IS…NIGHTMARIONNE. A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE."**

" **You're certainly more polite than the other Nightmares,"** Mike mused aloud, **"but that doesn't necessarily give me a reason to trust you."**

Nightmarionne chuckled. **"UNDERSTANDABLE, THOUGH YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR. HALLOWEEN IS THE ONE DAY THAT BEINGS SUCH AS MYSELF ARE ALLOWED TO ROAM THE EARTH FREELY…SO LONG AS WE DO NOT VIOLATE THE RULES OF HEAVEN. AND THOUGH OUR BROTHER IS A FAR BETTER RULER THAN MOST, IF I WERE TO JEOPARDIZE OUR FAMILY'S FREEDOMS OUT OF SOME PETTY DESIRE TO DO EVIL, HE WOULD TEAR ME TO PIECES WITHOUT MERCY. NO, I HAVE NO QUARREL WITH YOU OR YOUR FAMILY. QUITE THE CONTRARY, ACTUALLY."**

" **Oh, really?"** Mike shifted his attention to the ghost kids. **"Can any of you confirm that?"**

" _Actually…yeah. Surprisingly,"_ Jeremy answered. _"He basically showed us how to play God of War while you were fighting William Afton."_

" _More like forced us to watch him play God of War,"_ Susie corrected, before shrugging sheepishly. _"I mean, we really didn't pay much attention because we were scared for you, dad, but honestly…yeah. It wasn't bad at all."_

" _Heck, I'd even go so far as to say that he's…probably the nicest Nightmare out of all of them really,"_ Gabe added.

" **Huh,"** Mike's voice became noticeably less tense. **"I'm not necessarily happy with the idea that you showed my kids a violent video game, but considering the fact that I'm pretty sure 99% of Hell would've done way worse, I'll give it a pass."** His voice hardened again. **"But you still haven't explained what you're doing here."**

Nightmarionne grinned. **"IT'S QUITE SIMPLE,"** he explained. **"BEFORE I DEPARTED FROM HELL, MY BROTHER INFORMED ME THAT YOU RECENTLY SOUGHT OUT HIS AID TO PREPARE FOR A GAME YOU WERE GOING TO BE PLAYING WITH YOUR CHILDREN. HE TOLD ME THAT I WOULD FIND THIS GAME QUITE…ENTERTAINING…AND THAT I SHOULD DROP BY FOR A VISIT."**

" _We were playing this game Dad recreated in his mind called Trivia Murder Party,"_ Liz answered.

The lights in Nightmarionne's eyes flashed and widened. **"WAIT, ARE YOU SERIOUS?"** he asked.

" _Yeah, Dad made all these plushies of the Freddy Fazbear characters and killed them whenever we failed what he called the Killing Grounds,"_ Cassidy added. _"It was scary at first but honestly we started having a lot of fun!"_

" **YOU WERE PLAYING TRIVIA MURDER PARTY?"** Nightmarionne asked, sounding genuinely delighted. **"THAT IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE GAMES EVER! WE EVEN USE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE LOSER WHEEL AS A WAY TO TORTURE DAMNED SOULS WHENEVER WE CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING!"**

" _What's the Loser Wheel?"_ Charlie asked in confusion.

" **OH SHIT, YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THAT ONE YET? MY BAD, I'LL SHUT UP,"** Nightmarionne apologized.

" **Do you…want to play?"** Mike asked, sounding utterly bemused and baffled now. After his encounters with the other two Nightmare lords, Nightmarionne's unexpectedly friendly personality was completely throwing him for a loop.

" **OH, FUCK THE HELL YES!"** Nightmarionne snapped his fingers, and a new plushie appeared. This one looked remarkably similar to Charlie's Marionette plushie, only with the demon lord's appearance instead.

" **You do realize that I'm not going to treat you with any more or less favoritism than my kids, right?"** Mike warned.

Nightmarionne smirked. **"PLEASE. I WOULD BE INSULTED IF YOU DID."**

" **All righty…"** Mike seized control of the Nightmarionne plushie, which vanished into the shadows.

The area around them darkened, and the chilling sequence of Freddy Fazbear locations suddenly began to play again…before suddenly pausing. **"Wait a sec,"** Mike interrupted. **"We've already seen this, except for Nightmarionne, who I doubt cares about all this. Soooooooo…"** the intro sequence suddenly began to zoom forward, far too quickly for anyone to catch any details, with a giant Fast-Forward icon flashing in front of it. **"…skipping the bullshit…skipping the bullshit…skipping the bullshit…"**

The same terrifying scream from before shattered the silence, and the giant words **"Trivia Murder Party"** flashed onto the screen for a second time. The area around them slowly lit up to reveal the same arena from before, only now that the ghost kids were used to it they weren't nearly as frightened.

" **Welcome to Trivia Murder Party! But you already know what's going on, and I don't feel like explaining shit again, so fuck tutorials!"** A giant flaming purple 1 appeared in front of them.

" _Wow, that was fast…"_ Charlie muttered.

" **The second largest consumer of Guinness beer, after the United Kingdom, is what country?"**

1\. Ireland

2\. China

3\. The U.S.

4\. Nigeria

Everyone stared at the question blankly. _"What the fuck?"_ Gabe finally muttered.

" **ONLY THE FIRST QUESTION AND ALREADY BEING THIS RUTHLESS?"** Nightmarionne asked. **"DELIGHTFUL."**

" _I don't have any fucking idea!"_ Fritz cursed.

" _We're all going to die, aren't we?"_ Susie sighed.

" **Who got the question right?"**

 **4\. Nigeria**

A red X appeared over _every single plushie_. _"Are you kidding me?"_ Liz exclaimed. _"Who could possibly know THAT?"_

" _It was such an out of the blue answer that I ALMOST picked it,"_ Charlie lamented.

" _Such a dick move!"_ Jeremy muttered.

" **THAT IS AN EVIL QUESTION,"** Nightmarionne commented, before he suddenly grinned. **"THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!"**

Cassidy scowled. _"Speak for yourself."_

" **Heh heh heh heh heh…everyone is WRONG!"** Mike taunted, sounding pleased to an unholy degree. **"Time for some consequences."** The ring of fire circling the arena flared into a powerful blaze as Mike put up the name of the first Killing Grounds minigame: **"GIFTS."**

" **This is just me giving you all a gift,"** Mike explained. Dark purple lightning flashed, and a treasure chest with gift boxes appeared in the center of the arena. **"No death at all, unless you refuse to pick one. In which case you have only yourself to blame for being a fucking moron. But surely there's nothing bad inside these gift boxes, right?"**

" _Uh huh, dad…"_ Charlie didn't even bother to hide her skepticism. _"Uh huh…"_

" **Anyways, pick a gift,"** Mike ordered. Nightmarionne, not even hesitating for a second, immediately picked up a red box with black ribbons. The ghost children, with a bit more uncertainty, picked up various gifts of different colors as well. The boxes suddenly opened in their hands, revealing that most of them had gotten $50 in cash…except for Fritz, who had gotten a hideous skull totem instead.

" **Ooh, a cursed skull totem!"** Mike exclaimed.

" _Oh, God…"_ Fritz muttered, knowing full well that merely the name of the object was bad news. As if to prove his point, a glowing red 4 appeared in both of the totem's eye sockets.

" **In 4 turns, that totem will kill you."**

" _FUCK!"_ the former Foxy inhabitant exclaimed.

" **But it's not all bad news,"** Mike continued. **"If you get a question correct, you can force the totem onto any other player who got that same question WRONG."**

" _Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…"_ Fritz's fear faded, replaced by a crafty, mischievous look.

Jeremy smirked. _"Oh, we've got nothing to worry about then, cause Fritz is an idiot!"_

" _Hey!"_ Fritz protested, then his eyes narrowed. _"I'll remember that."_

The flames around the arena died down, and Mike brought all the plushies up under a Scoreboard heading. All of the plushies were still alive with $50, except for Fritz who had his cursed skull totem hanging underneath his Foxy plushie. **"Nothing much to say here, since you're all mostly in the same boat,"** Mike commented as he brought the plushies back up. A giant flaming 2 appeared in the center of the arena, followed by:

" **Which of these ominous warnings is correct?**

1\. Its to late!

2\. It's to late!

3\. Its too late!

4\. It's too late!

" _Oh, a grammar question,"_ Cassidy sighed in relief. _"Thank God."_

" _I'll take those easy points when I can get them,"_ Gabe commented.

" _I'm with you there,"_ Liz agreed.

" **And the correct answer is…"**

 **4\. It's too late!**

A green check appeared under every single plushie, swiftly turning into a thousand dollars before fading away. _"Thank God…"_ Fritz muttered. The glowing red 4 in his skull totem's eyes counted down to 3. _"Wait, crap!"_ he exclaimed.

" **I should stop being so nice,"** Mike muttered as he moved on to the next question.

" **Which of these spooky-sounding implements is a real tool?"**

1\. Ghost wrench

2\. Zombie saw

3\. Hex key

4\. Witch screw

" _Two of those sound like bullshit answers,"_ Charlie muttered.

" _Yeah, but even with that I still don't know which one's correct out of the two I'm thinking of!"_ Liz complained.

Nightmarionne sneered. **"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, MORTALS. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE ANSWER IS."**

Susie rolled her eyes. _"Good for you."_

" **Who said…"**

 **3\. Hex Key**

Green check marks appeared over Gabe's, Fritz's, Charlie's, Liz's, and Nightmarionne's plushies, while red Xs appeared over Jeremy's, Susie's, and Cassidy's.

" **Which leaves only you…but we have some business to take care of first, don't we?"** Mike pointed out. The Foxy plushie reappeared on the screen. **"Since you got this question right, choose someone who got the question wrong to pass your totem to."**

Fritz grinned at Jeremy. _"What was that you said earlier about me being an idiot?"_ he asked mockingly as he forced the Bonnie plushie to accept the totem. _"Payback's a real bitch, isn't it?"_

The former Bonnie inhabitant sighed. _"Fine, I deserved that, didn't I?"_ he muttered.

" **Now then, onto the business of violence!"** Mike declared as the arena transformed into the Killing Grounds. On the screen, he put up the words, **"SKEWERS."**

" **We're going to play with a little magic trick!"** There was a flash of dark lightning, and a box decorated with the symbol of an eye with many knives being stabbed into it appeared in the center of the arena. The box's lid fell open as Jeremy's, Susie's, and Cassidy's plushies appeared. Inside they could see a total of 20 spaces arranged in 4 rows and 5 columns.

" **Pick a space in the box to hide yourself."**

" _Uh oh…"_ Susie muttered. _"I can already see where this is going."_

" _We're in trouble, aren't we?"_ Jeremy sighed.

" _God, I just hope that nobody stabs their sword here,"_ Cassidy prayed as she picked her spot.

The box closed and four swords appeared, one in front of the other players.

Nightmarionne's eyes lit up like Christmas had come early. **"AWW, FUCK THE HELL YES!"** he declared with glee. **"NOW YOU'RE SPEAKING MY FUCKING LANGUAGE, SCHMIDT!"**

" **Now pick a row or column to run your sword through. If you seriously can't figure out what happens next, you're a fucking idiot and I can't help you."**

" _Where would they hide, I wonder?"_ Fritz asked with a smirk.

" _I dunno, but only way to find out!"_ Gabe replied, sounding just as smug.

" **Time for the stabby-stab!"** Mike cheerfully declared.

Four swords materialized and stabbed themselves into the box, and an agonized scream echoed throughout the room. The lid of the box opened again to reveal Cassidy's plushie in the lowermost left corner…with one sword impaled cleanly through its body. Jeremy's and Susie's plushies, while dangerously close to the path of the blades, had remained safe.

" **HAHAHAHAHA!"** Nightmarionne cackled with delight. **"MY FIRST VICTIM OF THE NIGHT!"**

" _Dammit!"_ Cassidy sulked as Mike scratched a white X onto the Golden Freddy plushie and threw it into sharp relief. A tiny red dot appeared over the X as Mike fired a giant bullet into the plushie, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of its body. _"Yikes…"_ Cassidy muttered as Mike flipped the plushie over, turning it into a ghost.

The flames dimmed down as Mike brought up the scoreboard. Gabe had $2050, Jeremy had $1050, Susie had $1050, Fritz had $2000, Cassidy had $1050, Charlie had $2050, Liz had $2050, and Nightmarionne had $2550 thanks to a $500 bonus for killing Cassidy's plushie.

" **Yep, just like last time, you're a ghost,"** Mike explained. **"But like I said before, ghosts can still keep playing and even win the entire game! And hey, at the very least, you can always be an agent of chaos and fuck over everyone else."**

Cassidy giggled. _"Oh, you bet, dad!"_ she replied as more than one ghost rolled their eyes.

A giant fiery 4 appeared in the center of the arena, followed by:

" **How much longer do we have to wait until the sun dies?"**

1\. About 100 million years

2\. About 1 billion years

3\. About 5 billion years

4\. About 20 billion years

Liz threw her hands up in the air in frustration. _"Ugh…I give up on everything,"_ she groaned.

" _I think I remember reading about this somewhere…but I don't remember where,"_ Charlie mused.

" _I know this!"_ Jeremy triumphantly exclaimed.

" **GOOD FOR YOU,"** Nightmarionne drawled.

" **Did you pick…"**

 **3\. About 5 billion years**

Green check marks appeared under Jeremy's, Cassidy's, Charlie's, and Nightmarionne's plushies, while red Xs appeared above everyone else. **"Pick another player to give your cursed totem to."**

Jeremy smirked. _"You know…at first, I was going to give this totem to Fritz, because it's the family meme to make fun of Fritz…"_

" _Aw, come on!"_ Fritz complained.

"… _but then I remembered Gabe trolling me a few weeks back,"_ Jeremy continued as though he hadn't spoken. _"And since I haven't gotten payback for that yet…"_

The cursed totem suddenly moved over to Gabe's Freddy plushie, its eyes counting down to 2. _"Dammit!"_ Gabe smacked his face with the palm with his hand. _"You've been waiting to get back at me all this time, haven't you?"_

" _Payback is a real bitch, isn't it?"_ Jeremy chuckled, mirroring his brother's words from earlier verbatim.

Fritz grinned. _"Nice!"_ he said as he high-fived his brother.

" **Come with me,"** Mike commanded. As the flames burned brightly once more, he revealed the name of the next Killing Game: **"DUMB WAITERS."**

" **How much do you really trust your siblings?"** he questioned mockingly. **"Let's find out."** There was a flash of lightning, and two elevators appeared in the center of the arena, hanging from the sky by a single rope. At the same time, the ground underneath the elevators collapsed, creating a pit that led into an empty void. The Freddy, Chica, Foxy, and Baby plushies appeared above them.

" **Here's how this is going to work,"** Mike explained. **"If you all pick the SAME elevator, you all live. But, if there is a SPLIT decision, I will kill everyone on the HEAVIER side."**

" **OOH…"** Nightmarionne chuckled. **"I DO LOVE A GOOD MIND GAME."**

 **"And in case you're wondering what's going to happen in case of a tie, don't worry, I know how to solve THAT particular problem"** A dummy appeared in one of the doors, and then both immediately closed.

" **Feel free to talk to each other. But can you really trust each other?"** Mike asked, dark amusement clear in his tone. **"Are you sure that you should?"**

Gabe, Susie, and Liz looked at the elevators indecisively. _"All right, guys,"_ Gabe began. _"We can all make it through if we all agree to take a particular side and stick to it."_

" _I'm down with that, but which side?"_ Liz asked, before her eyes suddenly narrowed _"Also how do I know I can trust you?"_

" _Hey, I was just trolling around with Minecraft, but I'm serious now,"_ Gabe promised. _"No lying here."_

" _Okay, just so we're clear, we're all going left?"_ Fritz clarified.

" _Yes, left,"_ Gabe confirmed.

" _All right…"_ Susie agreed as she clicked on her choice. The other three ghosts at risk of having their plushies killed quickly followed suit.

" **Let's see what fate has decided."**

The elevator doors swung open again, revealing that all four of the plushies had chosen the same elevator…on the RIGHT side.

Fritz blinked in shock. _"Wait, are you serious?"_

" _We all picked the OTHER elevator?"_ Susie exclaimed.

" _I…I have no words…"_ Liz gaped. _"…just…wow…"_

" **So let me get this straight,"** Mike's voice interrupted, and for the first time since starting the round it had returned to its normal manner of speaking despite its unearthly and inhuman echoes. **"You all agreed to take the left elevator, you all decided to betray the others by picking the opposite elevator instead, but because all of you made that choice, you all ended up in the same elevator anyway with the exact same result as if none of you broke your word."**

 _"I…guess?"_ Gabe answered uncertainly.

" **What in the actual fuck?"** Mike spluttered. **"I've never seen this happen, ever."**

" **FOR FUCK'S SAKE,"** Nightmarionne rolled his eyes. **"YOU CAN'T EVEN BACKSTAB EACH OTHER CORRECTLY,"** he grumbled as Mike removed the plushies from the Killing Grounds and took them all to the Scoreboard. Gabe still had $2050 (along with his cursed totem), Jeremy had $2050, Susie had $1050, Fritz had $2000, Cassidy had $2050 (and was still the only one with a dead plushie), Charlie had $3050, Liz had $2050, and Nightmarionne had $3550.

" **The game continues on, even if your score says the same,"** Mike commented. The plushies floated higher into the air and a flaming 5 briefly appeared.

" **The large Hadron Collider is currently the biggest machine in the world. What's its circumference?**

1\. 1 mile

2\. 9 mile

3\. 4 mile

4\. 17 miles

Cassidy groaned. _"…you're such an asshole, dad."_

" _I, uh, nope!"_ Charlie sighed in exasperation. _"No clue at all."_

" **CRAP. I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW THIS ONE,"** Nightmarionne admitted.

" _This is gonna suck…"_ Jeremy muttered.

" **Did anyone choose…"**

 **4\. 17 miles**

Only one green check mark appeared, this time under Susie's Chica plushie. _"Yay!"_ she cheered as red Xs appeared above everyone else. _"I actually completely guessed that one!"_

" _17 miles?"_ Liz exclaimed. _"WOW, that is a LONG machine."_

" _They must do some serious stuff with it if it needs to be THAT long!"_ Gabe agreed.

" _How'd they even manage to build it?"_ Jeremy wondered.

" **Who knows?"** Mike answered. **"But that's not something** you **need to worry about. Your plushies, on the other hand…"** He was about to move the plushies to the Killing Grounds, but stopped short. **"Oh, and before I forget…"**

The glowing red 2 in the cursed totem's eye sockets counted down to 1. **"You don't have much time left, do you?"**

" _No, I don't…"_ Gabe groaned as Mike prepared the Killing Grounds. This time, the minigame chosen was, **"DICTATION."**

" **It's time we revisit the lost art of letter writing,"** Mike declared. Lightning flashed, and a typewriter appeared in the arena. **"Write down my words as I say them. The person who writes the fewest of my words…WILL DIE."**

" _No need to scare us like that,"_ Jeremy muttered. _"Yeesh."_

" **Ahem…"** Mike coughed. **"Starting letter now."**

" **Dear Fazbear Entertainment,**

 **As a former worker in your illustrious franchise, I would like to wholeheartedly and passionately tell you to go fuck yourselves. You are so fucking incompetent at keeping people safe that it frankly blows my fucking mind. Not only did you let the same asinine fuckhead kill God knows how many kids, but your ability to keep night guards safe is just as atrocious. A lobotomized baboon with a giant bamboo pole shoved all the way up its ass and into its brain could run your fucking pizza chain, and probably do your fucking jobs better than you can. As far as I'm concerned, you couldn't run out of business fast enough, you brainless shitheads."**

The kids snickered, desperately trying to keep control of themselves…and they failed. Some of them outright collapsed onto the floor in hysterics, while others were holding their sides or each other. Even Nightmarionne was openly laughing with genuine amusement instead of malice.

" **THAT IS THE FIRST WORK-RELATED LETTER THAT HASN'T BORED ME TO NOT GIVING A SHIT IN CENTURIES,"** the demon lord applauded. **"WELL DONE."**

" **Thank you, I try,"** Mike replied smugly. **"Now let me just take a couple of seconds to read through all these letters and see how you did."**

After a few minutes, numbers began to appear under each plushie, signaling how many each player had gotten correct.

Gabe: 35

Jeremy: 33

Fritz: 22

Charlie: 37

Liz: 28

Nightmarionne: 41

" _Dammit,"_ Fritz cursed as his number turned blood red. _"I was having a hard time typing this already and once I realized what Dad was actually saying I pretty much just lost it."_

" **You know, it's a good thing none of you ever got into the typewriting business, because what one of you wrote was actual garbage,"** Mike drawled.

He held up a paper containing Fritz's written words. "Dear Fazbar Entertinment, as a former worker in your ilustrius francise I would like to wholehardtedly andpassionately tell you to go fuck urselves. You are so fucking incopetet at keeping peeople saFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"

" **I mean seriously, what in the actual fuck is this nonsense?"** Mike demanded. **"I could have done a better job if I smashed William Afton's head against a typewriter over and over again!"**

The ghosts giggled, both at Fritz's mess of a letter and the idea of William Afton's head being slammed against a typewriter to write a memo. **"I AM DEFINITELY STEALING THAT IDEA THE NEXT TIME I NEED TO WRITE A REPORT FOR NIGHTMARE,"** Nightmarionne commented with a chuckle.

" _What really gets me is the fact that you actually wrote out your breakdown,"_ Charlie pointed out.

As if to emphasize his contempt, Mike stamped a giant red F on the letter and scratched a white X onto the Foxy plushie, throwing it to the forefront. This time, Mike froze the plushie in ice and shattered it to pieces, the ghost rising from the broken remains.

" _Wow, that is vicious,"_ Liz commented as Mike deactivated the flames around the arena. Little had actually changed, except that Susie now had $2050 to match most of the other players, and Fritz had joined Cassidy among the dead players. A flaming 6 briefly materialized, signaling the arrival of the next question.

" **What type of animal is a hellbender?"**

1\. Spider

2\. Salamander

3\. Snake

4\. Turtle

" **THAT IS A BADASS NAME,"** Nightmarionne noted with a pleased expression on his face.

" _Absolutely,"_ Jeremy agreed. By now, they had become familiar enough with the demon lord's presence and surprisingly personable demeanor that they weren't terrified of him anymore, at least not under the current circumstances.

" _There's no way a fucking turtle of all things would have a name that badass,"_ Fritz declared.

" _I'm with you,"_ Susie agreed, _"I've got two possible options but I'm not sure which one is right. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess."_

" **And the correct answer is…"**

 **2\. salamander**

Green check marks appeared under everyone's name…except for Jeremy's and Liz's. _"Oh, no…"_ Liz groaned.

" _Hey, Jeremy! Catch!"_ The cursed skull totem shifted over to the Bonnie plush.

" _Aww, come on, man!"_ Jeremy protested as the totem's eyes counted down to zero. The skull's eyes flashed, emitting a menacing red aura...and then the Bonnie plushie exploded. _"Dammit, Gabe, how many times have you screwed me over in a game?"_ he complained.

Gabe smirked, while the others tried to hide their snickering. _"Get wrecked!"_ he taunted.

Liz was one of the ones who was struggling not to laugh. **"What are you laughing at?"** Mike asked as every plushie besides hers disappeared. **"You still got this question wrong. Which means you're the one whose ass is on the line next."**

"… _crap,"_ the orange-haired ghost girl groaned as Mike took her to the Killing Grounds. When Mike put up the name of the game, **"LOSER WHEEL,"** Nightmarionne let out a bark of deranged laughter.

" **HA HA HA HA HA!"** the demon lord cackled. **"YOU. ARE. DOOMED!"**

" _What do you…"_ Lightning flashed, interrupting Liz's sentence, and her jaw dropped in horror. A wheel had appeared with a similar appearance to the one used in _Wheel of Fortune_ …except every wedge had the word DEATH written clearly on it, as well as a different method of execution. The only exceptions were tiny slivers a single space each located in between each wedge, with the word LIFE written on them instead.

At this, all the kids except Liz burst out laughing. _"Pffffftttt…welp, see ya, Liz!"_ Fritz chortled.

" _Yeah, I don't see you getting out of this one,"_ Cassidy agreed. _"Sorry."_

" _No offense, Liz, but I'm really glad I'm not you right now,"_ Susie commented.

" _What…what…what..."_ Liz spluttered in outraged disbelief. _"This is SO not fair!"_

" **This is what you get for being the only living person to get the question wrong,"** Mike replied, in a tone that made it all too clear that he didn't give a fuck. **"Good luck!"**

" _I hate you all…"_ Liz grumbled as she spun the wheel. The wheel spun rapidly for several seconds before slowly coming to a stop…right onto a wedge that said "DEATH by Nails." _"Dammit!"_

" **You know, I used to absolutely fucking HATE this minigame with a passion, but I suddenly have a whole new appreciation for it after seeing it from the other side!"** Mike commented cheerfully. He brought up the Baby plushie into the forefront, and Liz could only watch as her plushie was violently impaled with a volley of nails and turned into a ghost.

" **DAMN,"** Nightmarionne whistled. **"THAT WAS BRUTAL EVEN BY MY STANDARDS!"**

" **Normally I'd feel shame at a comment like that,"** Mike replied just as flippantly, **"but since this is all for the sake of game where the whole point is I'm a killer host, thank you very much!"**

" _I'm still calling BS on this!"_ Liz pouted, crossing her arms in a sulk.

" _Yeah, it is kinda bullshit…"_ Charlie agreed, trying not to hide a smile. _"But even I have to admit it is pretty funny."_

Back at the Scoreboard, Gabe had $3050, Jeremy had $2050, Susie had $3050, Fritz had $3000, Cassidy had $3050, Charlie had $4050, Liz had $2050, and Nightmarionne had $4550. Jeremy's, Fritz's, and Liz's plushies had all joined Cassidy's as ghosts, leaving only Gabe, Susie, Charlie, and Nightmarionne alive…for now. **"The Nightmares should use the Loser Wheel or something like that whenever they can't decide how to torture William Afton for the day, or are too bored to actually come up with a plan on their own,"** Mike suggested. **"Put up some of their best ideas in the past on different wedges, spin the wheel, and go with that idea for the day. Obviously no life spaces though, that fucker doesn't deserve any."**

" **THAT'S…NOT A BAD IDEA, ACTUALLY,"** Nightmarionne mused. **"I'LL TAKE THAT UNDER CONSIDERATION."**

Most of the ghosts smirked at the idea of William Afton being randomly tortured ala the Loser Wheel for a day, though Charlie barely suppressed a shudder at the reminder of her father's potential for cruelty as Mike prepared Question 7.

" **Violin strings are sometimes made of catgut…which apparently isn't made from real cat guts at all but is instead made from what?"**

1\. Sheep intestines

2\. Horse hide

3\. Whale blubber

4\. Human hair

"… _all of these are terrible!"_ Susie exclaimed.

" _I think most violin strings are made of metal nowadays,"_ Charlie added. _"And thank God for that!"_

" **WE SOMETIMES USE THE ETHEREAL FLESH OF DAMNED SOULS TO MAKE OUR INSTRUMENTS!"** Nightmarionne remarked cheerfully. At the dirty and disgusted looks sent his way, he shrugged. **"WHAT?"**

" **Anyways…"** Mike interrupted before the conversation could get more disturbing. **"The correct answer is…"**

 **1\. Sheep intestines**

Green check marks appeared under Gabe's, Jeremy's and Liz's plushies, while red Xs appeared over everyone else's. _"I just went with the obvious answer,"_ Jeremy admitted.

" _Yeah, me too,"_ Liz agreed. _"It was either completely wrong or 100% correct."_

" **I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT THAT WRONG…"** Nightmarionne growled as Mike dropped the Chica, Puppet, and Nightmarionne plushies back into the Killing Grounds. This time, however, there was another pile of money on the floor, similar to the Arena minigame from the previous round. This time, however, the word that Mike put up on the screen was **"DONATIONS."**

" **I'm in the mood for another mind game,"** Mike commented, **"only this time with some money thrown into the equation."** As he spoke, $500 appeared under each plushie. **"You each get 500 dollars. You can give some of that cash to whoever you want. The person who has the highest amount of cash will die."**

Susie thought for a moment, _"Okay, maybe I should just give all my money to…"_

"… **but there's a catch,"** Mike interrupted. **"If you give to someone and they end up with $800 or more, I will kill YOU instead!"**

"… _never mind,"_ Susie shook her head, her train of thought derailed by Mike's caveat.

" **Get to work,"** the man ordered.

Susie, Charlie, and Nightmarionne began eyeing each other shiftily, trying to gauge each other's expressions and predict their plans. The next few seconds were surprisingly silent aside from some faint whispering among the spectating ghost kids, who were trying to guess which one of them was about to die. One by one, the three made their decisions and wrote out their donations.

" **Show! Me! The! Money!"** Mike proclaimed. To everyone's surprise, both the Chica and Nightmarionne plushies each gave $200 to Charlotte, bringing the Puppet plushie's total up to $900.

" _Oh, NO!"_ Charlie groaned as her plushie gave $250 to Nightmarionne, leaving her with $650…and the highest cash total. _"I didn't know you guys BOTH gave me money!"_ she protested as the number turned blood red.

" **Oh, wow. The rich will actually suffer consequences for once,"** Mike commented as he prepared to execute Charlie's plushie. The Puppet swelled like a balloon and popped, leaving only a ghost behind.

" _Okay, that one was kinda funny,"_ Liz giggled. Charlie scowled but didn't say anything as Mike brought up the Scoreboard again. Gabe now had $4050, Jeremy had $3050, Susie had $3350, Fritz had $3000, Cassidy had $3050, Charlie had $4700, Liz had $3050, and Nightmarionne had $4850. More than one ghost was shocked at how close the scores were to each other, though Fritz complained briefly about the fact that he was now in last place by only $50. Gabe, Susie, and Nightmarionne were the only ones alive, a bit of a surprise since many expected Charlie to either survive the questions or at the very least be the last one to die.

A giant flaming 8 appeared in the arena, followed by:

" **Which of the following is NOT something Rick Astley sang he's never gonna do?"**

1\. "…make you cry…"

2\. "…pass you by…"

3\. "…say goodbye…"

4\. "…tell a lie…"

Nightmarionne immediately let out a loud groan. **"REALLY, SCHMIDT?"** he asked incredulously. **"YOU'RE BRINGING UP THIS SONG?"**

" _I've never heard of this song before,"_ Susie said uncertainly.

" **IT'S TIED TO ONE OF THE OLDEST MEMES OUT THERE,"** Nightmarionne growled. **"I'M DISAPPOINTED IN MYSELF FOR KNOWING THE ANSWER. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW, FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN TIME."**

"… _okay…"_ Liz muttered as he picked his answer.

" **Who said…"**

 **2.** "… **pass you by…"**

Three green check marks appeared for Gabe, Charlie, and Nightmarionne. _"Oh, crap…"_ Susie groaned when she realized she was the only living person to get the question wrong. _"This is gonna suck, isn't it?"_

" **Yep!"** Mike cheerfully replied as the flames of the Killing Grounds ignited once again. He put up the words **"SCRATCH-OFF"** and gave Susie a scratch ticket. The girl couldn't tell much from it other than the fact that it was a 3x3 grid of gray squares.

" **Scratch tickets are widely considered to be one of the shittiest and most uninspired gifts of all time, so it's perfect for you!"**

" _Gee, thanks…"_ Susie rolled her eyes.

" **Scratch and find three dollar signs to live. If you keep scratching, I'll give you extra cash for each dollar sign you find. But if you scratch even one skull…"** Mike's voice descended into a demonic growl. **"…YOU DIE."**

The former Chica inhabitant looked at her ticket uncertainly and scratched the top right corner…revealing a dollar sign. Feeling her hope that she might survive this minigame rise, she scratched the square in the bottom left corner…and was instantly greeted with a red skull. The entire ticket immediately turned blood red and vanished.

" **Aaaaaaaaand you lose,"** Mike commented, and everyone could hear the smugness oozing from his voice. **"You know what that means!"**

The Chica plushie was immediately thrown to the forefront, and promptly crushed in a giant metal bear trap before turning into a ghost. _"That scratch ticket is almost as bullshit as the Loser Wheel!"_ Susie sulked.

" _No way, Susie!"_ Liz shook her head. _"NOTHING could be as bullshit as the Loser Wheel!"_

" **There were two skulls in that ticket, by the way, so Liz is objectively correct,"** Mike interjected as he brought up the scores. Gabe now had $5050, Jeremy had $3050, Susie had $3350, Fritz had $3000, Cassidy had $3050, Charlie had $5700, Liz had $3050, and Nightmarionne had $5850.

" _The Puppets are really running away with the game, aren't they?"_ Jeremy muttered as Mike got ready for the ninth question.

" **What color M &M was retired in 1995?"**

1\. Purple

2\. White

3\. Pink

4\. Tan

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the question for a few seconds. _"…Get the fuck out of here, dad!"_ Fritz cursed.

" _What M &M color?" _Liz repeated incredulously. _"I didn't know they even MADE M &Ms in that color!"_

" _Dad's just trying to kill us as quickly as possible, isn't he?"_ Gabe groaned.

" **THIS IS A BULLSHIT QUESTION,"** Nightmarionne growled.

" _I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with you,"_ Charlie added in irritation.

" **Who said…"**

 **4\. Tan**

A red X appeared over every single plushie _again_. **"Heh heh heh heh heh…"** Mike chuckled menacingly. **"Everyone is WRONG! And wrong answers must be punished!"**

The flames of the arena ignited once more. **"I'm in the mood for another dice game,"** he remarked as he put up the words **"HIGH ROLLERS."** The Freddy and Nightmarionne plushies appeared, each with three red dice underneath them.

" **The person who rolls the highest will die,"** Mike explained.

" _Seems simple enough…"_ Gabe began, only to fall silent as the rest of the plushies appeared underneath, each with a single red die in front of them.

"… **but we have some help to make things more interesting. You have a dice that you can give to whoever you want to make their odds WORSE."**

" _Ohhhhhhhhhh…"_ Mischievous smirks and grins began to appear on the ghost kids' faces, while Gabe looked at them nervously and Nightmarionne seemed mostly disinterested with the entire affair.

Jeremy was the first to break the silence. _"You know, at first I was going to give my dice to Nightmarionne, since he's a demon lord of Hell and all. But then I realized that he actually hasn't done anything bad to me personally, and I still haven't gotten back at Gabe for blowing up my house in Minecraft in a way that actually mattered. Sooooo…"_ the dice under the Bonnie plushie joined the group of 3 under the Freddy plushie. _"…here you go!"_

" _Aww, come on, guys!"_ Gabe protested as Liz immediately gave her dice to the Freddy plushie as well. _"Can't we talk about this?"_

" _Nope!"_ Fritz retorted with a smirk as he added the Foxy plushie's dice to Gabe's growing pile as well. Liz was right behind her brother, bringing Gabe's total up to 6.

" _I know this is really mean…"_ Cassidy admitted, _"but piling all this dice onto Gabe is just too funny for me to resist!"_ A 7th dice joined the rest.

" _You know what, fuck it!"_ Gabe threw his hands in the air in exasperation. _"Just give it all to me! Come on, I know you want to!"_

With a shrug, Susie gave her dice to Gabe as well. The only one who broke the trend was Charlie, who felt bad for her brother and decided to give her dice to Nightmarionne instead. Still, that only gave the demon lord 4 dice to roll…compared to Gabe's **eight**.

" **Ha ha ha, yep!"** Mike pitched in, clearly amused. **"You. Are. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked!"**

Gabe rolled his eyes. _"Thanks a lot, dad…"_ he grumbled.

" **No problem!"** his father cheerfully replied, before his tone suddenly turned businesslike. **"Now roll."**

Gabe sighed and rolled his eight dice, while Nightmarionne casually rolled his 4. The former Freddy inhabitant let out another loud groan of defeat when he saw the many 5s and 6s scattered across his die, which congealed together to form the number "35". By contrast, Nightmarionne had rolled a mere 12, easily enough to win by a landslide.

" **Oh, wooooooooow…"** Mike drawled, sarcasm dripping in his voice. **"I tooooootally never expected THAT to happen…"**

" **WOW…"** Nightmare whistled as the 35 turned red, sounding more confused than anything else. **"I HONESTLY EXPECTED EVERYONE TO INSTANTLY GIVE THEIR DICE TO ME INSTEAD OF THE BRAT OVER THERE. I MEAN, I'M THE BIG BAD DEMON LORD. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED THAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO SCREW HIM OVER INSTEAD?"**

" _He blew up our houses in Minecraft,"_ Jeremy explained tersely.

" **AH,"** the demonic puppet nodded. **"IN THAT CASE, YOUR VENGEANCE IS COMPLETELY JUSTIFIABLE."**

" _I hate you all…"_ Gabe muttered as his Freddy plushie was thrown to the forefront. Opting for efficiency, Mike swiftly sliced the plushie in half before turning it into a ghost. When he brought them back to the Scoreboard, the ghosts were pleasantly surprised to discover that everyone except for Charlie and the victims of the minigame had been given $500 as a reward for giving their dice to the one who had actually died. With this killing bonus added to the funds, the total scores were $5050 for Gabe, $3550 for Jeremy, $3850 for Susie, $3500 for Fritz, $3550 for Cassidy, $5700 for Charlie, $3550 for Liz, and $5850 for Nightmarionne. And this time, the only plushie that hadn't been turned into a ghost was Nightmarionne's.

" **Only one of you is still alive…"** Mike declared. The ghosts looked around, waiting for another demented clip show to transition them to the Final Round chamber, but Mike did something much more disturbing he spoke, the ground suddenly began to shake and tremble, as though they had all been caught in an earthquake. Flames ignited within the eyes and mouths of the demonic statues in the background, all of them chaotically spouting bursts of fire from their grotesque jaws.

" _What's going on?"_ Cassidy asked frantically.

" _I don't know!"_ Susie exclaimed. _"This didn't happen last time!"_

Cracks began to form in the floor, and Charlie suddenly had unpleasant flashbacks of the moment when Mike had shattered the arena in the last stages of his duel with William Afton, before plunging him into the abyss. Though she knew Mike's actions were merely theatrical this time around, without genuine malice or intent to harm, the fact that this new transition to the Final Round had so many similarities to the moment where Mike had fully revealed the worst aspects of his character to William was enough to fill her with dread regardless. Even Nightmarionne seemed surprised by what he was witnessing, though unlike her the demon lord was _impressed_ more than anything else.

" **YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS,"** Mike growled.

The floor underneath them collapsed, and with screams of surprise and fear the players fell into the darkness. The Final Round was about to begin.

And in the back of their minds, the ghost kids had a suspicion that Mike wouldn't be so merciful with his questions, this time around…

/

A/N: Originally, I was going to have this entire chapter include both the main part of the TMP round AND the Final Round, like last time. But when this chapter started reaching Page 18 with just the regular parts, I decided to split the final round into next chapter.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: "oh, God, I don't want you to split this into another chapter. I just want you to end this." However, I did this for two reasons. The first is because I don't want this final round to end quickly like the last one (which I would have to do if I don't want this chapter to stretch on to 30+ pages). I want to leave you guessing as to who will win, and though I won't reveal the details, the next game will be MUCH closer than the last one. And will feature more of the darker aspects of Dark!Mike and MAYBE even a hint of Demon!Mike.

And the second is because I will also be providing an intro (of sorts) to the next big FNAF game with regards to how it will fit into this fic. That's right, I will begin to address Ultimate Custom Night in the next chapter and how it will play out in the MNGF universe. While the more prevalent theories, WillHell (in its most traditional interpretation) and PurgaMike will not be able to fit in MNGF for obvious reasons, but I have already prepared a somewhat…different…take on UCN to help it fit better into this fic's universe.

Who do you think will win this round? Nightmarionne has the advantage in terms of both money and being the only one alive, but that is a state of affairs that can very easily change.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


	91. Chapter 91 - Trivia Murder Party Part 3

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's time to wrap things up with Trivia Murder Party! The next chapter (whenever it comes out) will be FNAF songs (cause I know you guys really want those), and then I think I'll tackle how UCN will play out in my fic. I imagine it'll actually end up being a Black Comedy type of plotline, something that has happened with surprisingly low frequency in this fic, all things considered.

I also made a brief edit in the previous chapter since I wrote one of the Killing Grounds games improperly. You can try and find the mistake if you really want to, but it doesn't have a significant impact on how the game played out anyway.

But first things first, we need to finish the final round. If you liked Dark!Mike and Demon!Mike, I think this chapter will tickle your fancy quite nicely. If you REALLY want to set the mood for this chapter, I have provided timestamps to show which parts of this chapter are most closely aligned with the various parts of the Trivia Murder Party 2 theme. It's a little extra work, admittedly, but trust me when I say it will really make a difference :) There is a comment by Green Rabbit/Mr. Phantaze on the video that helpfully provides linked timestamps to make this easier for you.

Chapter 91 – Trivia Murder Party Part 3

When the ghost kids finally stopped falling and the light returned, they immediately realized that they were standing in the exact same rectangular chamber that they had been in the last time, even standing on the exact same spot on the balcony. The walls were once again lined with hideous demonic skulls with elongated jaws, only this time the children knew exactly what the purpose of those skulls was for. Somehow, that knowledge didn't comfort them in the slightest. The only player who was a stranger to this new room was Nightmarionne, who glanced over the chamber with mild interest. Though he hadn't seen the grotesque flamethrowers yet, he was certain that he knew what those macabre decorations were for.

And just as it had before, the dark, intense music from before began to play around them, signaling the beginning of the final round.

 **[[NOTE: Begin playing Trivia Murder Party 2 Final Round theme by Andy Poland (use the official YouTube video). For maximum immersion and setting the mood, begin looping 0:00-0:48 (Here we go again)]]**

" **So you're the one who's made it here alive,"** Mike declared. **"But will you be the one to escape?"**

Everyone watched as the living Nightmarionne plushie was moved a few rows into the chamber next to the opposite wall, 12 spaces away from the other side. The ghosts had immediately noticed that Mike had moved the plushie in farther than he had moved Gabe's plushie in originally, but before they could protest, the ghost plushies were moved into place, this time in the same positions that they were in after Gabe had answered the first question in the last round. Charlie's Puppet was 18 spaces away from the exit, Gabe was 19 spaces away, and Susie was 20 spaces away, while the rest of the ghosts were left at the leftmost edge of the room.

" **Here's your first category."**

 **MOONS OF JUPITER**

Chaldene, Chantaloup, _Cornillide_

Ghost and demon alike stared at the question. **"WHAT THE FUCK,"** Nightmarionne was the first to break the silence.

" _Couldn't you have started us off with an easy question, at least?"_ Jeremy protested.

"… _we're all gonna die, aren't we?"_ Cassidy asked gloomily.

" _Time for some more random guessing, yay…"_ Gabe deadpanned.

 **Chaldene** , XXXXXX, XXXXXX

Nightmarionne: X✓ (to 11 spaces from the exit)

Charlie: ✓X✓ (to 16)

Gabe: X✓X (to 18)

Susie: XX✓ (to 19)

Liz: ✓✓X (to 19)

Cassidy: XX✓ (to 20)

Jeremy: X✓✓ (to 19)

Fritz: ✓XX (to 20)

Liz sighed with relief. _"Oh, thank God, I'll take two."_

Gabe didn't look happy, however. _"If every question Dad asks is like this, then NONE of us are going to survive!"_

Nightmarionne's plushie moved up one space, and the ghost plushies slowly advanced down the chamber with a spectral echo.

 **[[NOTE: For maximum immersion, loop 0:48 - 1:36 (Not only ghosts behind you)]]**

" **Next question,"** Mike growled.

 **PLURAL NOUNS**

Alumnus, Analyses, _Millennia_

Jeremy brightened when he saw the question. _"Oh okay, this one I can answer."_

" _I…think it's this one?"_ Fritz speculated.

" _Thank God for Dad's grammar lessons,"_ Charlie remarked.

XXXXXX, **Analyses, Millennia**

Nightmarionne: ✓✓ (to 9 spaces from the exit)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 13)

Gabe: ✓✓✓ (to 15)

Susie: ✓✓✓ (to 16)

Liz: ✓✓✓ (to 16)

Cassidy: X✓✓ (to 18)

Jeremy: ✓✓✓ (to 16)

Fritz: X✓✓ (to 18)

Gabe smirked. _"Easy."_

" _Oh, crap!"_ Fritz smacked his forehead with his hand. _"I screwed up one!"_

" _Join the club,"_ Cassidy muttered.

" _Didn't Dad give us only three questions last time before he started blasting the flames?"_ Fritz asked. The two kids looked at each other with a horrified realization.

" _We better get this next one right…"_ the former Golden Freddy inhabitant murmured.

 **EGYPTIAN GODS/GODDESSES**

Apollo, Nut, _Anubis_

" _Yay, another easy one!"_ Liz exclaimed. _"Reading the Kane Chronicles makes this one a lot easier!"_

" _Two of these I know for sure,"_ Gabe remarked. _"But I'm not sure about the third one…"_

Fritz smirked. _"A Goddess named Nut? Kind of a crap name, when you think about it."_

Susie groaned when she realized what her brother was saying. _"Really, Fritz?"_

XXXXXX, **Nut, Anubis**

Nightmarionne: ✓✓ (to 7 spaces from the exit)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 10)

Gabe: ✓✓✓ (to 12)

Susie: ✓X✓ (to 14)

Liz: ✓✓✓ (to 13)

Cassidy: ✓✓✓ (to 15)

Jeremy: ✓X✓ (to 14)

Fritz: ✓✓✓ (to 15)

" _Wait, Nut was actually one of them?"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"I only picked that one as a joke!"_

" _We got ahead a few rows, at least,"_ Cassidy breathed a sigh of relief.

" _Charlie isn't too far away from Nightmarionne,"_ Jeremy pointed out. _"She might be able to catch up to him."_

Nightmarionne sneered. **"ANY FOOL CAN ANSWER THE EASY QUESTIONS CORRECTLY,"** he hissed. **"BUT HOW WILL THE GAME UNFOLD WHEN HE BRINGS OUT THE HARD ONES?"**

" **And speaking of a harder game…"** Mike added with vicious delight in his tone. The demonic skull statues in the first four rows unleashed their hellish flames, devouring the entire farthest left side of the hallway in an inferno. Though the ghosts weren't taken by surprise this time around, having already witnessed this once in the last final round, it was no less disturbing. Nightmarionne, by contrast, seemed mildly intrigued by what he was witnessing, though he made no comment on it. And just like it had before, the ominous music began to pick up in intensity, a sign that the final round had now _truly_ begun.

Wall of Flame: 18 spaces from the exit.

" **There is nothing but shadow and flame in your future,"** Mike hissed.

 **[[NOTE: Begin looping 1:36-2:24 (The Thrill Thickens)]]**

 **GALAXIES**

Cigar Galaxy, Tadpole Galaxy, _Andromeda_

Nightmarionne sneered. **"OF COURSE YOU BRATS GET THE EASY ONE."**

" _That doesn't help us when we don't know the other two!"_ Gabe retorted.

" _There's no way!"_ Susie shook her head. _"Dad has to be making this up!"_

" _At this point, I don't even know anymore,"_ Liz groaned.

 **Cigar Galaxy, Tadpole Galaxy, Andromeda**

Nightmarionne: XX (at 7)

Charlie: XX✓ (to 9)

Gabe: XX✓ (to 11)

Susie: XX✓ (to 13)

Liz: ✓X✓ (to 11)

Cassidy: XX✓ (to 14)

Jeremy: XX✓ (to 13)

Fritz: XX✓ (to 14)

" _It was ALL of them?"_ Fritz exclaimed in disbelief. _"What the hell?"_

" _Wow, we ALL got screwed there…"_ Jeremy mumbled.

" _We're fucked, Fritz…"_ Cassidy groaned as the statues flanking two more rows blasted out their walls of unholy flames.

Wall of Flame: 16 spaces from the exit.

 **POISONOUS PLANTS**

Lily of the Valley, Poison Oak, _Bittersweet Nightshade_

" _Oh, wow…"_ Gabe deadpanned. _"Hmm…I wonder if the plant called Poison Oak is poisonous."_

" _I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Nightshade was poisonous,"_ Charlie mused. _"Not sure about that Lily plant though."_

" _A plant with a name that badass, there's no way it's not poisonous,"_ Jeremy declared.

" _Lily's such a pretty name,"_ Lily commented as she put in her answers.

 **Lily of the Valley, Poison Oak, Bittersweet Nightshade**

Nightmarionne: ✓✓ (to 5)

Charlie: ✓✓✓ (to 6)

Gabe: ✓✓✓ (to 8)

Susie: X✓✓ (to 11)

Liz: X✓✓ (to 9)

Cassidy: ✓✓✓ (to 11)

Jeremy: X✓✓ (to 11)

Fritz: X✓✓ (to 12)

" **I'M A DEMON LORD OF HELL,"** Nightmarionne drawled. **"IF I DIDN'T GET THIS RIGHT, I'D NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT!"**

" _Aww man, I missed the Lily question!"_ Susie complained.

" _Look!"_ Liz pointed out. _"Charlie's only one space away from Nightmarionne!"_

" **That ghost can smell your life force!"** Mike pointed out gleefully.

The demonic puppet sneered. **"COME AND BEST ME THEN, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN."**

" _I am not in a good spot right now,"_ Fritz mumbled as the flames consumed two more rows. The way things stood, if he got a question completely wrong, he was done for.

Wall of Flame: 14 spaces from the exit.

 **[[NOTE: Begin looping 2:24-3:12 (The Dark Pressure)]]**

 **BOWLING TERMINOLOGY**

Hambone, Pick and Roll, _Five-Bagger_

"… _Get the fuck out of here, dad!"_ the former Foxy inhabitant cried out in frustration. _"Are you TRYING to kill me?"_

" **I DON'T FUCKING KNOW THIS!"** Nightmarionne cursed.

" _I don't think any of us are moving very far with this one,"_ Cassidy muttered.

" _Only things I know about bowling are strike and spare,"_ Jeremy sighed. _"And that's only cause I talked to Alex about it for a few minutes one day."_

 **Hambone** , XXXXXX, **Five-Bagger**

Nightmarionne: XX (at 5)

Charlie: ✓XX (to 5)

Gabe: X✓X (to 7)

Susie: ✓X✓ (to 9)

Liz: XX✓ (to 8)

Cassidy: X✓X (at 10)

Jeremy: ✓✓X (to 9)

Fritz: XX✓ (to 11)

Charlie's ghostly plushie inched forward until it was right underneath the still Nightmarionne plushie. There was a flash of light, and the Puppet plushie came back to life as the demon lord's was pushed back one space, turning into a ghost.

" _Nice going, Charlie!"_ Liz cheered.

" _Good job!"_ Gabe complimented.

Charlie smiled faintly, but she didn't allow herself to let her guard down. _"It's not over yet,"_ she warned, talking to herself as much as her family.

Nightmarionne narrowed his eyes at her. **"HOW RIGHT YOU ARE…"** he growled. He had always been one of the most competitive Nightmares when it came to games, something that was now plainly there for all to see.

" **Better get moving, if you want to keep that life force that you just stole,"** Mike mockingly advised.

More flames consumed the hallway, and Fritz yelped as he realized that his Foxy plushie was just _one space away_ from being devoured by the inferno that was approaching them. Cassidy was just as uneasy as her brother, as her Golden Freddy plushie was also dangerously close to the flames.

Wall of Flame: 12 spaces from the exit

 **TALLER THAN THE EIFFEL TOWER**

CN Tower, Willis Tower, _Leaning Tower of Pisa_

" _Ooh!"_ Susie gasped excitedly. _"We were talking about really tall towers with Alex and Meghan a few days ago!"_

" _Yeah, but which ones were taller than the Eiffel Tower?"_ Jeremy wondered.

" _Willis is that one in Chicago, right?"_ Liz asked.

" _I think. But I've never heard of the CN Tower!"_ Cassidy exclaimed.

" **Time's running out,"** Mike growled. The kids frantically put in their answers.

 **CN Tower, Willis Tower,** XXXXXX

Nightmarionne: ✓✓✓ (to 3)

Charlie: X✓ (to 4)

Gabe: ✓X✓ (to 5)

Susie: XX✓ (to 7)

Liz: ✓✓✓ (to 5)

Cassidy: ✓X✓ (to 8)

Jeremy: XX✓ (to 8)

Fritz: XX✓ (to 10)

This time, it was Charlie's Puppet plushie that crawled forward to the exit, and Nightmarionne's spectral plushie that zoomed past her, claiming her life force in the process. **"AH, BACK IN THE LEAD, RIGHT WHERE I BELONG!"** Nightmarionne cackled.

" _Dammit!"_ Charlie swore in frustration. _"I can't be screwing up this close to the end!"_

The eyes of the demonic skulls flanking the next two rows flared menacingly, and unleashed their unholy fires. _"NOOOOOO!"_ Fritz cried out as his ghostly Foxy plushie was devoured by the flames with a terrified scream.

" **All your hard work,"** Mike taunted viciously, **"the sum of your efforts, REDUCED TO ASHES."**

Everyone shuddered at the sudden deep and inhuman tone of his voice, none of them as much as Charlie and Fritz. Though they knew that the flames would consume anybody who didn't win regardless, there was something more frightening about that infernal death reaching you because you were too slow to survive.

" **His fate will be your own, if you don't pick up the pace,"** Mike warned menacingly.

Wall of Flame: 10 spaces from the exit.

 **GEOMETRIC ANGLES**

Acute, Archimedes, _Complimentary_

" _Oh God, not geometry!"_ Jeremy groaned, before taking a more careful look. _"Actually, this isn't too bad."_

" _One of them is definitely right, and one of them is definitely wrong,"_ Charlie thought. _"But what about that third one?"_

Fritz shrugged. _"I don't care, I'm already dead!"_ he commented dryly.

" **THANK YOU FOR THE EASY QUESTION, SCHMIDT!"** Nightmarionne said with a condescending smirk.

 **Acute,** XXXXXX **,** XXXXXX

Nightmarionne: ✓✓ (to 1)

Charlie: ✓✓X (to 2)

Gabe: ✓✓✓ (to 2)

Susie: ✓✓X (to 5)

Liz: ✓✓✓ (to 2)

Cassidy: ✓✓X (to 6)

Jeremy: ✓✓✓ (to 5)

" _Oh, it was compleMENTary, wasn't it?"_ Charlie snapped her fingers in frustration. _"Dang it!"_

Nightmarionne's plushie advanced to the very edge of the hallway, with the Puppet, Freddy, AND Baby plushies stopping just behind him. More flames blasted out of the skull-like statues, a reminder of the fiery death that awaited them.

Wall of Flame: 8 spaces from the exit

 **[[NOTE: Begin looping 3:12-4:00 (No Escape)]]**

The massive black iron gate slammed down in front of the exit, the final barrier to freedom and victory that looked every bit as terrifying as it had been last time. The music again escalated in intensity, signaling that the final stage of the round had truly begun.

" **Where do you think you're going?"** Mike asked mockingly, amusement dripping from his voice. **"If you want to make it out alive, you're going to have get all three answers correct."**

 **STUFF IN MISSOURI**

Kansas City, World's Largest Pecan, _Churchill Downs Racetrack_

" **And when I say all of them,"** Mike snarled, **"I mean ALL OF THEM."**

Churchill Downs Racetrack

Nightmarionne's eyes flashed with fury. **"WHO IN THE ACTUAL FUCK GIVES A SHIT ABOUT WHAT'S IN MISSOURI?"** he raged.

" _I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with you,"_ Gabe muttered.

"… _isn't Missouri in the middle of nowhere?"_ Charlie asked in a dry tone.

" _I REALLY don't need this when I'm 2 spaces away from getting killed by the flames!"_ Cassidy complained.

 **Kansas City, World's Largest Pecan** , XXXXXX

Nightmarionne: XX✓ (at 1)

Charlie: X✓✓ (to 1)

Gabe: X✓X (at 1)

Susie: XX✓ (to 4)

Liz: X✓X (to 1)

Cassidy: XXX (at 6)

Jeremy: XX✓ (to 4)

" _Are you kidding me?"_ Cassidy exclaimed in disbelief. _"I got NONE of them right?"_

" **Pathetic,"** Mike snarled. **"Absolutely PATHETIC!"**

" **BAH,"** Nightmarionne spat as his plushie crashed into the gate and was repelled. Charlie's ghostly plushie advanced and also collided against the gate as Liz's and Gabe's plushies advanced into the same row. There was another flash of light, and the Puppet plushie claimed the Nightmarionne plushie's life force once again as every other plushie was pushed back to 2 rows away from the exit.

" _Noooooo, my Golden Freddy plushie!"_ Cassidy wailed as flames poured down the next two rows. The Golden Freddy plushie was caught in the roaring fires, and just like the Foxy plushie it was consumed with a terrified scream, the flames destroying it so thoroughly that there weren't even ashes left behind. _"Dammit, I got such a bullshit question!"_

" **Nothing in your future but shadow and flame,"** Mike hissed, eliciting another shudder from the kids.

Wall of Flame: 6 spaces from the exit.

 **[[NOTE: Begin looping 4:00-end (The Window through Madness)]]**

Demented laughter suddenly erupted around the ghost kids and Nightmarionne, a hideous cackling that seemed to cut deep into their ears and souls. As the ghost kids waited nervously for the next question, Fritz looked up and grabbed at his nearest sibling's shoulder, who happened to be Liz.

" _Uh…g-guys?"_ he called in a timid voice, pointing at the opposite balcony. The ghost kids looked at where he was gesturing with his finger…and instantly recoiled in horror.

In both this final round and the last, the area above the opposite balcony (and surrounding them on their own, for that matter) had been covered in shadows, an empty dark void. But now, those shadows were filled with over a hundredglowing red eyes, all glaring menacingly at the players like predators waiting for just the right moment to devour their prey.

And it wasn't just the other side. The ghosts jolted as they realized that the shadows behind them were now filled with those same scarlet eyes, even more terrifying with how close they were. A few lone figures began to crawl out of the unseen horde just close enough to be made visible by the glow of the flames in the chamber, and Charlie gasped as she recognized some of the very same shadowy monsters that Mike had summoned in his battle against William's demonic armies. A shadow Xenomorph, a shadow chimera, a berserker wearing a demonic horned helm carrying a great battle axe wreathed in dark flames, all of them staring at the ghost kids and Nightmarionne with their fangs bared in sadistic glee.

Gabe looked over at Charlie, unable to keep the fear out of his voice. _"Charlie…is this what you saw, back when Dad and William were fighting?"_

Charlie's voice was barely raised above a whisper. _"Yes."_

" _No wonder you didn't want me to see,"_ the former Freddy inhabitant murmured.

" **EVERYONE HAS A DARK SIDE,"** Nightmarionne hissed with all amusement gone from his voice, and the ghost kids couldn't tell if his next words were spoken genuinely or mockingly. **"YOU CAN LEARN THAT LESSON THE EASY WAY OR THE HARD WAY."**

" _Why do I feel like everyone here's learning it the easy way except Charlie?"_ Liz thought worriedly.

 **FILMS SCORED BY JOHN WILLIAMS**

Gladiator, Schindler's List, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

" _Ooh, John Williams!"_ Jeremy exclaimed with delight, his fear temporarily forgotten. _"I love John Williams, he's such a great movie composer!"_

" _We've seen a LOT of movies with dad, but I don't remember us actually talking about who makes the music for those!"_ Susie commented.

" _Didn't one of the Marshalls talk about playing the Harry Potter theme for a concert or something?"_ Liz wondered.

Fritz shrugged. _"I have no clue,"_ he muttered.

XXXXXX, **Schindler's List, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**

Nightmarionne: X✓✓ (to 1)

Charlie: X✓✓ (at 1)

Gabe: XX✓ (to 1)

Susie: XX✓ (to 3)

Liz: ✓X✓ (to 1)

Jeremy: X✓✓ (to 2)

" **A wonderful performance,"** Mike taunted, **"…if you were trying to FAIL!"**

" **ARRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"** Nightmarionne snarled furiously. **"I CAN'T BELIEVE I MESSED UP GLADIATOR AND JOHN WILLIAMS!"**

" _I honestly thought Gladiator was done by John Williams too,"_ Charlie admitted, shaking her head in disappointment at herself. _"And I can't believe I forgot Schindler's List! That's such an amazing song!"_

Charlie's plushie crashed into the gate again, and this time every plushie apart from Susie's and Jeremy's made it to the same row as Charlie's. Unfortunately for the ghost kids, Nightmarionne's plushie had priority due to its position, and it was his plushie that Mike resurrected while the others were pushed back.

" _Those flames are getting REALLY close…"_ Gabe muttered nervously. Right on cue, the skulls flanking the next two rows unleashed their hellish flames, engulfing the space where Susie's ghostly Chica plushie had been seconds earlier. Even then, the blond ghost girl couldn't rest easy, as her plushie was only one space away from destruction.

Wall of Flame: 4 spaces from the exit

The chilling laughter echoing around the chamber grew even louder, and more shadow figures began to step out of the shadows, both on the players' side and on the opposite side. Though a few of these were still monsters like shadow Xenomorphs and Outriders, many more of these shadows were the heavily armored warriors and sinister dark sorcerers that Mike had summoned en masse to fight William's demons. All of them were snarling or laughing cruelly at the players, as if savoring their upcoming demise. And was it just their imagination, or were the legions and monsters closer to them than they had been seconds earlier?

Suddenly, all the ghost kids and even Nightmarionne had a much greater understanding of the battle that had unfolded in Mike's head against William…and how Mike had drawn upon the worst aspects of his character to brutally crush the sociopathic murderer.

 **FOOD NAMED AFTER PEOPLE**

Kung Pao Chicken, Cobb Salad, Fettucine Alfredo

" _Aww man!"_ Susie groaned. _"I should know this, I love cooking!"_

Cassidy shrugged. _"Don't look at me, I like to cook almost as much as you do but I don't know a thing about this!"_

Gabe's eyes widened in horror. _"Oh God, if somebody doesn't make it through, everyone besides whoever's in the lead is going to die!"_ he exclaimed.

" _Wait, WHAT?"_ Liz spluttered.

" _We always get pushed back whenever somebody comes back to life in that last row,"_ Gabe explained frantically. _"And those flames move up two spaces every turn. So that means…"_

The same realization hit them all, and suddenly the stakes became MUCH higher. Whether any of them succeeded or not in getting a perfect answer, every plushie except one was about to die.

" _God, I don't know this!"_ Susie babbled almost incoherently. _"I DON'T KNOW THIS!"_

" _We're all screwed, aren't we?"_ Jeremy asked gloomily.

" **WHY DO YOU ASK THAT AS IF YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER?"** Nightmarionne sneered.

 **Kung Pao Chicken, Cobb Salad, Fettucine Alfredo**

Nightmarionne: X✓✓ (at 1)

Charlie: ✓✓X (to 1)

Gabe: X✓✓ (to 1)

Susie: X✓X (to 2)

Liz: X✓✓ (to 1)

Jeremy: ✓XX (to 1)

" _It was ALL OF THEM?"_ Gabe exclaimed. _"NO WAY!"_

" _I thought at least ONE of them would be a bullshit answer!"_ Liz added in disbelief. _"How can they ALL be correct?"_

" _We lose…"_ Jeremy groaned.

"… **YOU DANGLED IN FRONT OF US A TRUTH THAT WE WOULD NOT POSSIBLY BELIEVE,"** Nightmarionne growled with grudging respect. **"WELL PLAYED, SCHMIDT."**

Their complaints were interrupted by the sound of Mike's laughter. It was controlled and almost calm at first, but with every second that passed, it grew more mocking and viciously triumphant, until there was barely anything human about it. **"Heh heh heh heh heh…heh HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…** **Ą̛͖̠̝̮̬̦ ҉͎̙̙̰͖͓̯̭H̙̖̟A̢͎̲ ̙͚͇̮̖̣̮̖͟HA͜҉͎͉͍͖͈͙ ͏̥̟H̨̢̜̹̮͟A̷̷̬͚̠̩̕ ̳͔͍̙̳͕̜HÀ̶̩̺̠̮͕ͅͅ ̖̱̗́͞H͢͏͎̻̣A̼̝̟̥̜̕ ͕̱͟ͅH̞̟͡A̛̗̣̝͍̮͖̭͞ͅ ͝҉̧̩̯̜̘̤͕̘̳H̱̳̟͟A̺̙̠̪͇̙ ̵̧͙̣H̡̧̛̞̰͉͔̣Ḁ̶̢̧͓̝̪ ̞͖̩̩̭͎̪̝̖̀͡H͖͚̟̗͈A͇͍͉̙̳͈̜̬͘͢͜** **!"**

Nightmarionne's plushie collided into the gate, one last futile push to avoid its demise. The other plushies except for Susie's all advanced to the edge of the gate, some of them crashing into it and being repelled as well, before Charlie's Puppet plushie restored itself to life with a flash and pushed the others back…

…right into the rage of Mike's infernal trap.

" _Our plushies!"_ Liz wailed as the skulls unleashed their flames, annihilating **every single plushie** except for Charlie's. The ghostly plushies screamed in despair and terror as they were consumed by the firestorm, a dark reflection of how all the effort the ghost kids and Nightmarionne had put into the game had been reduced to nothing but failure and defeat. The ghost kids stared numbly at the edge of the firestorm, still trying to comprehend the fact that all of them except for Charlie had been wiped out of the game.

" **BIRDS OF A FEATHER…"** Mike hissed, **"̠̳̣̬̻̱͈̩͈͢.͇͔̭̗̯̖̣̕͝.̵̜͖̞̞̗͎̠̠͠.̵̸̯̜̰̝̭̺̻͓Ç̖̝͇̬̞͘A̰̻̘̫̥̠͜Ņ̩̣̠̙͎ ͖̮͔͜D̸̠IE̘̰̣̺̗̙͈̫̹̕ ̜̘͞͡T̖̭͕͚̱̺͕͕́Ǫ̞̤͓̩̭̣͘G̳̬̩̱̳̘͚͞E̤͙͕̪̯̬̳͍T̶̸̞̲͠H̻̥̭̞̫̥̳̯́͠E͏̪̱̺̻͙̻R̞͇͢͜͠.̢̭̪̼̥͙̺͎̻̟"̛̞̠̖̪̤̗̮ (...CAN DIE TOGETHER)**

Wall of flame: 2 spaces away from the exit

By now, the opposite balcony and the space behind them was filledwith Mike's shadow monsters and warriors, their laughter nearly reaching a fever pitch. Every could now clearly see the creatures that made up Mike's shadow legions in all their dark glory, not the least of which was because more than a few of them were now merely _inches_ away from where they were standing. Though they made no move to attack or even advance any closer, the intensity in their gazes was more than enough to make the ghost kids tremble. Even Nightmarionne remained silent, his thoughts on these creatures unfathomable to those around him.

" **ONLY ONE REMAINS,"** Mike's demonic voice growled mockingly. **"ONE LIGHT SURROUNDED BY SHADOWS. ONE LAST CHANCE TO ESCAPE. WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?"**

 **KUUBLER-ROSS FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF**

Anger, Despair, Bargaining

A light went off in Charlie's head, shining even through her fear. _"I remember this…"_ she murmured. _"I remember this! I was talking about this with Dad a few days ago. Back when we were talking about my interest in psychology!"_

" _You can do this, Charlie!"_ Susie cheered.

" _Yeah, you've got this!"_ Fritz added.

" _Come on, sis, win!"_ Liz urged.

" **YOUR FATE IS IN YOUR OWN HANDS,"** Nightmarionne hissed. **"CHOOSE WISELY."**

" _What were they…what were they?"_ Charlie thought fervently. _"Denial…anger…bargaining…acceptance…I can't remember the last one though! WAS despair one of them?"_

" **MAKE YOUR CHOICE,"** Mike warned, **"AND MAKE IT SOON."**

" _All of them? But that doesn't sound right…that second one…something's not right about that second choice…"_ Trusting her instincts, Charlie pressed on the first and third answer choices, and submitted.

" **IT ALL RIDES ON THIS,"** Mike declared.

 **Anger** , XXXXXX, **Bargaining**

Charlie: ✓✓✓

" _YES!"_ Gabe whooped.

" _You did it!"_ Cassidy cheered happily. _"YOU DID IT!"_

" _Charlie wins!"_ Fritz exclaimed. _"I knew she could do it!"_

" _Way to go!"_ Jeremy added with a silly grin on his face.

" _WHOO!"_ Charlie declared with delight, pumping a fist in the air in triumph as, down below, her Puppet plushie charged at the gate, and this time, the imposing barrier lifted upward, allowing it to pass. The lone surviving plushie flew into the light at the exit and vanished, the light itself fading away seconds later. Immediately, the shadow creatures and legionnaires stopped laughing and vanished back into the darkness, the glowing red eyes extinguishing themselves instantly without leaving any trace behind. The last few skull statues left unleashed their flames, filling in the last few rows of the chamber.

Just as they had before, the flames suddenly exploded upward in the shape of the same hellish visage from earlier: a nightmarish demonic head with a jaw and eyes that blazed with unholy power. Having already seen this before, the ghost kids were less frightened by the infernal finale that Mike had chosen for his game, though they were still clearly unnerved. Nightmarionne, on the other hand, stared at the explosion with undisguised awe, and couldn't help but feel disappointed that he had not been in the room to witness Mike's brutal triumph over William personally.

High above them, the flames faded away, and a big screen flickered to life. A newspaper clip appeared with the still-living Puppet plushie in the forefront. **"CHARLIE WINS IT ALL! SWEEPS AWAY COMPETITION WITH $5700 PRIZE."**

" **Oh, and a bunch of other people died, but who gives a shit."**

" _Really, dad?"_ Susie pouted. This time, however, when the screen vanished, it was followed by photographs of the ghostly plushies, each with a…less-than-respectful description of how they had died.

Nightmarionne: $5850. Cause of death: **couldn't get the fuck out when he had the chance**

Gabe: $5050. Cause of death: **got fucked by a bunch of dice**

Susie: $3850. Cause of death: **shit at scratching tickets**

Liz: $3550. Cause of death: **wrecked by the Loser Wheel**

Cassidy: $3550. Cause of death: **stabbed in the ass**

Jeremy: $3550. Cause of death: **blown the fuck up**

Fritz: $3500. Cause of death: **couldn't type for shit**

Liz sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperated amusement. _"That's dad, all right,"_ she commented dryly. _"Also, the Loser Wheel is still bullshit!"_

" _That description of how I died makes me cringe,"_ Cassidy pouted.

" _Thanks for screwing me over with that dice game,"_ Gabe drawled.

" _Of course he'd make fun of how we died,"_ Jeremy deadpanned.

" **I GOT FUCKED BY ONE HARD QUESTION AFTER ANOTHER!"** Nightmarionne complained. **"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EASY ONES LIKE LEAP YEAR OR HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS?"**

" _I have no idea where Dad even got the idea for these,"_ Charlie muttered. Secretly, however, she and all the ghost kids were relieved by Mike's return to dry, irreverent humor. It was something they needed to take their minds off the horror elements that Mike had incorporated into the final round…especially the shadow monsters.

" _Why didn't dad put this up the first time?"_ Fritz asked.

" **Because, uh…I kinda forgot,"** Mike admitted. Though his voice still echoed with a force that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, his tone and personality had returned to what they expected from the man who had adopted them into a new family. **"Better late than never."**

" _Hey dad!"_ the kids called out to him cheerfully, their fear mostly forgotten.

" **Well that was Trivia Murder Party for you guys!"** Mike greeted them cheerfully. **"I wanted you guys to have fun, but I also wanted to scare you. Did I succeed?"**

" _HELL YEAH!"_ Fritz exclaimed with delight. _"I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun! SO much more awesome than just playing a video game."_

" _I know, right?"_ Cassidy gushed. _"Playing this inside your mind was like actually being inside the game itself! So much more exciting!"_

" _Those shadowy monsters, those walls of flame…"_ Gabe shuddered with both exhilaration and fear. _"Yikes, dad. No wonder you kicked William Afton's sorry ass so easily!"_

" _I know we've only had two of them,"_ Jeremy added, _"but this was the spookiest Halloween ever."_

Charlie smiled, doing her best to hide her worries and the lingering traces of fear. _"I'm just glad I won that game,"_ she declared. _"That was really down to the wire!"_

" **AN EXCELLENT ADAPTATION TO AN EXCELLENT GAME,"** Nightmarionne's eldritch voice interrupted them. The demon lord was grinning, and to the surprise of the ghosts his expression seemed genuinely appreciative with only the faint traces of the malice one would expect from a demon lord. **"WELL DONE, SCHMIDT. THOUGH I WAS INITIALLY SKEPTICAL, I CAN NOW CONSIDER MY HALLOWEEN NIGHT WELL SPENT INDEED."**

Though he was unseen, everyone could hear the smile in Mike's voice. **"Good game, Nightmarionne."**

" **GOOD GAME. AND I SUPPOSE I SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE CHARLIE FOR HER VICTORY,"** the unholy incarnation of the Puppet nodded once towards the girl's direction. He was about to say more, but suddenly tilted his head in one direction, as though he were listening to someone or something else. **"IT APPEARS I MUST DEPART NOW, FOR NIGHTMARE HAS SUMMONED US FOR…INFERNAL BUSINESS."**

" _Less we know about that the better,"_ Fritz muttered, then trailed off as Nightmarionne fixed his gaze upon him.

" **THE TOPIC TO BE DISCUSSED MAY BE OF MORE INTEREST TO YOU THAN YOU THINK,"** Nightmarionne suggested, **"BUT THAT IS A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DAY."** Then, without another word, the demon lord's body dissolved into shadows and vanished. The ghost kids and Mike felt his presence leave his mindscape, signaling his departure.

" **So…you might have wondered why I went all out with scaring you guys in the final round,"** Mike addressed the ghost kids once their attention was back on him. **"The reason why is simple. Like every person, I have a dark side. A dark side that I unleashed upon William Afton when he tried to invade my mind and attack me from within. A dark side that I used to utterly CRUSH him. Charlie saw me at my very worst that night, something that I was completely unaware of and definitely didn't want to happen."**

" _Like you said earlier, Gabe, this is why I didn't want you to see,"_ Charlie murmured to him, with the former Freddy inhabitant wordlessly nodding back in understanding.

" **I don't want you guys to ever actually see me at my worst, but at the same time, there's always the chance that one day, when shit well and truly hits the fan, I snap and lose control,"** Mike continued solemnly. **"And I think it's necessary for you guys to know and understand just how dark I can be without me actually acting on it. A mistake I've already made with Charlie, and I definitely don't want to make with the rest of you. I can't promise that there won't come a time when I snap again, but at the very least you know about my inner darkness now, and the surprise won't be so terrible because of that. Do you understand?"**

The ghost kids nodded. _"We do…"_ they murmured their acknowledgement. In the back of their minds, they could still see the shadowy monsters and hellish flames. And though they had been terrifying in their own right…

…it would have been nothing compared to seeing their father unleash his rage and hatred in full. The broken, mangled corpse-spirit of William Afton was proof enough of that.

" **Good,"** Mike acknowledged. **"Now, I think it's time for all of you to leave my mind and go to bed. It's been a LONG Halloween night, that's for sure."**

" _Goodnight, dad!"_ the ghosts chorused as Charlie gathered them together to leave Mike's mindscape.

"Goodnight, kids…"

 _Meanwhile in Hell, Nightmare's Throne Room…_

A pillar of shadows erupted from the black obsidian floor, and Nightmarionne emerged. The demonic incarnation of the Puppet looked up towards the throne where his brother and lord sat, looking at him with mild amusement.

" **I TRUST THAT YOU ENJOYED YOUR EVENING, BROTHER?"** Nightmare asked with more than a hint of amusement in his tone.

" **YES…"** Nightmarionne answered, his glowing eyes and widened grin highlighting his good mood. **"SCHMIDT'S GAME WAS QUITE ENTERTAINING."**

" **I'M GLAD YOU ENJOYED YOURSELF,"** Nightmare replied dryly, **"BUT NOW IT IS TIME FOR BUSINESS."** The demon lord straightened his posture on his throne, opened his mouth, and roared. One by one, the rest of the Nightmares appeared, arriving from various sections in the palace to gather at the foot of Nightmare's throne.

" **WELCOME, BROTHERS AND SISTER…"** the demon lord greeted them. **"I HAVE GATHERED YOU HERE TO DISCUSS THE TORMENT OF OUR** _ **MOST HONORED GUEST,"**_ his voice as he spoke the last three words dripped with mockery and contempt.

" **WE HAVE ESCALATED OUR CRUELTY TO NEW HEIGHTS, MY LORD,"** Infernal Bonnie addressed him. **"NOW THAT HIS PROTECTIONS HAVE BEEN STRIPPED FROM HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY, WE CAN TORTURE HIM IN WAYS UNIMAGINABLE TO EVEN THE OTHER REALMS OF HELL."**

Nightmare raised his clawed hand to silence him. **"IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL TORTURE, YES,"** he agreed. **"HIS TORMENT HAS BECOME LEGENDARY, AND I AM PLEASED WITH YOUR CREATIVITY. HOWEVER, WE HAVE DONE PRECIOUS LITTLE, EITHER BEFORE HIS ESCAPE OR EVEN AFTER IT, TO BREAK ONE OF THE CHARACERISTICS THAT HAS FORMED THE CORE OF HIS PATHETIC, WRETCHED PSYCHE. WE HAVE DONE LITTLE TO BREAK HIS INSUFFERABLE ARROGANCE AND PRIDE, AND WE HAVE SEEN THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT NEGLIGENCE."**

Silence fell as the Nightmares' thoughts turned to the Nightmare children. Though they had all recovered quickly, especially after being fed the essence of the demons that Mike had massacred and Nightmare had collected, it was still an uncomfortable reminder of the price they had paid for their complacency.

" **LORD CONSEQUENCES HAS OFFERED ME SOME VALUABLE COUNSEL ON THIS MATTER,"** Nightmare continued. **"AND AFTER SOME REFLECTION, I BELIEVE I HAVE COME UP WITH A SOLUTION TO ADDRESS THIS…DEFICIENCY. WILLIAM AFTON BELIEVES HIMSELF TO BE SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHERS, THAT NO OTHER'S LIFE OR INTERESTS MATTER BEFORE HIS OWN,"** his mouth stretched into a fiendish grin. **"AND I THINK IT IS TIME THAT WE EDUCATE HIM ON JUST HOW INSIGNIFICANT HE TRULY IS. BY NOT ONLY ENSLAVING HIM TO CONFRONT THE VERY SAME CIRCUMSTANCES THAT HIS ACTIONS FORCED UPON OTHERS, BUT ALSO BY MAKING HIM THE LAUGHINGSTOCK OF THE ABYSS, REDUCING HIS EXISTENCE TO NOTHING MORE THAN AN INSIGNIFICANT JOKE."**

The Nightmares looked up at their brother, intrigued by what their brother was planning. The demon lord's eyes flashed scarlet with the depths of his malice. **"WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS, AND PREPARATIONS TO MAKE,"** Nightmare declared. **"AND WHEN OUR TASK IS DONE, ALL OF HELL SHALL SOON SEE IF WILLIAM AFTON IS AS SKILLED AS HIS SON IN DEFLECTING THE RAGE OF HIS CREATIONS…"**

/

A/N: And I think we all know what THAT means…

So, the ghost kids know as much as they need to know about Dark!Mike and Demon!Mike that Mike feels comfortable sharing with them. He knows full well that he fucked up with regards to letting Charlie see him torture the fuck out of William Afton as Demon!Mike, and while he can't guarantee that he can completely keep his dark side in check, he CAN make sure that the kids know about it so that they won't be completely caught by a horrible surprise if the darkest aspects of Mike's character ever resurface in the future.

Man, somehow this "Halloween arc" ended up taking up most of November XD I thought that Trivia Murder Party chapters would be easy to write, but MAN was I wrong! I hope you guys did enjoy this final round though, especially with Nightmarionne's commentary and the return of Mike's shadow army (even if they only had a cameo appearance more than anything else).

Next chapter (whenever it comes out) will be FNAF songs, something so many of you have wanted for the longest time.

Hope you guys enjoyed!


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